Politics of Dagestan

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Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of the Russian Federation.

Political background

The main principles enshrined in Dagestan’s constitution following the fall of the Soviet Union were, first, to provide the widest possible representation for the 14 titular nationalities included in the administrative structure of the republic, and second, to eliminate the possibility of any one nationality being able to possess all the levers of political power. The new Constitution of Dagestan was adopted on 26 July 1994.^[1] The Constitution provided for a collective or collegiate form of government based on ethnic quotas.

The organs of government consisted of the State Council (executive body of government), the Constitutional Assembly and the People's Assembly. It is also of value to note how carefully the 14 titular nationalities were allotted posts, strictly according to their numerical size and percentage share of the population, in the administrative structure of Dagestan. Even before the Constitution of Dagestan was promulgated, referendum had been held in 1992 and 1993 on establishing the post of President of Dagestan.

In 1996 the constitution was amended, and extending its power for two years, making the term in office four years (1994-1998). This meant that the Chairman of the State Council enjoyed an additional two years. However, in 1998 Article 93 which stipulated that the Chairman of the State Council could not serve more than two consecutive terms was abolished: this amendment was instrumental in allowing Magomedali Magomedov to continue to occupy the post of Chairman. In July 2003 the Constitution was further amended to allow direct presidential elections to take place at the end of June 2006.^[2]

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