PRIMARIES AS A NEW COMMUNICATION FORMAT FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN VOTER AND THE PARTY CANDIDATE

Abstract

The transformation of electoral processes, as well as the introduction of new elements, as a rule, are due to the dynamic development and at the same time the increasing complexity of social relations. One of such manifestations is the active testing party of the mechanism of preliminary intraparty voting to determine the most effective candidates by the United Russia and their subsequent nomination to elected authorities of power. The use of a truly innovative candidate selection mechanism for the Russian Federation, for the first time in which all citizens with active electoral rights could join, was a demonstration of the party’s preparation for participation in the competition for single-mandate constituencies within the framework of the newly returned mixed electoral system in the elections of deputies of the State Duma. In the given conditions, the party declared its readiness to induce its regional organizations to reorient - the main political resource for it should be voter support. The key indirect effect of the use of this tool for the Russian voter was manifested in the expansion of the traditional boundaries of the application of active suffrage. Taking into consideration attention to the emerging practice of both its supporters and critics, as well as attempts to institutionalize, the author analyzed the background of the issue and formulated the advantages and threats brought by the primaries into the Russian electoral process. The basis of the study for the formulation of the problem and the formulation of possible arguments in favor of this procedure were the data of sociological and expert surveys, as well as the existing scientific works of authors who are few in this area of work.