On 9 February 2022, the presentation of the main findings and conclusions of the analytical research/study on “Decentralisation of election management bodies: comparative overview of organizational framework and practice in Europe”, commissioned and conducted by the Council of Europe during 2020 – 2021, was held for the members of the Central Election Commission and representatives of its Secretariat*.
Oksana Boyarchuk, member of the Central Election Commission, expressed the gratitude to the Council of Europe for conducting this research upon the request of the CEC, as well as to the Council of Europe experts for useful and insightful presentation. Ms Boyarchuk also highlighted the importance to continue such fruitful cooperation on the issues related to further improvement of election management system in Ukraine.
Franck Daeschler, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Division of elections and participatory democracy, welcomed the participants of the event and stressed on the importance of strengthening the capacity of electoral administration, as well as other electoral stakeholders concerned, to ensure that elections are organised in line with European electoral standards. He expressed his trust that the presented research would be useful for the Ukrainian Central Election Commission to further shape the vision on possible decentralisation of election management in Ukraine and ensured the CEC representatives of the openness and readiness of the Council of Europe to provide further support necessary for establishment of its regional and territorial offices. “We are aware of respective legislative and financial restraints related thereto. However, we believe that it is good to use the time to prepare solid and sound background on this issue, particularly, as regards the development and adoption of the concept on establishment of regional and territorial offices, as well as further development and adoption of necessary by-laws. We believe that the experience of other European countries could bring useful insights and perspectives for bettering election management system in Ukraine”.
The presentation was held online, with participation of the authors of the research – Council of Europe experts Florence Ganoux (France) and Volodymyr Venher (Ukraine) – who presented general overview of the European practices on election management, respective legal framework and practical implications related to decentralized election management approaches in Poland, Romania, Estonia, North Macedonia, covered by the research. During the presentation and exchanges of views, possible operational modes as regards the establishment and functioning of regional and territorial offices of the CEC in Ukraine were discussed.
* The research, as well as presentation of its main findings and conclusions, was delivered upon the request of the CEC with the support of the Council of Europe project “Supporting the transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine”, implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018-2022.
