Special elections of the President of Ukraine and local elections in some cities are scheduled for May 25. Taking into consideration the short period of the campaign, difficult political and economic situation, and imperfect legislation, inherited from the previous government, current government and the society should maximally consolidate and mobilize their efforts to overcome such problems and conduct the elections properly. In such context, all the talks about postponement of special elections of the President are counterproductive, and don't correspond to social moods and the necessity to legitimize and reload the government.
Ukraine has received a historic chance for making fast and efficient reforms in all branches of the state policy. Electoral reform, which is being discussed for more than 10 years, is not an exception.
Core civic organizations, experienced, knowledgeable, and competent, are ready to join this process.
The role of elections and political context
2014 special elections of the President of Ukraine will positively influence the settlement of political crisis, if conducted according to amended laws and international standards. However, a number of factors may hazard the campaign. In particular, the presence of RF troops on Ukrainian territory, attempts to delegitimize the election process by political sabotages and provocations.
Abovementioned threats may be prevented by signing a political agreement on free competition and obedience to the law between subjects of the election process, securing campaign transparency at all stages of its organization, due and qualitative activities of law-enforcement and judicial systems, and comprehensive civic watch.
Simultaneously, local and mayoral elections, which will take place in 26 communities including Kyiv on May 25, may be organized according to the law, adopted in 2010 and highly criticized by Ukrainian experts and international specialists.
Besides that, quality of local campaigns may be affected by low attention of the public and media due to the national campaign. Another important fact is that special elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine may be scheduled for spring, according to promises given by the new government to citizens and participants of protests occurring in late 2013-early 2014. Therefore, the circle of government reformatting through legal mechanisms will be finished.
Taking into consideration the "window of opportunities" for a comprehensive electoral reform, civic organizations have determined topical strategic goals for proper realization of democratic practices in Ukraine.
Short-term objectives:
- Urgent adoption of Draft amendments to the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine, which includes recommendations of Ukrainian expert organizations, in the second reading and as a whole ( http://oporaua.org/news/4398-vybory-prezydenta-z-onovlenym-zakonom-ta-prozoroju-cvk);
- Legislative regulation and conditions for realization of active voting right of Ukrainian citizens, which live on territories, occupied by RF troops;
- Amendment of the Law of Ukraine on the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, and securing its legitimacy till the end of presidential election campaign. We remind that 13 of 15 members of the CEC will have to leave their posts because their 7-year term of office comes to an end on 1 June 2014;
- Making technical and procedural amendments to the Law of Ukraine on the Elections of Deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Deputies of Local Councils, Village, Town and City Heads, and introduction of absolute majority system for elections of city mayors (two rounds of voting);
- Besides abovementioned issues, proper measures should be taken by law-enforcement agencies to investigate electoral violations committed during previous campaigns, particularly officials abusing powers (administrative resource) during election process, monetary bribery, falsification of electoral documentation by commission members. Unfortunately, having sabotaged loud cases on previous campaigns, law-enforcement bodies caused violation of democratic standards and created preconditions for impunity and systematic violations, what had influenced election results.
Mid-term objectives:
- To appoint and conduct special elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine till the end of 2014. Such step will allow to renew the legislative branch, decrease political corruption and raise the quality of acting MPs, some of which have stopped fulfilling their duties, entrusted by the law and electorate;
- To conduct a large-scale qualitative discussion among election law experts, MPs, and journalists regarding introduction of proportional electoral system with open regional lists. Updated system should take into consideration the political context, assist to combating corruption during election process, give reasons for inter party democracy, and secure representativeness of legislative branch of the government. To adopt the Law of Ukraine on Elections of People Deputies of Ukraine in a new wording, with perspectives for codification of the election legislation;
- To organize wide discussion on the change of electoral system for the conduction of local elections before regular in 2015, with mandatory attraction of all the stakeholders. To adopt new wording of the Law of Ukraine on the Elections of Deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Deputies of Local Councils, Village, Town and City Heads, based on the new electoral system and with perspective for codification;
- To reconsider the formation of the Central Election Commission and deprive the President of Ukraine of an excessive control of and influence on this process; to select a new commission membership according to the transparent procedure after 2014 Presidential elections. To determine a precise system and sequence of providing political quotas in membership of the CEC in draft amendments to the Law on Central Election Commission;
- To prepare and adopt the Law of Ukraine on National Referendum in a new wording, and prepare a draft Law of Ukraine on Local Referendum. These legislative acts should correspond to democratic practices and standards for organization of a referendum as a direct democracy instrument.
