Pre-election promises - a speech stamp assigned to the designation of pre-election statements of candidates or party representatives, slogans and program items voiced during the campaign , containing certain promises to improve the living conditions of voters and on a wide range of issues that are most relevant to this territory and the target electorate of this candidate.
In the post-Soviet space, the expression "campaign promises" is often used in a negative context, due to their non-fulfillment. Calls are made periodically and specific legislative initiatives are proposed, which even envisage introducing responsibility for failure to fulfill election promises [1] , as well as attempts to attract political figures according to the norms of the current legislation [2] .
The very concept of an “election promise” still remains extremely vague, and the provisions of the election program and statements that it designates refer only to the means of election campaigning , and not to legally significant norms denoting a full-fledged civil law transaction, namely, the exchange of the voter's vote for the candidate’s commitment to fulfill specific actions (to achieve a specific result or to prevent certain consequences).
Legal mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of political promises
A mechanism to monitor the implementation of certain promises is an imperative mandate in the form of mandatory fulfillment of voters' orders. Now in most countries of the world there is no peremptory mandate, it is declared that the deputy is guided only by conscience and his inner convictions, and there is no procedure for recalling the deputy.
It should be noted that the inability to hold a chosen person accountable (the deputy’s immunity ) for his actions or inaction within the term of his powers is one of the main modern democratic standards, which complicates the introduction of a mechanism of responsibility for failure to fulfill election promises.
Use cases
The first precedent of Russian law on the unfulfillment of election promises was created as part of a court decision on Case No. 2-1405 / 2012 of September 28, 2012: “... the court regards Kurnakov’s promise as bribery of voters ...” [3] [4]
Notes
- ↑ Draft concept of the Federal Law “On the Obligation to Execute Election Programs”
- ↑ Ukrainian court allowed not to fulfill election promises
- ↑ The precedent of law has been created in the Volgograd Region, news from 10/04/2012
- ↑ For the first time in Russia: a court removes an oppositionist from an election for impossible promises