INTRODUCTION

On 6 February, early mayoral election process has started in Kryvyi Rih with the election day scheduled by the Parliament for 27 March 2016.

A small margin between candidates Yurii Vilkul and Yurii Myloboh in the repeated election on 15 November 2015, and lack of trust in the results of Kryvyi Rih city mayoral election caused an acute political conflict.

This election campaign became a political and legal compromise in the conflict over tabulation of votes in the repeated election of Kryvyi Rih city mayor. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted a separate law to schedule early mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih based on investigation results provided by the Temporary Investigation Commission, which was created to investigate facts surrounding the violations in the repeated mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih.

The Parliament chose a legal method of conflict solution, which was not provided by the current legislation. However, such decision made all political parties stop confrontations and start a civilized electoral race. Current Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Yurii Vilkul stays in power despite the early election was scheduled.

Early mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih will be held under absolute majority electoral system. If none of the candidates receives more than a half of given votes on 27 March 2016, the repeated voting will be scheduled. In this case, two candidates who, compared to others, receives the largest number of votes , will participate in the repeated voting. A candidate who receives the relative majority of votes will be considered a winner of the repeated voting.

Today, major challenges may occur in the election process: misuse of administrative resource, and material incentive to the voters through local budget programs. Besides that, all participants of the election process should refrain from any conflict-bearing methods of campaigning and avoid any situations hazarding organization of the early mayoral election. OPORA would like to draw attention of law-enforcement bodies to the fact that political confrontation in the city may be escalated and, therefore, they should systematically respond to any corresponding scenarios.

Current Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Yurii Vilkul is actively using a wide-scale budget assistance program for socially disadvantaged population groups to promote himself before the election. In fact, the assistance is provided in a form of one-time payment (500 UAH). The program may cover around 160 thousand of citizens who are closely related to the election process. Its motives become apparent as it is actively promoted in the media, drawing special attention to the fact that it was initiated by the Mayor. Besides that, we have noticed that municipal mass media are highly involved in coverage of Yurii Vilkul's activities, providing disproportionate information about candidates and their activities to the citizens.

Mass media in Kryvyi Rih publish and broadcast loads of materials that are likely paid, and competitors spread false and malicious information. Some materials, anonymously disseminated in the city, can be characterized as stirring up interregional confrontations.

According to OPORA's observers, although members of Kryvyi Rih City Election Commission are usually conflicting with each other, the Commission is able to take efficient decisions. Thus, city election commission has not committed any major violations in the period from 6 to 21 February, 2016.

OPORA would like to mention that local authorities and State Voter Register maintenance bodies do facilitate the election process and efficiently inform the citizens.

Besides that, law-enforcement bodies demonstrate their openness to co-operation with official observers.  However, there are no wide-scale measures against possible violations of electoral legislation.

The expenditure budget for early election of Kryvyi Rih city mayor is 5 million 737 thousand UAH.

EARLY CAMPAIGNING OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR OF KRYVYI RIH

The legislation establishes precise time constraints for election campaigning, including mayoral election. In particular, the candidates can start campaigning on the day following their official registration by the corresponding territorial election commission. Election campaigning shall cease at 24:00 on the last Friday before the day of voting. It is prohibited to campaign before and after these dates (according to the Article 54 of the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections).

According to the calendar plan for preparation and conduct of Kryvyi Rih mayoral election on 27 March 2016, nomination of candidates shall start in 34 days before the election day (on 22 February). At the same time, registration documents must be submitted to a TEC in 24 days before the election day (on 2 March inclusive). Kryvyi Rih City Election Commission shall stop registration of candidates not later than 23 days before the election day (3 March inclusive). A TEC shall take a decision on registration of a candidate within three days after receiving the corresponding application for registration of a candidate followed by the necessary documentation.

Although the law prohibits campaigning before a candidate is officially registered, some potential election participants have already been realizing public activities which can be characterized as election campaigning.

According to OPORA's data, there were 4 potential candidates for Kryvyi Rih city mayor noticed campaigning before registration: 1) Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Yurii Vilkul; 2) MP of Ukraine, member of the Samopomich faction Semen Semenchenko; 3) individual entrepreneur, Head of the Kryvbas Self-Defense NGO Oleh Boichenko; 4) MP of Kryvyi Rih City Council, Head of the Ukrainian Union of Patriots – UKROP factionMykola Kolesnyk. However, Yurii Myloboh, one of two candidates who participated in the repeated voting in Kryvyi Rih city mayoral election on 15 November 2015, didn't initiate almost any independent activities in the city.

Yurii Vilkul, who participated as a nominee of the Opposition Bloc's local cell in the repeated voting on 15 November 2015, and received the largest number of votes according to the TEC, is still the Mayor of Kryvyi Rih. As long as Vilkul remains the City Mayor for the period of early election campaign, he will have opportunities to use public events held in duty to attract attention of the voters and, in fact, engage them. Thus, current City Mayor is actively organizing meetings with different groups of citizens, for example ATO participants, WW II veterans, employees of core enterprises, religious communities etc.

