REPORT SUMMARY

As long as the election process in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol was disrupted in 25 October local elections causing damage to internal and international political image of Ukraine, prompt and decisive action should have been taken to restore constitutional rights of many citizens;
• Although the legal framework chosen to secure voting rights of Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol citizens causes debates, decision of Ukrainian Parliament on the peculiarities of voting in these two cities proves that the state is able to restore violated electoral rights of citizens.All electoral subjects without an exception must respect the right of territorial communities to freely elect local self-government bodies and solve local issues.
• As for drawbacks of legislative regulations concerning the voting process in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol, we should mention that the procedures are not detailed enough to fully cover specifics of the election process.Firstly, we should mention campaigning regulations when the election process is restored after the disruption;
• Giving the CEC authority to approve the text of ballot papers, their production and transportation to PECs helped to improve the organizational issues in the electoral process and to prevent politically motivated confrontations at city election commissions.According to the operative data from OPORA, CEC members are delivering ballot papers to PECs of Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk in calm atmosphere and without any violations;
• The CEC has made fair effort to secure legislative framework for the organization and conduct of elections by passing the corresponding normative acts.At the same time, CEC's Explanation on campaigning in these cities before 29 November, according to OPORA's assessment, is questionable from a legal point of view adn with consideration of legal consequences;
• Legal uncertainty, CEC decision on campaigning ban and the challenge against it in court affected cooperation between citizens and candidates as well as an overall awareness of the voters in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol.However, some candidates continued campaigning even after the CEC took the corresponding decision;
• Election commissions at all levels are ready to conduct the voting process on 29 November and have everything needed to secure voting rights of citizens;
• Taking into consideration that all the preparations to the coting day were properly made, disruptions may be caused only by political reasons and, therefore, any attempts to destabilize the situation must be promptly suppressed by law enforcement;
• Overpolitization of territorial election commissions and strong mutual distrust between the electoral subjects remain the worst hazards for the election process in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol.There are risks of administrative pressure upon the voters in these cities, as well as attempts to make up some reasons to delegitimize the election process.All the electoral subjects should make every effort to prevent potential risks from becoming negative consequences in practice.
• Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and other law enforcement bodies have enough resources to ensure the rule of law and public order on 29 November.Territorial departments of the ministry and National police demonstrate readiness for co-operation with observers;
• Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol citizens will have quite a wide choice of candidates.In Mariupol, 22 candidates for mayor are nominated, and 14 local party cells have registered electoral lists.In Krasnoarmiisk, 12 local party cells have registered electoral lists, and 22 mayoral candidates are nominated;
• In November 2015, OPORA hasn't noticed any gross violations of electoral legislation committed by electoral subjects, what is a good precondition for free voting on 29 November.

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK OF REGULAR ELECTIONS IN CITIES OF KRASNOARMIISK AND MARIUPOL

According to the Law of Ukraine on Peculiarities of the Voting Process in Regular Election of Members to Krasnoarmiisk City Council in Donetsk Oblast and Mariupol City Council in Donetsk Oblast, as well as Krasnoarmiisk City Mayor and Mariupol City Mayor on 25 October 2015[1], regular elections to city councils and of city heads in two cities of Donetsk are to be held on 29 November.

The Law, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 10 November and signed by the President of Ukraine on 14 November, gave the CEC authority to produce ballot papers for the corresponding local elections and deliver them to precinct election commissions. The CEC was obliged to pass the acts needed to conduct the voting in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk within three days after the Law enters into operation. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, for its part, was obliged to provide financing for any measures necessary to realize the Law upon request of the CEC within three days after it enters into operation.

At the same time, a separate law doesn't contain regulations for other specifics of the election process in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk, interrupted before the polling stations were opened on 25 October on the basis of grounds that are not covered by the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections. OPORA would like to mention that the absence of detailed regulations on peculiarities of the election campaigning and other aspects of the election process caused some conflicts between election participants in two cities of Donetsk oblast because they understood peculiarities of this campaign in different ways.

To fulfill the obligations introduced by the Law on peculiarities of regular elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk, and to settle the issues of electoral process, the CEC had passed a number of resolutions and explanations.

CEC Resolution #567 of 11/17/2015 has determined a procedure for production of ballot papers in regular elections to Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk city councils in Donetsk oblast as well as of Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk city mayors on 25 October 2015 for election scheduled for 29 November 2015 in the corresponding election districts and their delivery to precinct election commissions[2].

