OPORA continues the online streaming of the “Deputy Day” program. In the second episode on Friday, April, 3, Olga Aivazovska, chair of the board of the Civil Network OPORA, spoke with Oleksandr Korniyenko, a deputy head of faction of the “Servant of the People” party, and Alina Zahoruyko, a deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on organization of state power, local self-government and urban planning. They talked about the preparation to local elections, changes to the Electoral Code, and decentralization processes.
According to Oleksandr Korniyenko, there are no available preconditions not to have the elections scheduled for this October. At the same time, he claims there are questions about the format of administering them. An important factor is the election finance.
"We are currently working with the budget committee to try allocate the minimum to enable these elections, according to our joint opinion with the Central Election Commission. We are aware about the large number of budget lines for elections. The biggest cost item includes the salaries to commission members and printing of ballot papers. One cost item might need to be partially reviewed. It is clear that the ballot paper cannot be printed at a cost different from the cost of paper and print. There is a vision how to suggest one-time changes on finance procedures for this election only, for the budget lines covered by the state. But it requires thorough discussions, including also with sectoral committees, so that we did not deprive all of equal opportunities for campaigning, access to air time, or any other options. At the same time, we could refuse from certain things such as information posters, not only at the polling stations, but also discard the stands, for this specific election. It means all the money the commissions have to transfer to local self-governments or produce by themselves. We are currently searching for the optimal solution to save money for the stabilization fund, to counteract coronavirus consequences. However, the election process shall still run under the law and in line with international standards. The decisions shall not be approved in the back rooms or behind the scenes, they shall be discussed through. We are currently on the stage when we are debating it with the deputy heads of factions; I believe, next week we shall have the consensus within the parliament. It will be the biggest possible compromise, since the positions are very broad," - says Korniyenko.
According to him, the draft budget has a sequestered amount which in effect is a subvention to conduct elections, while additional 100 mln was suggested to claim from the Central Election Commission’s budget.
"According to our provisional talks in the CEC, this is the money that would be needed for innovations with the electronic vote count within the “Vybory” IAS (Elections Information Analytical System). However, a question arises here – if we do not have that funding, will we be able to modify the “Elections” IAS? The issue here is that we won’t be able to make the next step towards the digitalization of the vote count. I believe that because of this situation, the coming local elections may be a step backwards in certain technology-related aspects. It is logical because the electoral process itself is definitely going to be not as dynamic as before, because the entire world is currently discussing the consequences of that quarantine. Some conclusions go that people would continue to avoid group gatherings, communicate less, and stay at home. It will impact the electoral process, too,” – says a deputy head of faction.
Moreover, Korniyenko added there is an agreement to work remotely in the committees, while the ad hoc meetings will be summoned in case of necessity. Therefore, currently, the deputies can only develop changes to the Electoral Code one-on-one and with civil society.
"I envision it as follows: in the coming week or two we shall first come to an agreement with factions, run several discussions remotely. I believe, we are going to do it appr. on April, 15-20. By that time, we will have reached an agreement within the parliament, and jointly with the CEC we will have identified items they are interested in. It is especially relevant in terms of the budget-related situation that we are going to understand better next Tuesday, when the committee sits. We might have an ad hoc meeting next week related to approval of the budget. Then, we are going to proceed with putting things together, and draft the final version to be ready by mid-May; we might possibly have it introduced by that time, if it is compromise-accommodated. We have a preliminary agreement, even though weak, but by mid-May we may have changes to the law and de facto launch the preparation to local elections," - says he.
At the same time, Alina Zahoruyko revealed more details as to changes to Electoral Code. She claimed that factions are debating the possibility to expand a proportionate electoral system to a larger number of communities with lower quantity of voters.
“We keep having ongoing discussions, both within the faction and our committee, and with the representatives from other factions. As far as I am aware, next week we are going to have a finalized position on the changes. We are discussing these debatable points, and we would like to reach certain consensus. However, I find it difficult to state so far where exactly the consensus is going to come. The same goes about the issue of the system and the quantitative threshold, we have varying opinions. Most representatives from other factions insist the threshold be reduced; we’ve heard numbers like 10,000 voters, 20,000 and 30,000. There even has been an idea to make a fully proportionate system, starting from scratch, but this solution will definitely not pass. That is why we are going to search for the compromise,” – says she, and adds that the issue of gender quota will stay in the Electoral Code as is.
She also expressed her indignation about the budget they want to allocate for local elections according to the sequester.
“Not only do they cut the subvention for having elections, but also claim the money from the CEC administration; in fact, it includes their salaries, while somebody needs to be drafting the changes. According to the Code, the CEC shall draft over 500 by-laws to bring their regulatory framework into conformity with the Code. I believe, we shall do our best to change the situation, and to have the regional CEC representative offices launched. After all, we invest much hope into them, as they can actually improve the process of having elections on the grounds. Before the declaration of the epidemics, we had had ambitious plans to continue the digitalization of election processes, such as submitting the documentation to the CEC, or developing an e-protocol. However, a key task was to bring the “Elections” IAS down to polling station commissions. We need much finance on that – to unfold the system, to draft the specifications. Today, I realize it is not going to be delivered, under the current economic situation, and it’s a pity to admit it,” - says Zahoruyko.
The deputy also told that in case of terminated quarantine measures, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will consider the package of governmental draft laws in May. They include the draft law about district (rayon) zoning. Consequently, there will be new councils, and the first elections to district councils will be taking place.
In addition, on the concept stage, there are draft laws on political parties and e-voting. There is a working group established on the e-voting, on the basis of the Committee on state power and the Committee on digital transformation.
“During the discussions we had, we concluded that we are not currently able to talk about e-voting via the Internet, but rather about the digitalization of election processes. We might possibly consider the option of e-voting in a format of machine voting, when a voter comes to the polling station but marks the ballot paper that is run through a scanner, or another device. The idea was supposed to be discussed at the conference in the CEC that was cancelled due to the quarantine. There was an ambitious idea to invite manufacturers of various devices to this conference, to see the offer, and to select the optimal solution – to be able to continue. Presently, the process has slowed down, obviously. But we talk about the digitalization of election processes,” - says the deputy.
The same as Oleksandr Korniyenko, Alina Zahoruyko expressed her hope that the chapter on adopting changes to the Electoral Code shall be closed in May.
Watch the previous episode at the link.