Last month, Gorbachev appointed non-reformer Vladimir Orlov, former chairman of the Central Referendum Commission and a protege of the paranoid Prime Minister Pavlov, to the post of Finance Minister.
Another reason was that, thanks to a Supreme Court judgment that led to the setting up of a referendum commission, the same amount of money had to be spent arguing both for and against the Amsterdam treaty.
The Labour Party told the commission that it supported a generic Referendum Act, an electoral commission and independent formulation of questions.
In November the Silk Commission report called for a referendum to allow the Welsh government to vary income tax by 2020.
She said that with the involvement of the Electoral Commission, the Scottish independence referendum would meet the "gold-standard for fairness in every single regard".
BBC: Scottish independence: MPs call for vote rules consensus
The commission has called for a referendum to be held on whether or not the 12 parish connetables (constables) should remain part of the States.
He repeated the argument that there would be moral and political pressure upon Mr Salmond to adhere to, for example, any suggestions from the Electoral Commission for amending the proposed referendum question.
The commission said there should be a referendum on whether Welsh government ministers should be able to vary income tax.
Mr Salmond urged UK ministers to agree to joint talks on the process surrounding the referendum result, as recommended by the Electoral Commission watchdog.
Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, who chaired the Electoral Commission which came up with the referendum questions, said he hoped the States would not make any changes.
The SNP government has proposed a referendum question, which has been tested by the commission.
The European Commission organised an instant poll after the referendum, in which three-quarters of no voters said they thought the text could be renegotiated by the government, as leading no campaigners had told them.
The debate also touched upon the role of the Electoral Commission and eligibility criteria for voting in the referendum.
Mr Davies, one of the more independent-minded PPSes, believes that on a number of issues, from the referendum on the Welsh assembly's powers to the Silk commission on the future of devolution, his boss has got it right.
Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan has confirmed next year's referendum on further Welsh powers will use a revised question by the Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission, which has a legal duty to scrutinise any potential referendum question, said the original wording put forward by the Wales Office contained ambiguous and confusing definitions of what was being voted on.
The commission has 10 weeks to consult on the question ahead of the referendum.
BBC: Call for assembly powers poll on day of two other votes
The trial opened as Iraq's electoral commission was continuing to check returns from polling stations following last weekend's referendum on a proposed new constitution which went largely smoothly.
ECONOMIST: Saddam in the dock as Iraq counts its ballots | The
Just four days before the vote, it was agreed that the next parliament, to be elected in December, will create a commission to review the constitution and propose amendments, to be confirmed in yet another referendum six months later.
If the commission recommends that tax-varying powers be devolved, would there have to be a referendum first?
The vote is overseen by the independent Electoral Commission watchdog, which is responsible for regulating campaign rules and informing the public about the referendum.
Russians have become disillusioned with civil protest under Mr Putin, ever since a referendum against the import of nuclear waste which gathered 2.5m signatures was overturned by the electoral commission on a technicality.
The coming months will see the appointment of a new European Commission, and if Irish voters say yes to the Lisbon treaty in a referendum in October two new jobs will need filling: a foreign-policy chief and a full-time president of the European Council, representing the 27 national governments.
As well as the timing and wording of the ballot, the two sides have disagreed on whether the voting age should be lowered for the referendum (Mr Salmond says that it should) and whether it should be overseen by the Electoral Commission, which Nationalists testily point out is answerable to the Westminster Parliament.
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