Makartsev A.A. The use of the official status during the electoral campaign as a form of abuse of rights

Abstract: The research subject is the social relations, connected with the imposition of legal responsibility for the use of the official status during the electoral campaign. The author considers such use of the official status as one of the forms of abuse of rights. The particular attention of the authors of the Constitution of the Russian Federation to the guarantees of the equality of human and civil rights and freedoms has conditioned the appearance of the particular article, devoted to the restraint of use of the advantages of the official status during the elections, in the Federal Law “On the general guarantees of electoral rights and the right to participate in referendum of citizens of the Russian Federation”. The author of the study analyzes various materials of judicial practice, including the decisions of courts of the Russian Federation and the European Court of Human Rights. Special attention is given to the conclusions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The author concludes that when imposing the responsibility for the use of the advantages of the official status in the electoral campaign, it is necessary to assess the frequency, the character, the content and the purpose of these actions. In the author’s opinion, Russian legislation, which doesn’t allow for the compulsory leave of persons, filling state and municipal posts, creates the opportunities of violation of the equal suffrage principle. Therefore, it is necessary to extend this duty to persons, filling state and municipal posts. 

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