Election of the governor of the Chelyabinsk region (2019)

On January 15, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the early resignation of Chelyabinsk Region Governor Mikhail Yurevich and appointed Boris Dubrovsky, General Manager of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, as interim chairman. On September 14, 2014, early elections of the governor took place . At a turnout of 42.48%, the majority of voters (86.37%) received Boris Dubrovsky, nominated by the United Russia party. On September 24, 2014, he took office for a five-year term.

In June 2015, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Boris Dubrovsky announced the possibility of holding summits of the SCO and BRICS participating countries in Chelyabinsk in 2020. Then, for several years, he and the team fought for the right of Chelyabinsk to host these summits. In the spring of 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on holding summits in Chelyabinsk. ^[2]

In October 2018, Dubrovsky announced that he would like to be elected for a new term in September 2019. But he said that he is a member of the team, and if the decision on his resignation is made by the president of the country, he will fulfill it. ^{[3] [4]} In December 2018, Dubrovsky joined the United Russia party, which said it would support him in the election of governor.

However, on March 19, 2019, Dubrovsky resigned ahead of schedule. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed acting deputy head of the region, First Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Teksler .

In April 2019, the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region amended the law “On the Election of the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region”, allowing for self-nominated candidates to participate in the elections. However, in order to register, they will have to collect voter signatures (about 13,500 people) in addition to the “municipal filter”. ^[5] The bill was developed at the end of 2018. ^[6]

• On May 30, 2019, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Chelyabinsk Region scheduled the elections on September 8, 2019 - a single voting day (100-90 days before the voting day). The decision was officially published on June 4. ^[7]
  • June 4, 2019 - publication by the election commission of the calculation of the number of signatures required for registration of the candidate and the election calendar ^[8]
• from June 4 to June 24, 2019 to 18:00 - the nomination period (20 days)
  • the campaign period begins on the day the candidate is nominated and ends one day before the election day
• the period for collecting signatures of municipal deputies for registration of a candidate begins after the candidate has submitted his application for consent to run for election to the election commission
• from June 25 to July 4, 2019 to 18:00 - submission of documents for registration of candidates; applications must be accompanied by sheets of signatures of municipal deputies and a list of three candidates for the position of member of the Federation Council
• from August 10 to September 6 - the period of campaigning in the media (starts 28 days before the voting day)
• September 7 - "day of silence"
• September 8 - voting day

At the end of 2018, the analytical centers of the Urals began to give forecasts on the election of the governor of the Chelyabinsk region in 2019. Experts estimated the probability of reassigning Boris Dubrovsky to the post of governor of the Chelyabinsk region at 50% ^[9] .

A governor of the Chelyabinsk region may be a citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached the age of 30 years. One and the same person may not fill a position for more than two consecutive terms.

In the Chelyabinsk region, candidates are nominated by both political parties that have the right to participate in elections, and in self-nomination.

Each candidate for the post of governor at registration must submit a list of three people, one of which, if a candidate for the post of head is elected, will become a senator in the Federation Council from the regional government.

Each candidate can have up to 200 proxies.

Municipal Filter

In the Chelyabinsk Region, candidates must collect signatures of 7% of municipal deputies and heads of municipalities to overcome the “ municipal filter ”. Among them should be the signatures of deputies of district and city councils and (or) heads of regions and city districts in the amount of 7% of their total number. In addition, the candidate must receive signatures in at least three quarters of the districts and urban districts , that is, in 33 out of 43.

On June 4, 2019, the election commission published a calculation according to which each candidate must collect from 266 to 279 signatures of deputies and heads of municipalities, among which from 62 to 65 signatures of deputies of districts and urban districts and heads of districts and urban districts in at least 33 districts ^{[ ten]}

A self-nominated candidate must also collect signatures of residents of the Chelyabinsk region in the amount of 13,169 to 14,485 signatures (0.5% of the number of voters as of June 1, 2019). The election commission will verify 20% of signatures.

14 candidates announced the nomination: 6 from parties and 8 self-nominees. However, only 8 candidates submitted registration documents until July 4. ^[11] Only 5 candidates were registered.

• Election Commission of the Chelyabinsk Region
• Elections on the website of the election commission of the Chelyabinsk region
• Elections on the website of the CEC of the Russian Federation