By-elections – first month of campaigning
On November 27 and December 22, 2020, the Central Election Commission called the by-elections of people’s deputies in single-member constituencies No.50 (Donetsk oblast) and No.87 (Ivano-Frankivsk oblast), correspondingly. By-elections were called in connection with the victory in regular local elections gained by MP Ruslan Trebushkin, who ran for mayor of Pokrovsk, and MP Zinoviy Andriyovych, […]
All-Ukrainian Referendum: What is it, What for, and How is it organized
January, 26, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed, in the second reading and in whole, the draft law “On Popular Rule Through the All-Ukrainian Referendum” (No 3612). The new law is aimed at implementing direct popular rule and address national issues. The law has already “grown” rumours and is surrounded by disinformation. That is why this […]
Competitive second round mayoral election in Kryvyi Rih
On 6 December 2020, the second round of mayoral election took place in Kryvyi Rih. Kostiantyn Pavlov (Opposition Platform – For Life) competed with Dmytro Shevchyk (Servant of the People). According to the 25 October vote results, these candidates took the second and third places, respectively, while the candidate with the largest number of votes, […]
Joint Statement On Restoring Political Party Reporting Deadlines
Photo: ifesukraine.org Background: On April 2, 2020, a range of legal changes titled, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Aimed at Providing Additional Social and Economic Guarantees in Connection with the Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)” came into force. These amendments included changes to Ukraine’s Political Party Law which deferred political parties’ […]
Chernivtsi mayoral runoff – no critical disruptions in election administration
On 29 November 2020, the second round of mayoral election was held in Chernivtsi. The vote took place at 115 polling stations, with approximately 185.5 thousand voters included in voter lists. Candidate Roman Klichuk (The Only Alternative party cell) competed with Vitalii Mykhailishyn (The Mykhailishyn Team party cell). OPORA has realized long-term and short-term […]
Half of the elections marked by voter bribery schemes and incidents of this increased significantly
Local election commission count votes in Boyarka, Kyiv Oblast, 25.10.2020, Source: kyivpost.com (Kostyantyn Chernichkin) Briefing summary According to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU), the second round of mayoral elections on November 22 was mostly held in accordance with international standards of fair and free elections, but in five cities, there was […]
Highly competitive runoff elections with deliberate disinformation and smear campaigns
OPORA STATEMENT PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FOLLOWING OBSERVATION OF RUNOFF CITY MAYOR ELECTIONS HELD ON 22 NOVEMBER, 2020 On 22 November, runoff mayoral elections took place in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia Oblas; Dnipro; Drohobych, Lviv Oblast; Lviv; Mykolaiv; Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; Poltava; Rivne; Slovyansk, Donetsk Oblast; Uzhhorod; and Cherkasy. OPORA observers conducted long-term and short-term observations of the elections focusing […]
No widespread violations, but need for professionalization of election commissions
SUMMARY OPORA INTERIM REPORT The OPORA civil network will conduct the observation of the runoff mayoral elections that will take place on 22 November, 2020, in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia Oblast; Dnipro; Drohobych, Lviv Oblast; Lviv; Mykolaiv; Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; Poltava; Rivne; Slovyansk, Donetsk Oblast; Uzhhorod; and Cherkasy. Between these eleven Ukrainian cities, four mayoral candidates […]
Increase in black PR and manipulative schemes to gain votes
Polling station in Dnipro, 25.10.2020. Source: rferl.org Briefing summary CVU Chairman Oleksiy Koshel noted that the CVU recorded many cases of black PR on the eve of the second round of elections. “Before the election, we are seeing massive use of black PR. We have the impression that black PR has grown significantly compared […]
Lowest turnout in 10 years due to weekend quarantine order
Source: atlanticcouncil.org (REUTERS/Stanislav Kozliuk) Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) Chairman Oleksiy Koshel noted that elections took place in seven city communities. In five of these communities, typical violations of electoral law were recorded, which did not significantly impact results. These included mistakes in commissions’ work, several examples of obstruction to observers’ work, including that of […]