Seeking election system change for local election, MPs of Ukraine failed to take into consideration that voting rights of internally displaced persons from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as well as AR Crimea and Sevastopol must be guaranteed. Draft Law on Local Elections #2831-3, adopted in the first reading, doesn't regulate this problem. Thus, Civil Network OPORA and Donetsk regional branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine All-Ukrainian NGO have cooperated with a group of MPs (Nataliia Veselova, Oleksii Riabchyn, Serhii Taruta and Oleksandr Chernenko) have developed corrections to the second reading of the bill, which envisage conditions for participation of internally displaced persons in regular local elections.
Disregard of IDPs' voting rights on local election is not only contrary to international standards established by the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in the country (1998) and Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on internally displaced persons (2006), but also questions the equality of constitutional rights.
A group of MPs in cooperation with NGO representatives has drafted and introduced propositions to the Draft Law of Ukraine on Local Elections, adopted in the first reading on 18 June 2015, which envisage conditions for participation of internally displaced persons in regular local elections (the corresponding propositions and corrections were made by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii on behalf of the group). It was proposed to give IDPs an opportunity to change their voting address by submitting a personal application to a Voter Register maintenance body by their factual residence address not later than thirty days before the voting day in national or local elections. The factual residence address indicated in the IDP registration certificate is suggested to be a new voting address of an internally displaced person. State Voter Register maintenance bodies can apply to a body issuing IDP registration certificates to verify reasons for election address change.
Thus, eligible IDP voters who permanently reside in new territorial communities can apply to a voter register maintenance body and receive a real chance to cast vote in October 2015 local elections as well as future nationwide or local elections.
Civil Network OPORA, Donetsk regional branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine All-Ukrainian NGO and a group of MPs (Nataliia Veselova, Oleksii Riabchyn, Serhii Taruta and Oleksandr Chernenko) have signed a Statement, calling Ukrainian Parliament to provide legislation that guarantees participation of internally displaced persons in local elections and secure in such a way the equality of citizen constitutional rights; to demonstrate Ukraine's adherence to international standards on IDPs. Follow the link below to see full text of the statement.
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