Sumy on the eve of 2020 elections: activities of potential candidates, probable abuse of administrative resources and conflicts in TECs

A high information activeness of parties and potential candidates that involves outdoor advertising, tents, mass media and social networks, has become the main trend before the official start of election process in Sumy oblast. Potential candidates have been actively holding meetings with residents, and parties - different public events. Besides that, there is a high risk of the use of administrative resources during the local campaign by current mayors and heads of administrations. Olha Koreneva, Election Observation Coordinator at Civil Network OPORA in Sumy oblast told about this, and about the work of territorial election commission on 11 September press-conference in Sumy press club.

Political forces and potential candidates demonstrated their activeness before the official start of the election in Sumy region through the organization of sports events and festivals for kids. For example, the Propozytsia political party organized a festival with snacks for senior citizens. The AUU Batkivshchyna and the "SUMY - it's cool" NGO, for their part, organized festivals for children.

"We can talk today about the early activeness of political parties on the eve of local elections. OPORA has noticed a lot of outdoor advertising, activeness in the media and social networks. There were also direct meetings with citizens," - Observation Coordinator at Civil Network OPORA informed.

Representatives of the Civil Network OPORA noticed outdoor advertising bearing surname of current mayorOleksandr Lysenko (AUU Batkivshchyna) with the hashtag #team_lysenko, as well as political advertising of parties. In addition, observers noticed outdoor advertising of the following parties: Servant of the People, For the Future, Syla i Chest, Victory of Palchevskyi, Propozytsia, For Ukraine, Batkivshchyna, European Solidarity, Democratychna Sokyra, People's Movement of Ukraine, Opposition Platform - For Life.

There is a risk of abuse of administrative resources in the region. OPORA noticed a high activeness of the current city mayors and heads of administrations, which may be related to the elections. For example, news on the Trostyanets City Council website mention the Syla Liudei political party, in which the Head of UTC is affiliated. Observers also noticed that current Mayor of Sumy Oleksandr Lysenk has started to hold regular meetings with citizens in different city districts, and there have appeared projects on "initiative of Oleksandr Lysenko".

"There is a risk that officials and civil servants are probably using the administrative resource. Council and mayors are already repairing roads, fountains, playgrounds," - Olha Koreneva said.

OPORA has also noticed conflicts at TEC meetings, including those dedicated to the formation of election districts. For example, Sumy City TEC has formed 6 territorial election districts on 6 September. However, the Commission didn't manage to approve the decision on redistricting from the first time. The Deputy Head of the TEC reported to the police on a commission member that allegedly was bribed by another commission member. In addition, two TECs in Sumy oblast have formed district ahead of schedule.

"There are already several cases of pressure upon TEC members and reports to the police resulting from conflicts at TEC meetings. There is also a problem with the quality of staffing at election commissions. People, nominated by parties may be unaware of this, or live in another oblast and, therefore, they can't perform their duties." - Olha Koreneva said.

The Code of Conduct for Public Officials During the Election Process has also been presented on the press-conference. It outlines major ethical requirements for public officials and civil servants, aimed to prevent any actions that could be classified as abuse of administrative resources.

"We hope that the city mayor will support such an initiative and sign the Code. In any case, whether the document is signed or not, OPORA will monitor his work and inform the public and the media if his actions have features of administrative resource and other violations. We invite all officials and civil servants to sign the Code. You can do it on OPORA's website following the instructions," - Olha Koreneva said.

Mykola Khudenko, Deputy Chief of the Main Department of the National Police in the Sumy Oblast, said that law enforcement officers are paying a special attention to electoral violations and emphasized that the police is politically neutral and ready to perform the functions entrusted to it to ensure the preparation and conduct of elections. He also reported on the number of reports on possible violations of electoral legislation:

"As of today, the police have been notified of 9 violations related to the election process. One fact hasn't been proven, and eight are still being verified," - Mykola Khudenko told.