Meetings of Yurii Vilkul with the citizens were covered by an intense information campaign. Communal and private mass media companies have been widely covering activities of the current Kryvyi Rih Mayor, and many of them were image making and containing features of early campaigning. At the same time, printed information leaflets “Kryvorozhanyn” were disseminated in crowded places. Formally, the leaflet was ordered by a non-governmental organization, but content contained urges to vote for the current mayor in the upcoming early election. Besides that, we have noticed that so-called sociological surveys were carried out in the city, which were more aimed to influence public opinion than to research it.

On the official campaign start, Kryvyi Rih City Council has initiated and officially adopted a social program providing one-time financial assistance to socially disadvantaged population groups in amount of 500 UAH. Its implementation was substantiated by the increased tariffs on communal services. The assistance is provided to families with unemployed pensioners, teachers, doctors, students, women having many children, disabled people or other preferential categories[2]. It should be mentioned that municipal mass media, official website of the City Council, and special printed media emphasize the role of City Mayor Yurii Vilkul in realization of the assistance program.

Other potential participants of early mayoral election were much less active. In particular, potential candidate from local cell of the Samopomich Union, MP of Ukraine Semen Semenchenko participated in the Viche (public gatherings), organized meetings with local activists and was often referred to in the media. His candidacy was quite actively discussed at the local level, as long as Yurii Myloboh had suggested on a congress of the Samopomich Union to nominate Semenchenko for mayor of Kryvyi Rih. Party cell in Kryvyi Rih received this decision from the party congress[4].

MP of Ukraine, member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc 'Solidarity' faction Konstiantyn Usov, who was elected to Ukrainian Parliament in the single-member district #33 (Kryvyi Rih), has often appeared  in local media.

Since late January 2016, outdoor advertising in the city was aimed to influence public opinion against political rivals. For example, there was outdoor advertising materials designed similarly to logos of the Samopomich Union with the following statements: “For Revolutionary change of authorities in Kryvyi Rih”, “Samopomich comes, Galician rules brings”.

The corresponding outdoor advertising in the city was aimed to emphasize regional identification of various political parties, dividing them into 'local' and 'not local'[6].

Table “Activeness of potential candidates in Kryvyi Rih city mayoral election, which was noticed before their official nomination and registration”

Thus, a number of potential candidates have started early campaigning efforts before their official registration. From a legal point of view, it is quite difficult to differentiate between current activities of a public figure and, in fact, violation of official campaign time constraints. However, from the factual view, if some candidates start campaigning too early and other follow time constraints, it is called the violation of equal opportunities principle.

Thus, when the current Mayor Yurii Vilkul uses a social assistance program to promote himself before the election, such activities are hindering the principle of equal opportunities. As long as there are no formal limitations on current activities of the City Council, one of the candidates gains non-competitive privileges in the context of election process. However, we are concerned about rhetorics in the anonymous political advertising, goaled to escalate interregional misunderstandings (i.e. outdoor advertisement with the statement “Samopomich comes, Galician rules brings”).

INTEREST OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN KRYVYI RIH EARLY MAYORAL ELECTION

According to the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections, central administrative body of a party shall take a decision on participation of its local organizations in the corresponding election. Thus, political parties which decided that their local cells are going to participate in elections of city mayor in Kryvyi Rih, were supposed to submit a copy of the corresponding decision to the CEC not later than thirty five days before the election day (until 20 February inclusive). Having received the documents, the CEC published the list of political parties, which approved participation of their local cells in the corresponding local elections, on its official website. A number of political parties, which nominated candidates in 25 October Kryvyi Rih mayoral election, haven't passed a decision for participation in early mayoral elections. For example, parties Opposition Bloc[8].

Thus, local cells of political parties, which decided to participate in early election of Kryvyi Rih city mayor, can nominate candidates and submit the corresponding documents to the city election commission since 22 February 2016. Individuals willing to nominate themselves are allowed to do so starting with this date.

ELECTORAL VIOLATIONS AND CONFLICTS

As for the negative factors affecting the electoral process in Kryvyi Rih, we should mention early campaigning and disproportionate coverage of public activities, initiated by potential candidates, in municipal mass media. Besides that, the current city mayor uses social assistance program for his benefit, providing material incentives to the citizens financed from the local budget.

Some activities of potential candidates had features of early election campaigning. On one hand, inobservance of campaign time constraints hazards the principle of equal opportunities after the registration process. On the other hand, unfair campaigning cannot receive the corresponding legal assessment before potential candidates are officially registered. As a result, for example, current Mayor Yurii Vilkul uses local assistance program providing one-time payment to socially disadvantaged population groups as an incentive for the voters before he is officially registered as a candidate. Besides that, early campaigning of various potential candidates complicates oversight of electoral expenditures, as long as election fund accounts haven't event been registered yet.

