Post-war elections: CEC prepares new voting mechanisms for Ukrainians abroad and IDPs
13 February 19:38
Holding post-war elections will require fundamentally new approaches to organizing voting, particularly for millions of Ukrainians abroad and internally displaced persons. The Central Election Commission is already developing mechanisms that will ensure the exercise of voting rights in conditions of mass migration and occupation of part of the territory.
This was discussed in an interview with the YouTube channel
“The issue of voting for Ukrainians abroad is quite serious. Previously, voting took place at our diplomatic and consular missions, with up to half a million voters participating. Currently, the number of voters is higher, so the capacity of these polling stations abroad is quite limited,” Dubovyk said.
He added that the actual number of Ukrainians outside the country is estimated in the millions, and the current wave of migration is significantly different from previous ones.
“The current Ukrainian diaspora is completely different. It is politically active and wants to exercise its electoral rights,” comments Dubovyk.
The CEC acknowledges that the existing infrastructure based on diplomatic institutions is insufficient. Therefore, the possibility of creating additional polling stations outside embassies and consulates, as well as introducing active registration of citizens abroad, is being considered.
In particular, this involves the possibility of creating additional polling stations and introducing active registration so that citizens inform the state of their actual location and their intention to vote in a specific country or city. This will allow for more accurate planning of the number of polling stations and ballots, as well as optimising costs, says Dubovyk.
He also said that most European Union countries are ready to assist in organizing voting. In North America, the process will be more complicated due to the peculiarities of the electoral system and administrative structure, added the deputy head of the CEC.
A separate set of issues concerns internally displaced persons. Due to constant relocation, the state does not have up-to-date data on their place of residence, which complicates the organization of voting.
“We propose to simplify the mechanism for changing a voter’s electoral address. We propose to change the rules for changing a voter’s temporary place of voting. That is, to abandon any documents. There is only one criterion: the person is a citizen of Ukraine,” he said.
The CEC is also working on synchronizing the State Voter Register with the IDP register maintained by the Ministry of Social Policy. For voters whose addresses are in the occupied territories, it is proposed to automatically transfer their electoral address or temporary place of voting to the territory controlled by Ukraine.
Thus, preparations for the upcoming elections already go beyond standard procedures and require comprehensive legislative and organizational decisions to ensure the right to vote for millions of Ukrainians, both in Ukraine and abroad, Dubovyk concluded.
As
