Civil Network OPORA held a forum titled “Key Challenges of Electoral Democracy after the Great War” on March 23. The opening remarks were delivered by Andrew Ockenden, Development Director and Head of the Programmes Team at the UK Government at the British Embassy in Ukraine; Gediminas Navickas, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine; and Oleksandr Korniienko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Keynote speech address by Olha Aivazovska, Chair of the Board of the Civil Network OPORA, at the Forum “Challenges to Electoral Democracy After the Great War,” held in Kyiv on March 23.

The civil network OPORA, with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), has successfully completed the second wave of the Electoral Integrity Academy training programme. Over the course of several months, the initiative brought together civil society activists, analysts and civil servants to seek effective solutions for preserving democratic institutions. The training consisted of three intensive stages, each of which explored a separate aspect of electoral processes.

PROGRAM of the FORUM of the Civil Network OPORA “Key Challenges of Electoral Democracy after the Great War”

Those who were forced to leave Ukraine in 2022, even for just three and a half years, and have since returned, will not be eligible to stand as candidates in the next parliamentary elections until 2028 inclusive. This issue will also affect those who have ambitions or prospects of participating in political life as candidates in the presidential elections. This was outlined by Olha Aivazovska, Chair of the Board of the Civil Network OPORA, during the business breakfast “Guarantees of Women’s Political Participation and Voting Rights for Ukrainians Abroad” on 16 March.

The right to stand for election is part of the guarantees provided for in Article 3 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly emphasised that states have a wide margin of appreciation in establishing electoral rules, but such restrictions must not render the right illusory. Any requirements for candidates must have a legitimate aim and be proportionate.

On 27 February, representatives of the Civil Network OPORA presented to the members and secretariat of the Central Election Commission the concept of a comprehensive study aimed at updating the State Voter Register, which they plan to carry out in the coming six months.

The ban on pro-Russian parties has not led to a governance crisis in local councils where such political forces had significant representation. However, given that it is impossible to replace the expelled deputies from these parties, some communities have already found themselves in a situation of an unstable quorum, which sometimes significantly complicates decision-making. Such a “staff shortage” increases the value of every vote, making councils vulnerable to ad-hoc agreements, which may affect the quality of governance in wartime.