The Use and Abuse of 'Administrative Resources'.

(From The Moscow Times)

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We look forward to hearing from you.Email the Opinion Page EditorThe presidential administration has been set a far from simple task in the State Duma elections that take place this Sunday: to secure a qualified majority in the next parliament (at least 300 out of 450 seats) -- thus making it possible for the Kremlin to amend the Constitution and constitutional laws.

In the current Duma, the administration controls approximately 235 votes (including United Russia, the People's Party and various non-party admirers of President Vladimir Putin). This provides the Putin administration with a comfortable majority for passing normal legislation that the president and the government need adopted, including the budget. However, in order to amend a constitutional law (for example, the law on referendums, as was the case in the fall of 2002), the administration needs to buy the votes of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party faction and come to an agreement with the Union of Right Forces and Yabloko.

However, getting Yabloko and SPS to support the annulment of the constitutional clause barring the president from running for more than two consecutive terms would be problematic.