In October 2015, 27 parties have launched active election campaigns in Ukrainian regions. However, only 6 parties covered more than a third part of oblasts by their campaign efforts. Local party cells and candidates successfully challenged candidate registration refusals in courts to restore their electoral rights. As for major violations, each candidate from parties-electoral subjects applied illegal campaigning, misuse of administrative resources, and indirect voter bribery. Although such incidents were quite widespread, they were not systematical.
OPORA"s Interim Report on Observation Results of Local Elections Scheduled For 25 October 2015
According to OPORA's observers, 6 parties conduct nationwide electoral campaigns in more than a third part of Ukrainian oblasts. Analyst of Civil Network OPORA Oleksandr KLIUZHEV, has named these political parties: “Petro Poroshenko Bloc 'Solidarity' is actively campaigning in 24 oblasts, AUU Batkivshchyna – in 20 oblasts, Nash Krai party – in 12 oblasts, Opposition Bloc – in 10 oblasts, UKROP party and Samopomich Union are active in 9 oblasts. However, there are so-called local parties, which are formally registered as nationwide, but conduct their activities only on the level of territorial communities - in the certain cities of regions.”
Local party cells and candidates successfully challenged candidate registration refusals in courts to restore their electoral rights. Civil Network OPORA's expert Olha KOTSIURUBA has stated: “Courts usually chose to satisfy claims of potential candidates and secure their right to seek election than to support resolutions of territorial election commissions. It is a positive distinction between 2015 local elections and previous local elections held in 2010.” However, the voters still don't know a final list of candidates in the certain territorial communities and regions. Such situation results from election controversies over candidate registration or registration refusals that are still being considered by courts on the level of territorial election commissions and the CEC. It should be mentioned that the registration period established by the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections has finished, as long as the deadline for ballot printing is overdue.
As a result, such uncompleted candidate registration process questions the stability of election process in the corresponding oblasts, cities, and raions. In particular, there are no final candidate lists for election of Cherkasy City Mayor, Cherkasy City Council, and Kharkiv Oblast Council. Electoral controversies concerning territorial election commissions' refusals to register candidates submitted by local cell of the Party of Free Democrats (Cherkasy city), and regional cell of the Opposition Bloc party (Kharkiv obl.) are still open. Elections of Kherson City Mayor and to Kherson City Council remain potentially problematic, as long as the inclusion of Volodymyr Saldo (Nash Krai) in the election ballot was agreed only on 15 October. Adherence to election procedures in Mariupol city and raion in city election commissions remains unstable and affects organization of the election process in this city.
The CEC took decisions on issues under jurisdiction of TECs.OPORA is convinced that direct involvement of the CEC to solution of issues resulting from TEC inaction or inability to efficiently administer election procedures was necessary and justified. For example, the CEC has registered candidates for Sloviansk City Mayor, nominated by local cell of the Opposition Bloc, and candidate of the Nash Krai party in elections of Kherson City Mayor and to Kherson City Council. The CEC has also canceled resolutions on candidate registration passed by Sloviansk City Election Commission, Cherkasy City Election Commission, Kharkiv Oblast Election Commission, Kherson City Election Commission, Ivankiv Raion EleCtion Commission in Kyiv Oblast, and Krasnoarmiisk City Election Commission. Besides that, the CEC has early terminated the office of Sloviansk City Election Commission, Kherson City Election Commission, Mariupol City Election Commission in Donetsk Oblast, Novyi Rozdil City Election Commission in Lviv Oblast, and some other commissions due to election law violations.
Violation of election campaigning rules is the most widespread abuse committed by parties and some candidates for city mayors. OPORA's observers have noticed over 60 such incidents in all Ukrainian oblasts (not regular or systematical, however). Thus, the following parties were violating campaigning rules: Ridne Misto, UKROP, Nash Krai, Syla Liudei, AUU Batkivshchyna, PPB 'Solidarity', Opposition Bloc, Radical Party of Oleh Liashko, Narodnyi Kontrol (People's Oversight) Civic Movement, Serhii Kaplin's Party of Simple People, AUU Svoboda, Samopomich Union, Revival party, and Volia party.
Violations related to misuse of powers or budget resources for the benefit of the certain candidates were occasional. OPORA's observers often recorded misuse of office for campaign purposes and campaign announcements in municipal mass media and official publications of local self-government bodies. We have noticed such incidents in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Donetsk, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, and Cherkasy oblasts. Administrative resources were misused for the benefit of different candidates and parties that are electoral subjects – Nash Krai party, PPB 'Solidarity', UKROP party, AUU Batkivshchyna, Agrarian Party of Ukraine, and Revival party.
The voters are also often provided with free or discounted goods and services. Although such practices are not systematical, they were noticed in all Ukrainian oblasts. The certainty of punishment for even minor violations (for both candidates and votes) could efficiently prevent similar abuses.
OPORA"s Interim Report on Observation Results of Local Elections Scheduled For 25 October 2015