Bradshaw Precedent: Conclusions of the ECHR regarding the counteraction to foreign interference in elections

The document is intended to consolidate the efforts of the parties to strengthen democratic institutions in Ukraine, bringing them closer to European standards, and to protect citizens' political (particularly electoral) rights. This is important, as respect for human rights is a key political criterion for EU accession.

On July 10, 2025, a group of people's deputies from the “Batkivshchyna” and “Servant of the People” factions registered draft law No. 13464, which provides for changes in the organization of the preparation and conduct of elections of people's deputies of Ukraine and local elections. Civil Network OPORA has prepared an analysis of this legislative initiative, assessing the potential consequences of the proposed changes.

The Civil Network OPORA has prepared an analytical brief on legislative initiatives to change the electoral systems for local and parliamentary elections. According to analysts and legal experts, the draft laws registered in the Verkhovna Rada primarily focus on the mechanics of electoral systems, while overlooking comprehensive solutions for millions of military personnel and displaced persons, as well as security issues at polling stations. While the discussion about the optimal electoral model is necessary, it should be secondary to the primary goal — the protection of voting rights.

Under the martial law introduced after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion, holding elections in Ukraine is impossible. However, since elections could happen very quickly after the war ends, preparations must be made in advance. The conditions for holding them will also vary significantly among different communities. To make an informed decision on where elections are possible and where they are not, a comprehensive study based on clear and measurable criteria is needed. These indicators, as well as the government bodies responsible for collecting and verifying data, must be defined in law. This approach should protect against political manipulation and ensure transparency through public oversight. This is especially important given past precedents—in 2020, the Central Election Commission (CEC) was forced to not hold elections in 18 communities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions based on conclusions from military-civil administrations that did not contain clear criteria for such a decision. That is why Civil Network OPORA developed a security audit methodology that provides a comprehensive assessment of the physical security, socioeconomic, and socio-political situation. In March and April 2025, this methodology was piloted in four communities.

On June 4-5 in Brussels, MEPs and election experts discussed ways to counteract politically biased (fake) election observation and related disinformation campaigns. The Civil Network OPORA, as a leading Ukrainian organization of independent civic election observation, was represented at the conference by its Chair of the Board, Olga Aivazovska.

This is the second version of the Roadmap, updated based on discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, which resulted in the refinement of key recommendations.

The Roadmap offers solutions and recommendations for the organization and conduct of democratic elections. It focuses on conducting security audits in communities, limiting Russian influence on the electoral process, updating the data in the State Voter Register, and introducing amendments to the Electoral Code. A separate challenge is ensuring both the active and passive electoral rights of Ukrainians abroad and of military personnel.

OPORA is happy to present the outcomes of the pilot for the upgraded methodology of security audit we ran in four Hromadas. The Hromadas have a different scale, security context, and the recovery levels but each of them was assessed under the unified method based on our tool. In addition, to make the data and results comparable, Civil Network OPORA created a dashboard. 

Security in Hromadas is a basic precondition to launch the electoral process. It goes beyond the physical safety. Security indicators shall be established in the law to make sure the decision to (non)conduct elections is as objective as possible. A decision-maker shall be named, too. These topics were discussed on May 21 at the meeting “Security as a Precondition for Post-War Elections: What Shall be a Mechanism for Responsible Decision-Making”.