On October 27, 2023, an Expert discussion of the criteria for the possibility / impossibility to conduct elections / referenda in Ukraine in the post-war period was held by the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development (hereinafter – profile Parliamentary Committee) in cooperation and with the support of the Council of Europe*.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development and of Parliamentary factions (groups), representatives of the Central Election Commission, ministries and state authorities concerned, as well as representatives of profile civil society organizations and expert community took part in the discussion.
Among the issues discussed, there were criteria for the possibility/impossibility to conduct elections/referenda on different types of territories; necessary conditions for organising and conducting post-war elections/referenda; state bodies to be authorised to render a decision regarding the possibility / impossibility to conduct elections/referenda on a certain territory, as well as procedures for complaints and appeals with regard to a respective decision.
While opening the event, Ms. Olena SHULYAK, Chair of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development, emphasized that, regardless of when the post-war elections will be held, they should be held free and fair and in line with the European standards and good practices. She assured that the profile Parliamentary Committee will do everything to ensure that the legislative framework will be elaborated based on democratic approaches in order to conduct democratic and safe elections.
Mr. Oleksandr KORNIYENKO, the First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine, emphasized that current legislative framework for the conduct of the first post-war elections is not only insufficient, but it does not respond to the challenges that Ukraine is facing and will face after the war. In addition to the security concerns, it also implies the challenges related to ensuring electoral rights for military personnel, but also for millions of internally displaced Ukrainians and millions of Ukrainians who were forced to leave Ukraine due to the war. In this context, the work on the update of the State Register of Voters will be of paramount importance.
Ms. Alina ZAHORUYKO, Deputy Chair of the profile Parliamentary Committee, chair of the sub-committee on elections, referenda and other forms of direct democracy, expressed the hope that the Expert discussion will help to further elaborate and improve the developed draft law regarding the issues of possibility / impossibility to organise and conduct post-war elections / referenda in Ukraine being currently in the making of the profile Parliamentary sub-committee she is chairing.
Respective initiative for the Expert discussion was welcomed by Mr. Maciej JANCZAK, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine. He emphasized, that this meeting was a follow-up action to the support that the Council of Europe has already provided to the Ukrainian authorities and Ukrainian society within the framework of its previous election cooperation programmes, but also to the agreements reached during the High-level dialogue on good democratic governance in Ukraine and the way forward in post-war period, held in Strasbourg in November 2022. He assured the participants of the discussion that the Council of Europe stands ready to provide further necessary support within the framework of the current Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023 – 2026 and its ongoing electoral cooperation project.
It is also planned that the results of the Expert discussion will be used for the further elaboration of the Action plan for the Roadmap on good democratic governance in Ukraine in part of preparation to and conduct of first post-war elections in Ukraine.
TV story about the Expert discussion by Rada TV channel
*The Expert discussion was organised within the framework and with the support of the Council of Europe project “Supporting democratic post-war elections in Ukraine”, implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023 – 2026.
