Public discussion between candidates for members of the Central Election Commission, submitted by the President of Ukraine, will be held on 23 September in the Parus Business Center (2 Mechnykova St., Kyiv city).

According to OPORA's data received in June – beginning of September 2016 there were 422 pre-trial investigations initiated under Articles 157-160 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine during 2016 regular local elections. Most of pre-trial investigations concerned voter bribery – 159 investigations, Article 160 of the CrCU; impeding the free exercise of voting rights, activities of election commissions and official observers – 97 investigations, Article 157.

Olha Aivazovska took the floor on the annual OSCE/ODHIR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting.Warsaw, 19 September 2016

Another two thirds of pre-trial investigations related to 2015 local elections are closed as of 11 September 2016. However, the number of bills of indictment is quite low compared to the number of closed criminal proceedings. Only one sixth of them were sent to trial.

Besides delaying the rotation of CEC members, there are other risks – politicization of the appointment process and making it populist, OPORA's experts say.

ANNOUNCEMENT On Tuesday, 13 September, at 11:30 in the press-center of UNIAN Information Agency (4 Khreshatyk St., Kyiv) Civil Network OPORA is holding a press-conference where experts and jurists of the organization will present an interim assessment of investigation results in crimes against electoral rights of citizens committed during 2015 local elections, and give an independent assessment of adherence to the certainty of punishment principle in Ukraine. They will discuss the following...

Civil Network OPORA calls on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to urgently consider President's submission of new CEC members and pass a decision in accordance with the Law of Ukraine on the Central Election Commission and the Rules of Parliamentary Procedure.

Civil Network OPORA calls on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to urgently consider President's submission of new CEC members and pass a decision in accordance with the Law of Ukraine on the Central Election Commission and the Rules of Parliamentary Procedure.