Parliament prepares amendments to the Electoral Code: how Ukrainians will vote in a new way
11 July 17:09
Ukraine proposes to change the electoral law. On July 10, a group of MPs submitted a draft law to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning for consideration, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing the parliament’s website.
The bill in question is draft law 13464, which provides for a comprehensive update of the rules for organizing elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine and local councils.
Its authors note that the current legislation does not meet modern challenges (demographic changes, the effects of hostilities, the shift in the number of voters in the regions, as well as the needs for electoral transparency and fairness). In the new document, the parliamentarians propose to revise the system of forming electoral lists, simplify voting procedures, and unify electoral rules at the national and local levels.
One of the main reasons for the initiative was the shortcomings of the current Electoral Code of Ukraine. The system of territorial organization of parliamentary elections in Ukraine differs significantly from the mechanisms for other elections and referendums. For example, during the elections to the Verkhovna Rada, so-called electoral regions are used – units that do not take into account the actual number of voters. The number of candidates in each of the regional lists is fixed (from 5 to 18) and does not depend on the number of voters registered within the region. In wartime, this model proved to be unsuitable: in some regions, the number of voters decreased significantly due to the fighting, while in others it increased due to the influx of internally displaced persons.
The draft law proposes to proportionally link the number of candidates on the regional list to the number of voters in the respective region. This, according to the authors of the draft law, will restore the balance of representation and make the parliament more responsive to changes in society.
Another problem that lawmakers are trying to solve is the low level of voter influence on the order of candidates on party lists. Currently, in order to move up in the regional list, a candidate must overcome the 25% threshold of the electoral quota. The draft law abolishes this requirement. The following solution is proposed: candidates who have overcome the electoral quota are automatically considered elected. The rest will be placed on the list according to the number of votes received. That is, the order in the list will be formed by the real preferences of voters.
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At the same time, the document provides for gender quotas: each five candidates on the national list must include at least two representatives of each gender. In regional lists, the quota for women or men must be at least 30%.
Another aspect is the unification of ballots. Currently, different types of elections require different forms of ballots, which often confuses voters and increases the share of invalid votes. The new draft law proposes to simplify and standardize ballots for parliamentary and local elections.
A number of changes are also planned at the local council level. The MPs propose to hold all elections to regional, district, city, town and village councils under a proportional system with open lists. Territorial lists of candidates for deputies will be formed by party organizations directly at congresses or conferences. In each constituency, such a list should include at least five and no more than twelve people. Candidates will be placed in alphabetical order, and after voting will be ranked by the number of votes received.
The document also proposes to abolish the provision under which a party that has passed the electoral threshold automatically receives one mandate.
In addition, the possibility of simultaneously running for the position of village, town or city mayor in a single-member district in other local elections is limited. Instead, a candidate for mayor will be able to run for the relevant local council, as well as for the regional or district council at the same time.
The draft law also regulates the issue of duplication of mandates. If a candidate wins both a national and a regional constituency, the final decision on which list he or she will be recognized as elected is made by the party’s central governing body. It also provides that votes cast for a party without specifying a particular candidate will be taken into account when distributing mandates in the region.
In general, the draft law is aimed at strengthening the influence of voters on the formation of the government, reducing technical and political influence on the electoral process, as well as taking into account demographic changes and increasing the level of representation.
Its authors emphasize that the adoption of the draft law could be a step towards updating the electoral system, greater transparency and fairness in the electoral process at both the national and local levels.
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