Documents

On July 11, 2019, ten days before the snap parliamentary election on July 21, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted an Electoral Code which introduces a proportional electoral system with open regional party lists for parliamentary elections and harmonizes Ukraine’s electoral legal framework. However, even if signed by the President, the Electoral Code would enter legal force only in December 2023.

The 2019 Ukrainian presidential elections once again proved, for the sixth time in a row, that Ukrainian democracy is solid enough to allow a peaceful transfer of power. Outgoing President Petro Poroshenko accepted his defeat and cleared the way for his successor Volodymyr Zelensky. What marked the presidential elections in Ukraine in 2019? What were their weak points and what are the challenges and tasks which the Ukrainian society and its international partners face in order to improve the electoral processes for the upcoming parliamentary elections? (in German)

The Civil Network OPORA found that the election took place in competitive environment and in compliance with basic standards of genuine elections, whereas cases of breaking national law failed to present any constraints for citizens to exercise their right to vote and be elected. 

Representatives of the Civil Network OPORA reported that the misuse of administrative resources and transparency of campaign financing became two major challenges in February during the Presidential election campaign. They further reported on the establishment of district election commissions and on instances of false accusations launched against certain candidates of being involved in vote buying schemes.

The latest long-term monitoring report on the presidential elections by the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) indicates that there remain some technical flaws with the current legislation concerning the presidential election. These include the lack of limits on the presidential candidates' election funds and the possible appearance of a significant number of biased members of electoral commissions. Other issues concerning early campaigning and the placement of illegal campaigning are also addressed in this report. 

Current issue outlines the status quo of the electoral reform process less than a year before the parliamentary elections in October 2019 and provides an outlook for next year. Observers in Ukraine do not assume that there is currently a majority in the Parliament that supports the introduction of a proportional electoral system with open regional party lists. The completely open outcome of the upcoming presidential elections in March 2019 and the thereto related uncertainty among all political forces in Ukraine will further paralyze the reform process in the upcoming months.

On 20 September 2018, the Ukrainian Parliament appointed 14 new members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and, thus, all nominees proposed earlier by the President. At the same time, the Parliament dismissed 13 CEC commissioners whose terms formally expired already in 2014 (one member’s term ended in February 2017). The new CEC members are appointed for seven years.