Searching for a model of elections for post-war Ukraine: conclusions of the round table

Reforming Ukraine's electoral system is extremely important in the context of the upcoming post-war elections. In particular, the realization of the right to vote should be facilitated by improving the voting system. But today Ukraine faces numerous challenges.

This was discussed at the roundtable «Discussion Issues on the Electoral System in the Post-War Elections in Ukraine» organized by the Ukrainian National Bar Association's Committee on Electoral Law. The event was attended by representatives of the UNBA, members of the Central election commission and scholars.

The importance of proper preparation for the post-war elections, in particular, ensuring voting guarantees in all regions of the country, taking into account the territorial principle and equal distribution of the number of voters, was emphasized by Alla Basalaeva, the Chairman of the UNBA Committee. In her opinion, such an approach will influence the future format of the electoral system and the distribution of mandates in representative bodies of power.

In the context of the first post-war elections, the CEC is already working on a number of pressing issues. This was stated by Serhiy Dubovyk, Deputy chairman of the Commission. In particular, he emphasized the need to streamline the form of the ballot, introduce active voter registration, and the importance of ensuring the possibility of voting in the de-occupied territories. The CEC representative also raised the topic of using postal services as one of the tools for voting.

Andriy Yevstigneev, a member of the CEC and the Board of the UNBA Committee on Electoral Law, focused on the electoral quota in the regional context. He cited the example of Estonia and described a model that would allow voters to vote for a specific candidate within a party list. He also emphasized the importance of migration processes, which have a significant impact on the formation of the electoral body.

Tamara Astakhova, a member of the CEC in 2007-2018, noted that every election campaign in Ukraine is accompanied by changes in the electoral legislation. She emphasized the need for timely preparation for the elections, taking into account the new challenges caused by the war and its consequences.

Representatives of the UNBA Committee spoke about certain aspects of the election process. Thus, Lyubov Krygan emphasized the importance of revising the boundaries of electoral districts and preventing the exclusion of certain territories from the electoral process. Nataliia Bernatska outlined the importance of international diplomatic documents in the context of peace initiatives and the impact of these processes on electoral reform. She also raised the issue of ensuring the voting of citizens abroad, in particular in countries with a large territory, where the place of residence may be significantly distant from the polling station. Volodymyr Kistianyk recalled the example of the Dayton Accords, which ended the war in the Balkans. He believes that Ukraine can also introduce a temporary electoral model that will be recognized by the international community as a guarantee of the legitimacy of the elections. Tetyana Saviak insisted on ensuring the realization of both active and passive suffrage, especially for internally displaced persons. She also pointed out the importance of organizing elections in regions that have suffered large-scale destruction. Mykola Torbeyev focused on the challenges associated with voting in the future de-occupied territories. He also drew attention to the possible difficulties associated with postal voting, in particular the burden on election commissions during the vote count.

Summarizing the event, A. Basalaeva assured of her readiness to further initiate professional discussions and join legislative initiatives in the field of post-war reform of the electoral system of Ukraine.