As part of the national virtual conference in Ukraine entitled “2020 Local Elections: Lessons Learned and Recommendations” which was held on 27 January 2021, Stewart Dickson (United Kingdom, ILDG), Congress Spokesperson on the Observation of Local and Regional Elections, presented findings of the Congress Information report on the local elections in Ukraine to major election stakeholders, including members of the Ukrainian legislation and government, the President of the Central Electoral Commission and domestic NGOs, as well as country representatives from OSCE and IFES.
Mr Dickson stressed that the Congress report acknowledges the extraordinary circumstances under which elections were held, not only due to the ongoing pandemic, but also regarding the decentralisation and the Constitutional reform as well as recent amendments to the Electoral Code of Ukraine which fundamentally changed the electoral system. “Such setting was entirely new to most stakeholders and brought considerable uncertainties, with voters having a poor understanding of what had changed”, he said.
The Congress Spokesperson also commented on the fact that the electoral system in Ukraine puts independent candidates in a disadvantaged position and does not allow such candidates in municipalities with more than 10,000 voters. “This is problematic from the point of view of international electoral standards”, he stated. As a follow-up, Mr Dickson proposed a transversal report regarding the situation of independents running in local elections which had been detected by the Congress as a recurring issue also in other Council of Europe member States.
On a positive note, Mr Dickson highlighted findings of the information report on an improved situation regarding voting rights of IDPs, a long-standing recommendation of the Congress. During the local elections in Ukraine held on 25 October 2020, IDPs were for the first time able to vote in constituencies of their current residence. On this particular matter, the Congress prepared a report in 2018 and organised a follow-up conference in Kyiv in February 2019. “This was an occasion to exchange about good practice examples in different member countries of the Council of Europe. In the end, progress has been achieved and that is the essential”, Mr Dickson explained.
“The topic of IDPs is a good example of how co-operation, based on election observation, pragmatic recommendations and follow-up activities, can prove beneficial for democratic progress and reform in Council of Europe member States. The situation of independent candidates in local elections is yet another opportunity to remain in dialogue and map out new projects, and Ukraine should pursue its path of electoral reforms”, the Congress Spokesperson concluded.
Conference participants representing the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine, the Parliament and Government of Ukraine, as well as civil society and international community, exchanged their opinions on a variety of topics, such as strengthening the capacities of election commissions; the role of political parties in local elections; challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and the potential introduction of electronic instruments and technologies during elections.
The national virtual conference was organised by the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.
The project “Strengthening democracy and building trust at local level in Ukraine” is implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2021. The project aims to improve the quality of local democracy in Ukraine by strengthening institutional frameworks and by supporting local authorities and their national associations in their efforts to promote ethical decision-making and more citizen-oriented, inclusive and transparent local governance.
