Summary of results on forming the territorial election commission at first local elections in the united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016

OPORA public network is holding the campaign for independent observation at first elections of people’s deputies for village, township and city councils, village, township and city mayors in the united territorial communities that were scheduled by the Central Election Commission for 11^th and 18th of December. 72 observers form OPORA are performing the observation of all the stages of the elections that take place in the united territorial communities. 

One of the most important factors of efficient management of the first local elections in the united territorial communities is the proper operation of the territorial election commissions, which are authorized to create single-mandate election districts or territorial election districts in order to held the elections of the people’s deputies for the relevant village, township and city councils, to register candidates and their agents, authorized representatives, representatives of local party organizations or to take the decisions about the cancellation of their registration; to approve the text and ensure the production of voting papers, to register the official observers; to make the voting results reports.   

OPORA observes ensured the process monitoring and processing of the results of formation of 185 TEC at  first local elections in the united territorial communities, scheduled for 11 and 18 December 2016.

Intermediate conclusions on the results of TEC formation and operation at first local elections in the united territorial communities, on 11 and 18 December 2016:

• Formation of territorial election commissions at first local elections in the united territorial communities,  scheduled for 11 and 18 December 2016 was, mostly, done according to the legislative requirements and without conflicts. Violation of the legislative requirements during formations of TECs by the district election commissions  were rare and not systematic;
• Small number of violations, detected by the observers, were concerning the late terms of the applications made by the local organizations to nominate the candidates for TEC and creation of these commissions.   Except for that there was a number of cases, when people, proposed as the heads of district election commissions were included to TEC,  while there were enough candidates from the local parties;
• Local parties, who had the right to nominate the members for TEC, didn’t show much activity. Only 15 out of 185 TECs received applications from more than 18 candidates, which was more that the maximal possible number of members and required a random-draw procedure. However, according to OPORA data there were no mass disruption of TEC formation process by the reason of insufficient number of applications from the local parties.
• According to OPORA, 16out of 185 TECs received fewer applications than the minimal allowed number of members in TEC. Most of the commissions had 13 to 15 people (71 out of 185 TECs), 26 TECs has the maximal allowed number of members (18people), at which time not more than 10% of TEC members were appointed on the basis of the recommendations, given by the district election commissions heads.  
• As the local party organizations had right to nominate three candidates to be the members of TEC, two of which are obligatory for consideration, they were the political forces that were dominating in the newly formed commissions. The absence of the random-draw procedure necessity that was observed in most of the cases massively contributed to including to TEC all three candidates, proposed by the local parliamentary party organizations. For instance, “Batkivschina” Party and Blok Petra Poroshenka “Solidarnist” had their 3 representatives (maximal allowed number) more than in 60 % of newly formed commissions.  
• “Samopomich” union had the smallest number of people in TECs among all the local parliamentary party organizations. This political actor sent their candidates only to 32 out of 185 TECs. Whereas “Batkivschina” Party had the biggest number of TEC members at first local elections to united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016  and is represented in most of the TECs;
• Local offices of political parties “Nash Kray”, Agrarian Party, “Party of the Ukrainian Patriots UKROP” and “Svoboda” Party were the most active among the political actors, which don’t have their parliamentary groups in the current convocation of Parliament  in submitting the applications for their candidates. But even those parties far not always used the possibility to nominate one candidate to each TEC or they didn’t have their registered centers in specific territorial communities. For example, local organizations of “Nash Kray” Party had 66 members in TECs on this elections, “Svoboda” Pary had 40.

Creation of TEC at first local elections to the united territorial communities on 11 and18 December 2016

Village, township and city election commission were created by the district election commissions according to the calendar plans as to the organization and holding the first local elections in united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016.   TECs for the elections of 11 December 2016 had to be formed by the 20^th of October, and the deadline for the elections of  the 18^th of December was the 5^th of November inclusive. 

Before the district TECs issued the decision about the creation of village, township and city election commissions, the process of nominating the candidates to the village, township and city election commissions by the local political party organizations took place. The candidates for the membership in TECs could be nominated by the local party organizations, that have deputy fractions in the Ukrainian Parliament, as well as the local party organization, registered in the relevant territory, as it is provided for in the legislation about the local elections.

Applications of local political parties organizations for nomination of the candidates for the membership in TECs

Local political parties organizations were allowed to nominate no more than two candidates for the membership in TEC and local party organization duly registered in the relevant communities – not more than one candidate.  Candidates from the local party organization were obligatory for inclusion to TEC. At the same time the applications from other parties had to undergo the random-draw procedure if their number was bigger than the number of the vacant seats in TEC, after the inclusion of the obligatory candidates. Thus the legislation allows the local parliamentary party organizations to nominate three candidates to each TEC, two of which would be obligatory.