Long-term objectives:
- With participation of stakeholders, experts, and the public, new convocation of the Parliament should conduct a comprehensive reform of electoral legislation and adopt the Election Code not later that the end of the 2nd session of its activities.
Realization of active electoral rights of citizens on occupied territories
As long as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol are occupied by foreign troops, the Law of Ukraine on Elections of the President of Ukraine needs to be supplemented by regulations, securing electoral rights of citizens living on occupied territories.
Amendments to the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine, which were already proposed by MPs of Ukraine, provide the possibility of considering the election process to be completed even if it's impossible to determine results in some polling stations or districts. Such amendments solve the issue of legitimacy, even if polling stations were not opened on the certain territory of Ukraine. Still, they don't secure voting rights of citizens who live on this territory.
It's obvious today that it will be difficult to conduct proper election process in Crimea and Sevastopol, sabotaged by local government representatives and foreign troops present. However, Ukraine should secure observance of electoral right of citizens, willing to use this right.
As long as this issue is complicated from both legislative and organizational side, civic organizations are calling to urgent conduction of expert discussion, study the experience of other countries which organized election process while their territories were occupied (Georgia, Moldova), assess possible hazards and risks, and determine the amount of necessary additional resources. Amendments to the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine need to be developed and adopted during a short period. As long as the issue of occupied territories is temporary, organization of elections there should be secured by transient regulations of the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine.
During the development of the corresponding regulations, to pay special attention to the following aspects:
- The principle of formation and peculiarities of election commissions' functioning on occupied territories or adjacent to them;
- Formation of electoral commissions, equipping polling stations for a large number of voters participating;
- Voter lists compilation procedure for such polling stations and procedure for their updating;
- Possibility of organized transportation of voters to polling places;
- Safe transportation and keeping of election documentation and ballot papers, safety of voters.
Civic organizations are ready to initiate such a discussion, participate in development of the corresponding amendments to the legislation, and help to organize the voting process for citizens living on occupied territories.
Urgent measures regarding the law on local elections
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine scheduled the conduction of special elections of mayors in 26 cities (including 4 oblast centers - Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odesa, Chernivtsi) for 25 May 2014. Kyiv Mayoral and City Council elections will be held on this day too.
Still, as of early March, the improvement of the law on local elections wasn't considered by the Parliament. Draft Law on making amendments to the Law of Ukraine on the Elections of Deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Deputies of Local Councils, Village, Town and City Heads #2664, introduced by MP Ruslan Kniazevych, was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the first reading. Besides that, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has cut the time for preparation of abovementioned law to the second reading.
As long as the effective Law of Ukraine on the Elections of Deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Deputies of Local Councils, Village, Town and City Heads doesn't secure fair and democratic elections, we think that such actions of MPs are justified, because less than 3 weeks have left to the start of local elections.
Generally, draft law #2664 eliminates a lot of drawbacks, pointed out by international and Ukrainian experts.
In particular, such innovations are:
- Giving Ukrainian civic organizations the right to observe the election process;
- Using regular polling stations for the elections, created during 2012 Parliamentary elections;
- Possibility of substitute members of election commissions instead of their withdrawal;
- Obligation to provide supporting documents in order to get the right to vote at home;
- Allowing self-nomination to candidates for MPs and for city mayors;
- Territorial election commissions cannot cancel candidate's registration for errors and inaccuracies in submitted documents;
- Candidates' registration cannot be canceled after two warnings concerning violation of electoral legislation;
- Regulation of political advertising rules;
- Wider rights of national observers, in particular the right to receive copies of protocols on vote count;
- Cancellation of voting "Against all";
- Territorial election commissions are deprived of the right to declare voting at a polling station void (what considerably affected voting results in 2010).
However, civic organizations think that the bill still contains the certain drawbacks, which may hazard proper organization of the election process. Such drawbacks are:
- Transient regulations of the Law don't contain a regulation securing that in case presidential and local elections are conducted simultaneously, precinct election commissions should conduct voting and vote count in accordance with the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine.
- There is no differentiation of election campaigning and informing the voters;
- Candidates for MP, for city, town, or village head are not obliged to open the election fund;
- Observers from civic organizations can be removed from polling stations during the voting, what is contrary to the Law of Ukraine on Election of the President of Ukraine.
We emphasize that it’s necessary to introduce the second round for mayoral elections. Such regulation was discussed and highly approved by the experts. We think that the second round of local elections could be held simultaneously with the second round of Presidential elections, to cut the State budget expenditure.