Ukraine will not take into account all OSCE recommendations regarding electoral legislation

Yesterday, leading legal experts said they would not take into account a number of OSCE demands when reforming election legislation. The round table participants opposed expanding the powers of district election commissions, limiting the rights of voters in connection with a temporary change of voting location, and disclosing sources of party funding. In their opinion, “what is good in the West does not always work in the interests of democracy in Ukraine.”

Justice Minister Elena Lukash (center) promised to listen to the opinions of experts
Photo: Alexander Yalova, Kommersant

A discussion of the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE for the bill “On amendments to certain laws of Ukraine regarding the improvement of legislation on election issues” took place yesterday during a round table organized by the Ministry of Justice. In July, the document was sent for assessment to the Venice Commission, but over the past two months the Ministry of Justice has continued consultations with the public on its individual provisions.

— On October 11, the Venice Commission will consider the bill and provide its conclusions. By this time, we must find a consensus,” said Minister of Justice Elena Lukash, opening the round table.

OSCE legal expert Jesse Pilgrim reminded those present about certain recommendations of international institutions. He called the 5% threshold for political parties in elections of people's deputies too high, calling for it to be reduced to 3%, and supported the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, according to which, in the event of a temporary move, a voter has the right to vote only for party lists. In addition, Mr. Pilgrim approved the provision of the bill, according to which candidates in single-mandate constituencies are registered by district election commissions (DECs), and not by the Central Election Commission.

— You don’t need to be a mathematician to understand how difficult it is for the CEC to process the number of applications from candidates that were received in 2012. Transferring these responsibilities to the OEC could save the efforts of the Central Election Commission, but, of course, it must closely monitor this process, the OSCE representative said.

It is noteworthy that these demands were not approved by either the politicians present or the experts.

“We are categorically against transferring such powers to the OIC. It’s impossible to let them register, maybe they overworked themselves at the Central Election Commission, but I didn’t see that from their work,” people’s deputy Ruslan Knyazevich (Batkivshchyna) was indignant.

He criticized the Ministry of Justice's work on the document, accusing the agency of being slow.

— Unfortunately, from the very beginning we had a theoretical discussion, which can only lead to a loss of time, but we have a deadline. On October 21, the EU Council will assess Ukraine’s compliance with the requirements for reforming electoral legislation, Mr. Knyazevich recalled.

“We met not because it was an invention of the authorities or a whim of the European community. We are here to find consensus and listen to experts,” Mrs. Lukash reasoned with Ruslan Knyazevich.

The opposition representative was unexpectedly supported by MP Dmitry Shpenov (Party of Regions). He called the provision on transferring to the DEC the right to register candidates in majoritarian districts premature, and also criticized the establishment of restrictions on the election funds of parties and candidates. Let us remind you that the bill provides for a maximum threshold for the electoral fund of a party participating in elections in a national constituency of UAH 100 million, and the size of the electoral fund of a candidate in a majoritarian constituency is UAH 4.5 million ( see Kommersant on April 24 ).

Experts were also skeptical about the OSCE recommendations. “There is a glaring problem in the bill - restriction of the right to vote in connection with a temporary change of place of stay. This decision is discriminatory and does not comply with the Constitution. It is unacceptable to fight violations by limiting rights, it is better to tighten liability for this violation,” said the president of the Institute of Electoral Law, Yuri Klyuchkovsky, indignantly. .

Director of the Penta Center for Applied Political Research Vladimir Fesenko explained this position of the Ukrainian public to Kommersant. “What is good in the West does not always work in the interests of democracy in Ukraine. For example, if you open up sources of party funding, it will work against the opposition, depriving it of an influx of funds. The same applies to the transfer of powers to register candidates to the OEC - the lower the process, the stronger there is administrative resource there,” the expert believes.

The discussion lasted more than three hours. The next discussion will take place after receiving the findings of the Venice Commission. According to the Ministry of Justice, the draft amendments to the electoral legislation will be ready by December.

Galina Korba

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