The term for nomination of the candidates to TECs by the local political parties organizations expired on the 26th October (for the elections on the 11^th of December) and on 2^nd of November (for the elections on the 18^th of December). 

According to OPORA observers, local political parties organizations and district election commissions met the terms for placing the applications for the candidates to village, township and city election commissions, and the cases of violations were not numerous.

There were only 6 cases out of 185 of newly formed TECs, when applications from local organizations of political parties were made with violation of the terms defined by the legislation.  For example, Ivanichivsk district election commission (Volynsk region), during the creation of Pavlivsk village election commission created the relevant election commission before the deadline for applications from the local party organizations expired (for the elections of the 18^th of December). Sumy district election commission (Sumy region), at that, was receiving the applications from the local party organizations for creation of Nyzhnyosyrovatska and Bezdrytska village election commissions, and Hotin and Mykolayivsk election commissions later than the determined deadline (for the elections of the 18^th of December).

Local Elections Act sets up the list of reasons of turning down the candidates, included to the relevant applications of the local political parties organizations by district election commissions, forming TECs. 

18 cases of turning down  TEC candidates, included to the relevant applications of the local political parties organizations, detected by the observers were connected with the absence of  the right to vote at the relevant elections and technical omissions that were used by the commissions as the right to draw down the candidate and simultaneous inclusion of the same people to the applications of different parties.  Local party organization “Party of the Ukrainian Patriots UKROP” included three candidates to Hrymailiv village election commission (Ternopil region). This political actor doesn’t have a fraction in the current convocation of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and, thus had the right to nominate only one person.  

Taking into account the preferences, given to the local parliament parties organizations during the creation of the election commissions, the biggest number of the candidates for TECs was nominated by “Batkivschina” Party (1^st  place by the number of positions is taken by Blok Petra Poroshenka “Solidarnist”(2), “People’s Front” (3), “Oppositional Block (4), Oleh Lyashko Radical Party (5), “Samopomich” union (6). Among the local party organizations that don’t have fractions in the Parliament, the biggest number of the candidates was included to the applications of Agrarian Party, “Party of the Ukrainian Patriots UKROP” and “Svoboda” Party.

OPORA observers have detected only some single cases of district election commissions not meeting the terms, set out for the creation of TECs. Because of the insufficient number of applications from the local party organizations or their full absence, Chudeyska village and Krasnoyilska township election commissions (Chenivtsy region) were not formed in due time. Thus, according to the observers, 183 out of 185 TECs for the first local elections in united territorial communities for 11^th an 18^th of December were formed in due time. 

Formation of TECs at the first local elections in the united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016

According to the Local Elections Act TEC can be comprised of a minimum of 9 people and maximum of 18.  

According to OPORA only 26 out of 185 TECs we created with the maximum of members at the first local elections in the united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016. 32 TECs had the minimal number (9 people). 16 out of these 23 TECs were the village election commissions.

Most frequently the number of members in TEC was 13 to 15 members (71 out of 185 TECs). At the same time 45 TECs had 10-12 members, 20 TECs – from 16 to 17 members.

Number of TECs, having the maximal number of members, shows, on one hand, not very big interest of local organizations of political parties to have their own representative in commissions of such level. On the other hand, local party organizations, first of all parliamentary had applied for such a number of positions, that was sufficient to create TEC of 9 or more people.

Thus, during the formation of TEC there was no mass disruption of this stage of election process because of the local organization activities on nominating the candidates to the election commissions were critically low. Only in some cases local political parties organizations nominated totally less than 9 people and the district election commissions had to look for the members themselves in order to form the minimal allowed number of members.  However it is needed to emphasize that a number of district election commissions included members to TECs according to their own submissions even when there were enough candidates from the local party organizations (up to 5 such cases). 

Number of TEC members at the first local elections in the united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016

TECs at the first local elections to the united territorial communities on the 11^th and 18^th of December were mostly created without holding the draw procedure among the  candidates, nominated by the local organizations of political parties.  It was connected with the fact that only 15 out of 185 TECs had more than 18 applications made by the local organizations.

Division of TECs by the number of candidates, nominated by the local party organizations

Representation of local party organizations at TECs at the first local elections in the territory communities on 11 and 18 December 2016

The biggest number of election commissions members, including management, at first local elections to the united territory communities  was obtained by the parliamentary political parties. This is supported by OPORA observers data, received in course of monitoring of TECs creation process.

