Urgent action needed to ensure funding and guidance for anti-COVID equipment and measures
Today, representatives of civil society organizations in Ukraine sent a letter to Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, requesting that urgent action be taken to ensure that there is full funding of anti-COVID measures and that central and local authorities have clear guidance to follow in obtaining necessary equipment […]
Holding polls on the Election Day contradicts the Electoral Code
Photo: eutoday.net The Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) is concerned with the initiative of the President of Ukraine Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskii on holding an all-country poll on the voting day of the October 25 regular local elections. The Electoral Code of Ukraine does not stipulate procedures for the conduct of an all-country poll […]
Need for urgent guidance on COVID19 measures and related procurements ahead of local elections
Photo: ifesukraine.org Joint statement On October 25, Ukraine will hold nationwide local elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. With cases rising nationally, it is of the utmost importance that all Ukrainian voters and electoral actors can participate in these elections safely, with established mitigation measures in place. Draft Law Number 4117 introducing […]
Legal uncertainty, illegal campaigning, and confusion over procedures – summary of the first month of the election campaign
Photo: unian.info EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In September 2020, the local election process continued amid ongoing discussions in the parliament about the legislative regulation of the election in a pandemic. The government’s key objective is to introduce clear action algorithms for the election commission members and voters, as well as to conduct proper outreach campaigns to […]
Second interim report: legal uncertainty, illegal campaigning, and confusion over procedures
Continuous amendments to the Election Code during an ongoing election go against Venice Commission recommendations and cause legal uncertainty for the local elections in Ukraine. Illegal campaigning was recorded as the most common electoral misconduct in the past month and unclear explanations by the Central Election Commission on new procedures may cause confusion and threaten […]
Press conference on election campaign
The most prevalent cases of electoral misconduct in September in Ukraine related to illegal campaigning, according to Civil Network OPORA, who shared their findings at a press conference on October 2nd in Kyiv. However, OPORA considers the most alarming cases, with the gravest consequences for the democratic election process, to include material incentives for voters […]
Monitoring of Political Ads on Facebook over first half September
What party or candidate spent the most, who shares ads with mistakes, and what Ukrainian party paid for Facebook ads in RUB. In the beginning of autumn, most politicians and political forces planning to run for local elections have become more active in social media. OPORA has explored activity levels of political parties on Facebook in June […]
CSO statement of concern over draft law that may remove oversight provisions over campaign finance
Image source: Civil Network Opora JOINT STATEMENT on the change of provisions of election legislation on the functioning of election funds and exercise of state control over them in local elections September 28th, 2020 The signatories of this statement express their concern about the possible changes in the provisions of the election legislation regarding […]
How to organize local elections during the pandemic
Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) co-published this report with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung on how to organize elections safely during the pandemic with specific recommendations for the local elections in Ukraine.
1. Interim observation mission report
Opora issued their first interim report of the pre-election campaign period for the local elections. Officially, election campaigning began 05 September, however, political parties, their local organizations, and potential candidates de facto already launched their active campaigning in August. This stage of early campaigning is unregulated by any electoral legal framework and there are no […]