70% of citizens who sell their votes in the election, not marginal, and people respected professions: doctors, teachers and other state employees. These data lead sociologists.
There’s an election looming and the candidates are already engaged in “cajoling” of voters. While in the field of attention were pensioners and state employees — they offer tours, packages, tickets to concerts.
Show full profile… it Looks harmless, and under certain conditions, all quite legally. Who will understand that it put the money of the municipality, that is, the voters? Attentions citizens had, and then some of them just vote for the candidate on whose behalf received the package with tea and biscuits.
However, closer to the election will certainly be enabled schemes to bribe voters. Such has repeatedly been tested in the Russian regions, including St. Petersburg and Leningrad region. As a rule, to pay for the voice it offers in the elections of regional or local significance, when the candidate has the ability to purchase win. Less important is for the elections to the state Duma, where we are talking about a very large number of voters — about 450 thousand people in the County. However, it all depends on the resources of a specific policy.
On the issue of bribery of voters, experts said during the round table the political club “Rosbalt” “Bets”.
According to the Director of Fund of political culture” Anna Hop, we can talk about 10-15% of the purchase of votes in the regional elections. The Foundation conducted the study, experts interviewed more than two hundred citizens who ever received money for put a tick in the Bulletin. It turned out that these voters can be divided into roughly equal numbers of four groups.
The first consists of “agitators”, that is quite an active ideological people. Their participation in elections they perceive as a real job and responsible approach to the question of voting. Important to them win “their” candidate, and to ensure they are ready to obzvanivat neighbors and friends and call them to the area (the other “bought” voters usually do not even interested in the outcome of the election and identity politics)
It is clear that for new voters “agitators” waiting for the prize. All in network marketing, whose spin doctors are happy to borrow techniques.
The second group of “paid” voting is the youth, the third — retirees and seniors with low income, the fourth is marginal. Recent voters for obvious reasons is extremely unstable. Many of them will be willing to vote for a bottle of vodka, but not the fact that they put a tick in the right place and will reach the area. However, contrary to common opinion, are really marginalized part of the electorate pay is only 30%.
“I expected that voice to sell drug addicts, alcoholics and people without honor and dignity. Yes, these too. But about 70% of the interviewed were ordinary people, representatives of respected professions — doctors, teachers, workers of budgetary establishments, that is those who have a large circle of contacts and they are in sight. And for the money they voted not because of applied administrative resource”, — said the head of the project “Foundation of political culture” Andrei Gorbachev.
It turned out that the determining stimulus in the previous elections for many people served, not money. So, for a group of “agitators” important is a personal request of someone from friends or relatives, involving them in the process. Youth, selling your voice, protests. When the government have already decided everything for you, why not get easy money and a way to cheat the system. Group “seniors” in need of funds, but also protest against those who brought them to distress.
In General, few of these people experiencing pangs of conscience. Only a group of misfits is clearly aware that does not approve the company act. However these people, unlike the rest of the voting fee, important money. And they are easily “sold” to the candidate who will offer more than its competitor.
Judging by the polls, about 40% of citizens have over your voice from 500 to 1000 rubles. Thus in the municipal elections in the Leningrad region, where the outcome sometimes solves a couple dozen votes, price ticks up to 10 thousand rubles.
As stressed by Anna Khmeleva, bribery for the party does not exist, it is bribery for a candidate.
“Sign pay vote — a high degree of competition in elections. This factor is called “alien vs. predator”. As soon as one person begins to buy votes, his opponent inertial doing the same thing, thereby “fueling” the market. Is the kind of tote: who will offer more. But this is only the case if both competitors have the resources. However, if the resource candidate is only one such technology is unlikely to be used”, explained Khmeleva.
The involvement of the voter in the pay scheme is a time — consuming process built on personal relationships. Even if now you want to sell your vote, you will have to reach the right person. As a rule, the process is led by “Brigadier”, which is long-established on the territory entrusted to him and “handles” certain electoral groups. It is clear that each such person is a politician, but to prove this connection and to bring the perpetrators to justice is almost impossible. That confirms the experience of election observers.
“Direct bribery, that is, the results of the money immediately after the exit from the site, we did not see never. It is always disguised under some other act or is posted in time and space. For example, in the elections in Rybinsk we noticed that after the vote, the people came to a certain man and gave him some cards. Nothing illegal as no. But from personal conversations it became clear that using these cards they are a couple days of received payment. Another sign pay vote — taking pictures of yourself in the booth with the ballot. Papers with the tips in hand, because people typically do not remember the names of the candidates. And although everyone knows that bribery exists, criminal and even administrative punishment does not happen. Because nobody wants to get involved and to unravel this complex chain,” — said a member of the Board of the organisation “Observers of Petersburg” Galina Kultiasov.
It is difficult to say whether the bribery of voters will be important for the Northern capital in this election to the legislative Assembly. However, there are at least two factors that indicate a possible increase in the number of votes for money.
“This “service” may be required in connection with a widespread deterioration in the financial situation of all sectors of society. People almost don’t care about some other problems, but everyday life and the desire not to improve, but at least maintain the previous income. Therefore, even food packages are in great demand — take-all”, — commented a senior researcher, Sociological Institute of RAS Tatiana Protasenko.
The expert also noted that citizens are not against bribery, because there is little trust in the authorities. The Russians do not feel that you can make a change, so vote worthless. Man thinks that his contribution does not play any role, so can easily change the possibility of expression for a certain amount. Here we face a large-scale moral problem that is unlikely to solve in the coming decades. To the Russians again believe in the value of elections in their minds for a few election cycles should be fastened in the connection “as I will now vote, and will live in the coming years.” While in most cases it is not at all.
