In the Russian Federation, the people are the fundamental foundation and support on which the entire management system is built and to which this management is directed. Therefore, the people were given a great privilege in the form of participation in the formation of government at all levels, as well as the opportunity to influence decisions on the fundamental issues of the life of their region and the country as a whole using forms of direct expression of will, including a referendum.
The essence of the referendum
The Russian Federation is a state in which people's power is the main indicator of democracy. Therefore, the direct subject of all its activities is the people who, with the help of legislatively established levers of government, exercise power throughout the country.
A referendum is one way of expressing the will of citizens along with elections and representation. It represents a vote on the most significant aspects of state and municipal government. Most often, issues of changing the status of a given territory or innovations in legal regulation are submitted to a referendum.
Its essence is that citizens vote for any question submitted to the referendum, personally and secretly, i.e. on the same principle as in the elections. Moreover, such a decision is mandatory, subject to the recognition of the referendum as valid. That is, the decision on the results of the vote will be made if the minimum turnout threshold has been exceeded. The main difference between a referendum and elections is voting in a referendum for the question, and not for the person or party. And also during the referendum, there is a ban on all kinds of campaigning and promotion. This is done to identify the most objective opinions.
A referendum is both a right of citizens, and a certain obligation to the country, which has a number of restrictions. These include restrictions on the age acceptable for voting (the voter must be at least 18 years old), the presence of citizenship and an identity document.
