Games of the parties behind the “Iron Curtain”: how the stage of registration of candidates for the 2022 elections was held

Despite all the attempts by the state to limit the participation of large groups of voters in state governance — for them, it is as if an “iron curtain” has fallen — there is some spotted real election seen in the 2022 elections. And it's quite active. The experts of Golos have studies how the most significant regional and local elections have been held in 2022. They have drafted a large analytical report on the candidate registration stage. 

A gradual restructuring of the political party landscape has been going on. The election results of recent years have led to an increase in the number of political parties with “parliamentary privileges”: while the legacy “parliamentary opposition” parties have been experiencing challenges, the New People have become members of the State Duma, and parties have emerged in many regions that have successfully performed at the regional level (this is primarily about the Party of Pensioners and, partially, about the Communists of Russia). 

This has led to the fact that people who used to be in the “parliamentary parties” in the second role have lost their fights in intra-party conflicts or they simply feel uncomfortable being in the United Russia (especially now), and now they have an opportunity to change their “party identity” and they try to restart their careers. 

It has become easier to self-nominate, but at the same time, the challenge is that there are fewer people willing to self-nominate; therefore, the formal competition indicators at the regional level this year are the lowest in the last decade. Candidates do not want to self-nominate because of the higher risks and the arbitrary and politically biased verdicts of election committees.

Ultimately, emerging opportunities are not used by the opposition, but by the authorities, which leverage the “second line” parties to “spoil” its main rivalry: the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). For example, the Communists of Russia have a significant share of candidates on the registered lists who are unemployed, students, residents of other regions, ex-representatives of other parties, including the CPRF and even the United Russia. The situation of the Party of Pensioners depends on the region, but it has good chances to pass the barrier almost everywhere.

In general, the authorities are trying to continue the policy of controlled and limited competition, but the protest sentiments have not gone away in the regions, and political life is still vital there. September will make it clear whether these sprouts have managed to grow through the pavement by autumn season.

Detailed data and statistics for each election can be found in the full report (rus).