The biggest number of members in 185 TECS have “Batkivschina” Party (431),    Blok Petra Poroshenka “Solidarnist” (410), “People’s Front”, “Oppositional Block”, Oleh Lyashko Radical Party (222).  At the same time “Samopomich” union, that has a deputy fraction in the Verkhovna Rada is considerably behind, having only 71 representatives in TECs. After the local party organizations, represented in parliament, the biggest number of members in TECs have “Nash Kray” (66), Agrarian Party (63), “Party of the Ukrainian Patriots UKROP” (61)   and “Svoboda” (40). The local organization of Vidrodzhennya” Party have more than 10 representatives in different TECs (14). Local organizations of other political actors separately have less than 10 members in all of 185 TECs.

Representation of local party organizations at TECs at the first local elections to the territory communities on 11 and 18 December 2016 (only the data about the parties, which have not less than 10 members totally in all TECs are included)

Out of six parties that have deputy fractions in Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the representatives of “Samopomich” union are absent in the biggest number of TECs at the first local elections in united territorial communities on 11^th and 18^th of December.  This political actor has the representatives, delegated by the local party organizations to be the members of the commissions only in 32 out of 185 TECs, at the same time this party doesn’t have a single representative in 153 TECs. Local organizations of “Oppositional Block” party and Radical Party of Oleg Lyashko doesn’t have a single representative in more than 80 out of 185 TECs.

“Batkivschina” Party is represented in the biggest part of TECs at the first local elections for the united territorial communities on the 11^th and 18^th of December, not having a single member of commission only in 19 TECs.   Local organizations of “Blok Petra Poroshenko” are absent in 26 TECs, in all other commissions this political actor had 1 to 3 representatives.

Detailed level of representation of local party organizations at TECs at the first local elections in the territory communities on 11 and 18 December 2016

Local Party organizations, that have deputy fractions in Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, extensively used the opportunity to nominate not 2 but 3 candidates to the newly formed TECs.  This political actors could make applications not only for the obligatory candidates, but also claim for the additional seat in the relevant commissions. Taking into account the fact, that most of the commissions were formed not with its maximal possible number of members and there was no random draw of candidates to become the members of TECs, the local organizations of parliamentary parties received 3 seats.    For example, “Batkivschina” party was represented by three members in almost 63% of TECs at the relevant first elections in the united territorial communities, Blok Petra Porosenka “Solidarnist” in 60 % of commissions. 

According to OPORA observers the biggest number of TEC heads (village, township and city) at the first local elections in united territorial communities is represented by the local organizations of political party Blok Petra Poroshenka “Solidarnist” (55 seats).  Local organizations of “Batkivschina” Party and “People’s Front” have 49 and 33 seats accordingly.

Local political parties organizations, having the biggest number of managerial positions in TECs at first elections in united territorial communities on 11 and 18 December 2016.

In separate cases, people, appointed for a position in TEC, were included to such commissions through the submissions made by the heads of district election commissions. Such facts took place not only in cases, when the local party organizations didn’t propose enough candidates to form TEC in its minimal number (9 members). Sometimes candidates were included to TECs or even appointed to the managerial positions by the regional election commissions submission, irrespective of presence of enough candidates, nominated by local political parties organizations.  Such problematic situations were reported during the creation of Muzykivka village election commission (Kherson region), Osypenkivsk and Hrysivsk village election commissions (Zaporizhzhya region), Bashtanka town election commission (Mykolayib region) and in some other cases.  

Such practice, that, however, was not common during the creation of TECs at first local elections in united territorial communities on 11^th and 18^th of December, contradicts to the provision of Ukrainian Local Elections Act Part 17 Article 22. The possibility of including the candidates through the submission of the election commission head is provided for by the legislation only in case of absence of 9 candidates from the local political parties organizations.

OPORA observers have detected that the candidates, included to the application of the same local party organization were appointed for the positions of Deputy Head and Secretary of Nyzhniy Verbizh village election commission (Ivano-Frankivsk Region). However, according to the legislation the Head, Deputy Head and Secretary of TEC should be the representatives of different applicants. According to Part2 Article 22 of Ukrainian Local Elections Act, such applicants can be the local party organization the creation of deputy fraction of which was announced at first regular session of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the current convocation and that are registered at the relevant territorial unit.  

It is provided for by the legislation, that the decision of regional election commissions about formation of TECs at first local elections in the united territorial communities should be announced in the local printed MEDIA or in the other way as agreed, not less than the next day after such decision was taken. According to the data, provided by the OPRA observers, these requirement as to the provision of access to the information about TEC members were not fulfilled by the considerable part of the regional election commissions.