Ukraine doesn't need to codify the election legislation. Some European States, which do not belong to leaders of democracy, have adopted the Code. Nobody should make us adopt regulations which are not used by Europeans themselves. Such practices will not improve the stability of the corresponding legislation, as long as the Code has the same status and the Law the according to the Constitution. Thus, it is modified by the same procedure. Adversaries of the Election Code repeatedly state these and other similar arguments, like a mantra. However, they don't want to admit that all the arguments are far-fetched, or even false. Instead, the obvious political interest is vividly seen through the veil of words. The global political document cannot be adopted without public legitimization of the electoral system.
A number of parliamentary factions are content with today's state of affairs.
If we pass this point of no return, it will be very difficult to convince somebody of the necessity to conduct any other reforms before the next local or parliamentary elections. New reforms will be impossible, as long as the Code will become a form of public treaty if the political dialog is accurately organized and all the issues are agreed and compromised. However, it's more than inconvenient in terms of political expediency. Moreover, a number of parliamentary factions are content with today's state of affairs. In a year before the election, a sociological research was conducted to find electoral mathematics which will allow to add some mandates to the political majority, starting from the seat division (D'Hondt or Hare-Niemeyer method), and ending with the system. It's also possible to experiment on the electoral geography (gerrymandering) and successfully draw the boundaries of electoral districts with consideration of electoral groups, which support the certain candidates.
There were 6 Laws on parliamentary elections effective during the independence of Ukraine. Meanwhile, amendments and supplements to the effective legislation were introduced by 29 another Laws. The situation is obviously unstable. Besides that, such swings have improved neither the legislative base, nor the electoral system, which would help to prevent abuse of administrative resource and political corruption, or assist to the development of interparty democracy, nor the procedural part of the electoral process organization.
A country with so high level of corruption (rank #144 in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 of the Transparency International, next to Congo and Syria), cannot have perfect laws in such a complicated issue as the elections. In fact, legislation doesn't solve by itself the problem of adherence to it or of human rights protection, if law-enforcement system is not working efficiently. Therefore, moving towards qualitative, weighted in legal and political way, and agreed between interested parties document looks like a promising goal. It's the first stage. And, on this very stage, a fatal for the state phrase appeared – "no political will". Representatives of all parties in the Parliament, including the Communists and members of the Party of Regions, stated in one voice that codification is necessary. The last two Presidents, Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, have expressed their willingness to initiate and support this process. However, manuscripts don't burn. For example, after the local elections in 2010, during which international standards were violated, the President Viktor Yanukovych had even created the working group, which was supposed to start working on the Code, and admitted that the legislation should be immediately reformed. However, instead of codification, they modified the Law on Parliamentary elections, and the election system was tabooed. People say: started with laughter and ended with tears.
Codification of the election legislation is being discussed for 15 years already, and the Verkhovna Rada of the previous convocation had registered 2 draft Codes, one of which was positively assessed by the Venice Commission. However, according to the Ministry of Justice, this issue is not that complicated, and not so urgent to start it already today. Nevertheless, this "not complicated" Electoral Code requires better legal, juridical, and political preparation than the Tax, Criminal, or Labor Codes. Despite all the objections, before the summit in Vilnius, the Ministry of Justice is planning to discuss codification on a separate event, which will be visited by international and Ukrainian experts, politicians, government representatives.
22 European countries are using the Election Code fully and 8 countries partly
22 European countries are using the Election Code fully and 8 countries partly. The latter, for example, codify only parliamentary, presidential elections, and fundamental regulations of laws on local elections. France, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, Georgia, Finland, and other belong to those not afraid of the most difficult issues.
Therefore, the countries with high level of democracy development eliminate the problem of duplications, gaps, and contradictories in the legislative base. The reason is that fundamental regulations are effective on all levels of the elections. In other words, it is wrong that on local elections, candidate's registration may be canceled for the production of printed materials without the source data, and on parliamentary elections everything is allowed. Particularly, candidates to local self-government bodies may be removed from the race after two notifications about violation of the election legislation from the territorial election commission, and candidates to the Parliament have indulgence to violations. Another interesting comparison of quorum for election commissions on the Election Day. So, protocols on vote tabulation at precincts are valid even with three signatures only during the Presidential campaign. Observers from civic organizations have the status and rights of the subject of the electoral process on Parliamentary elections; on local elections their rights are similar to journalists', they may gather and disseminate information, but not to draw up acts and submit complaints; on presidential election they have no rights at all. Discrepancies don't end on these examples. Codification can consolidate fundamental regulations of the electoral process. If one procedural regulation is reconsidered in the law, for example, on Parliamentary elections, the same amendment should be introduced in other laws regulating elections on different levels.
Only imagine how much will weight this document! One of its drafts contains 500 articles. However, such size can also be practically useful: to beat off a maniac on the street, or use instead of weight if you have no time for the gym.
The summary is simple. Today, when the forthcoming 2015 Presidential election campaign is about to start, every wise candidate should better announce that the qualitative, politically agreed Election Code, is to be adopted during his first cadence. However, this process should be real and well-weighed, but not simulated. Such candidate should also openly state which election system he considers the best to use in Ukraine for the nearest ten years, and how political players are going to come to an agreement. Such actions would have raised a politician in the eyes of the public and rational voters.
Olha Aivazovska, Civil Network OPORA, for the Ukrainska Pravda