OPORA's observers have noticed that municipal media provided a comprehensive coverage of the Current Mayor's activities, far above the usual level of information about activities of an official working at a local self-government body. TRK “Rudana” and newspaper“ Chervonyi Hirnyk”, which belong to municipal property, are among such media, for example.

Potential candidates were also disseminating dirty campaign materials to smear their potential opponents. Interregional prejudices used in political advertising, however, have raised special concern.

ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION

According to the Calendar plan of main organizational activities on preparation and conduct of early mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih, the CEC is supposed to realize the following steps: 1) to take a decision allowing non-governmental organizations to conduct observation of the corresponding local elections (NGOs were supposed to submit the corresponding appeals not later than 15 February, and the CEC was obliged to decide on these appeals within five days after receiving them); 2) to publish the list of political parties which have approved participation of their local organizations in regular local elections on its official website; 3) to inform territorial election commissions about any violations of candidate nomination procedure (concerning simultaneous nomination of candidates in different levels of elections or from more than one party); 4) to register official observers representing foreign countries and international organizations; 5) to determine the amount of monetary pledge for participation in early mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih; and some other responsibilities.

Taking into consideration the scheduled early election of Kryvyi Rih city mayor, first elections to village, settlement and city councils of united territorial communities, district councils in Kyiv city, as well as the corresponding elections of village, settlement and city heads, the CEC applied on 2/4/2016 to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine concerning extension of budget financing to allocate state budget subventions to local budgets for organization of elections to city councils and of village, settlement and city heads[10].

City Election Commission usually adheres to procedural requirements, prepares draft resolutions and keeps minutes of its meetings[12] submitted an appeal to Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court concerning illegitimacy of the decision taken by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine concerning appointment of election in Kryvyi Rih for 3/27/2016, demanding to oblige Kryvyi Rih City Election Commission to refrain from announcing the start of election campaign, to secure the right of this NGO to get a permit for official observers and register them. Kryvyi Rih City Election Commission, for its part, has filed objection against the lawsuit. Court sitting, scheduled for 2/18/2016, didn't take place because the plaintiff appealed for its postponement, and a judge from judge panel couldn't participate in consideration of the case due to the health condition. Thus, the sitting was postponed for uncertain period. However, the City Election Commission has announced the start of election campaign in spite of the lawsuit[14]. According to this plan, executive committees of district city councils were supposed to choose and equip locations for placards, stands, leaflets and other printed campaign materials in accordance with law regulations. According to OPORA's observers, spaces for placement of campaign materials are available in all districts of the city.

OPORA denotes that local authorities supply territorial election commissions with all the necessary materials and technical means, and provide the needed assistance.

CONCLUSIONS

We have noticed the following tendencies on the start of early mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih:

• The solution the Parliament has chosen for appointment of early mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih is quite ambiguous from the legal perspective, and its legitimacy in questioned by a number of political subjects. At the same time, all the participants of political race must respect the right of Kryvyi Rih citizens to choose the future of their territorial community.
• Some potential candidates started campaigning too early, before they were nominated and registered. It is impossible to secure oversight of expenses on such activities and, besides that, it hazards the principle of equal opportunities for candidates.
• Current Mayor Yurii Vilkul, who is a potential candidate, was actively using public events held in duty to attract attention of the voters and receive non-competitive benefits. The monetary assistance program, initiated by Kryvyi Rih City Council and the City Mayor, has features of administrative resources misuse to give the voters material incentive. At the same time, this problem lies in the political standards, taking into consideration that local authorities cannot be banned from realization of budget programs during an election campaign.
• Local mass media and municipal mass media in particular provided a disproportionate coverage of public activities of the current Mayor, materials apparently contained 'dzynsa' (hidden advertising) as well as paid materials. The competitors, for their part, disseminated provocative calls or information.
• In terms of the organization, the election process is quite stable in Kryvyi Rih, materials and technical means are provided, and local authorities facilitate the arrangements in accordance with the law. However, law enforcement bodies should be more active in implementation of the system of responding to election law violations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

National Police of Ukraine

• To secure proper competence of police officers in electoral matters through complex trainings;
• To introduce a system of prompt responding to electoral violations and strengthen the preventive function of law-enforcement bodies;
• To secure proper response to information about misuse of administrative resources by public officials and civil servants of Kryvyi Rih City Council and other local authorities.

Kryvyi Rih City Council, Kryvyi Rih City Mayor

• To secure all the standards for participation of public officials in the election process, in order to prevent violation of law restrictions and conflict of interests in realization of local programs in terms of election campaign;
• To treat all political parties and electoral subjects equally during official events.

Candidates for Mayor of Kryvyi Rih, local cells of political parties

• To prevent any calls to action, not to disseminate campaign materials that may escalate interregional or other conflicts in the society;
• To secure transparent financing of the election campaign, adhere to reporting regulations, and refrain from spending money on advertising before the candidates are officially registered;
• To avoid non-conventional protests during the election process and file court challenges if there is such a need.