Supporting democratic post-war elections in Ukraine
The Council of Europe has been implementing electoral cooperation projects in Ukraine since 2015. Particularly, there were:
project on “Reform of the electoral practice in Ukraine” implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2015 – 2017;
project on “Supporting transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine” implemented in three phases within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018 – 2022.
The 2022 Russian full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine led to tremendous and unprecedented consequences to Ukraine: people’s lives, economy and infrastructure, including challenges for democratic processes to follow in a post-war period. Therefore, the Project is aimed at supporting the Ukrainian authorities and civil society to prepare to the first post-war national and local elections in order they are rendered as democratic and in line with international and European standards.
This Action Plan for Ukraine, as well as previous similar documents, is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and Ukrainian authorities. It is aimed at provision of all necessary support to Ukraine and Ukrainian People in the reconstruction and recovery process during and after the war, but also further strengthening and enhancing the resilience of Ukrainian democratic institutions and processes, democratic governance and rule of law, as well as protection of fundamental human rights.
What are the goals of the current project?
The overall objective of the project :
Post-war national and local elections in Ukraine are democratic and held in line with international and European electoral standards and good practices.
The Project activities are intended to enhance and contribute to:
organisation and conduct of post-war national and local elections in secure and level-playing environment in line with European electoral standards and good practices;
re-integration of Ukrainian voters on and from de-occupied territories into political life of Ukraine by exercising their electoral rights within and beyond Ukraine;
participation of Ukrainian voters in elections within and beyond Ukraine in accordance with established electoral and voting procedures;
balanced participation of women and men in post-war political and electoral processes.
Our partners
Throughout the implementation of the electoral cooperation projects in Ukraine, the Council of Europe cooperated with many different organisations and institutions.
The key partners and beneficiaries of the ongoing project are:
Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development;
Central Election Commission of Ukraine.
Herewith, for the purpose and within the framework of Project implementation, the Council of Europe is ready for cooperation with various organisations and institutions, public authorities at various levels, including the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power, higher education institutions, NGOs, international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
Main areas of activities:
supporting multilateral dialogue to reach the consensus on elaboration of necessary legal framework and improvement of current national legislation on issues related to ensuring of active and passive suffrage in post-war period;
contributing to the reconstruction and renewal of democratic pre-requisites for organisation and conduct of post-war elections;
supporting organisation and administration of post-war national and local elections in line with European electoral standards and good practices;
facilitating peer-to-peer exchanges and practice sharing with regard to organisation and conduct of elections in the Council of Europe member States;
supporting electoral justice with the purpose of improving the effectiveness of mechanisms for citizens’ electoral rights protection;
supporting public oversight and independent monitoring of the various cycles and aspects of electoral process, in particular, through the development of monitoring methodology and support of its implementation;
promoting gender equalityand enhancing balanced representation of women and men in politics, being one of the priorities of the Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy 2018 – 2023, by means of supporting legislative action, enhancing women’s capacity to participate in post-war political and electoral processes, as well as holding awareness raising activities among the representatives of the authorities and the public;
raising legal and political culture and awareness of electoral process participations about war-related challenges for the first post-war elections, respective electoral procedures and electoral process in order to ensure democratic post-war elections and to strengthen citizens’ trust towards election results.
Înapoi
Under what conditions can elections be organised in Ukraine?
On September 27, 2023, an online presentation of the Expert analysis on election related part of the draft Roadmap on good democratic governance in Ukraine was presented by the Council of Europe’s experts to the members and representatives of the Parliamentary Committee on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional and Urban Development, as well as members and representatives of the Central Election Commission.
This Expert Analysis on election, developed in the follow-up to agreements reached during the High-level dialogue “Good democratic governance in Ukraine: achievements, challenges and the way forward in post-war period” held in Strasbourg headquarters on 8 – 9 November 2022, was delivered in response to a request of Mr. Oleksandr KORNIYENKO, the First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Oleksandr KORNIYENKO considered that elections are impossible to organise during the war, while underlining the importance, and welcoming the discussions with the experts, on a clear and comprehensive action plan in order to elaborate the solutions and mechanisms enabling democratic post-war elections in Ukraine in line with international and European electoral standards and good practices.
Ms. Claudia LUCIANI, Director of Human Dignity, Equality and Governance of the Council of Europe, emphasized the importance of democratic post-war elections in Ukraine in the context of Ukraine’s candidate status and further path towards membership in the EU. In this regard, she referred to the need of having clear criteria according to which the existence of necessary democratic pre-conditions for the conduct of post-war elections in Ukraine can be measured and assessed, as well as the importance of sound and stable electoral legal framework being in place well in advance of the post-war elections. This is where the Council of Europe expert support can be the most beneficial.
Upon the results of the Expert analysis presentation, the participants of the meeting held consultations and exchanges on next steps and measures to be taken to further elaborate the draft Roadmap part with regard to elections, as well as the Council of Europe support needed in that regard.
The meeting and presentation were organised within the framework 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.
online27 September 2023
Diminuer la taille du texte
Augmenter la taille du texte
Imprimer la page
Просто про вибори (Elections in simple terms - basic level training course) – in Ukrainian
Impressions from the regional conference on “Women’s political representation in the Eastern Partnership countries – regional study and exchange of information” organised by the Council of Europe and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1 December 2016
Through its actions and activities in Ukraine, our Division contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 16 as well as indirectly to a number of others.
What are the goals of the current project?
Our partners
Main areas of activities:
