Unopposed Darkin wins governorship
By Alyona Sokolova
In a 35-1 vote Primorye Duma deputies approved a second term for regional governor Sergei Darkin on February 4 after Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated him as his candidate. No alternatives were seriously considered.
Darkin became Putin’s first nominee under a new system introduced Jan. 1 which scrapped gubernatorial elections across the country, allowing the president to appoint his nominees.
Presidential envoy to the Far Eastern federal district Konstantin Pulikovsky introduced Darkin at an extraordinary meeting of the assembly as the presidential nominee and stressed that Darkin has done much for the region’s development.
Darkin himself delivered a five-minute speech before the voting and reported that during the 3.5 years of his governorship he has managed to stabilize the social and economic situation in Primorye.
Soon after, Darkin won the anonymous approval of 35 local legislators and was sworn into office. Only one deputy, Nikolai Markovtsev, voted against Darkin. He later told reporters that he presented the will of his constituents who were against the present governor. Two of the region's 38 legislators did not take part in the vote.
With his term to expire on June 25, Darkin became the first regional leader who did not wait for the end of his governorship before requesting the endorsement of President Vladimir Putin.
“My administration has worked out 18 programs on the region’s further development and naturally I want to implement them myself,” Darkin told reporters explaining his speedy decision to ask for the president’s approval.
Naturally it was impossible to find a better time to step back and ask for the blessing.
In a mid-winter heating season Putin would not risk nominating an alternative candidate for the region’s governor position. Besides, Darkin’s case sets the precedent of how the new gubernatorial law can be smoothly implemented with the president’s cooperation.
In reality, Putin had little time to consider Primorye’s governorship and no alternatives but Darkin from which to choose. Pulikovsky was to present his candidates to the president this spring but Darkin chose to play his own game and unexpectedly asked Putin’s blessing when he was in Moscow in mid-January. Though Pulikovsky told reporters after the voting that he was “aware of what was going on,” it seemed that Darkin played his cards well.
Looking ambitious and shining with delightful victory for another five years of governorship at a follow-up press conference, Darkin promised to double Primorye’s gross product and work on successful implementation of the social benefits law.
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