This procedure has determined some important stages in production of ballot papers: 1) the CEC certifies the ballot content based on documents provided by Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk city election commissions; 2) ballots are printed by contractor the State Enterprise “Polygraph Combine “Ukraina” within the time limits ensuring that ballots will be delivered to precinct election commissions before the voting process; 3) ballot papers are packed by the contracted printing house and handed to a representative of the Central Election Commission at the printing house location; 4) State Enterprise of Special Post delivers ballots to a special facilities of Krasnoarmiisk city election commission and Illichivskyi, Prymorskyi, Zhovtnevyi, Ordzhonikidzevskyi dictrict in city of Mariupol election commissions (not later than 25 November 2015); 5) CEC representatives transfer ballots to precinct election commissions (not later than 26 November).

It should be mentioned that a control commission for production of ballot papers (responsible for destruction of the printing templates, technical wastes, and defective printed matter) must comprise representatives of political parties that have announced formation of a parliamentary faction on the first regular session of the current Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, but not local cells of these parties[3];

According to the Procedure, facilities where ballots are being kept before their delivery to PECsmust be guarded by National Police officers and employees of the Security Service of Ukraine. Besides that, only CEC representatives who received the ballots from State Enterprise of Special Post may have an accessto these facilities.

Thus, the CEC certifies the ballot content, organizes production of ballot papers and their delivery to PECs in 29 November regular local elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk. The usual procedure established by the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections, delegates these responsibilities to territorial election commissions.

Centralized production and delivery of ballots was established by a special law and CEC acts to break down distrust between electoral subjects and prevent manipulations at local level. The CEC has also passed a Resolution #566 of 11/17/2015[4] on production of preliminary and final voter lists and personal invitations. This Resolution also obliged precinct election commissions to destroy voter lists compiled for 25 October election.

Another important document for organization of 29 November elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk: CEC Explanations concerning application of the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections in organization and conduct or 25 October 2015 regular elections of local council members and city mayors in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol, to be held on 29 November 2015[5] (Resolution #570 of 11/19/2015) In particular, the CEC has explained that Krasnoarmiisk, Mariupol, and Rodynske city election commissions, Shevchenkove settlement election commission, and district in the city of Mariupol election commissions must be located at facilities where they were located when the Law Law on peculiarities of election entered into force. Election commissions are not allowed to change their location without approval of the CEC[6].

According to the CEC Explanations, transportation of electoral documents from TECs, which tabulate voting results within territorial election districts, to Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol city election commissions shall be escorted by National Police officers and employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), due to the peculiarities of the election process in these two cities. Besides that, Explanations allowed city election commissions to terminate the authority and cancel registration of representatives, authorized members, proxies and official observers in accordance with the procedure and within time constraints established by the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections.

The CEC has established in the paragraph 8 of this Explanation that election campaigning shall not be held in election of local council members and city mayors on 29 November 2015 in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk.

The CEC's Explanations concerning campaigning efforts were based on the general approach used by the Ukrainian Parliament to restore voting rights of Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk citizens. However, after the CEC published its Explanation, OPORA suggested to change the document and allow the candidates campaign until 12 am of the last Friday before the election day.

OPORA has mentioned in its statement that legislative inconsistencies may result in legal conflicts and confrontations with parties and candidates involved, and the limitation of campaigning is questionable in terms of legal grounds.

On the one hand, this special law is based on legal restoration of the election process from the moment it was illegally interrupted, when election campaigning was already prohibited. On the other hand, according to the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections, election campaigning shall cease at 12 am of the last Friday before the voting day (Article 54 (2) of the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections). However, the Law on peculiarities of election in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk do not regulate election campaigning directly.

CEC decision was taken when election campaign in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk had already restored after 25 October 2015. Besides that, the prohibition of campaigning before 29 November was passed in conditions of legal uncertainty and, therefore, its practical implementation is under a big question mark. Besides that, CEC Explanations could hazard the principle of equal opportunities when some candidates observe the restrictions and other don't observe, but there are no efficient sanctions established neither by the Explanations, nor by the current legislation[7].

Paragraph 8 of the CEC Explanations banning campaigning in regular local elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk until 29 November 2015 was condemned by many electoral subjects and caused the corresponding court challenges. Monday, November 23, 2015 On 23 November 2015, Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals had considered a claim filed by some MPs of Ukraine and candidates nominated in the corresponding local elections and ruled that ruled that the paragraph 8 of Explanations concerning application of the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections in organization and conduct or regular elections of local council members and city mayors in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol (case #№875/69/15) was unlawful and repealed it. According to the court decision, the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections establishes a unified explanations on then election campaigning shall start and finish, what “completely corresponds to the principle of election administration and equal suffrage in particular established by the Constitution of Ukraine”. Besides that, the Court drew attention to a decision passed by the European Court of Human Rights in case Bowman v United Kingdom concerning correlation between free elections and freedom of speech. It's possible to appeal against the decision of Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals of 11/23/2015 to the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine within two days after its announcement. As of 11/26/2015, CEC Explanations concerning application of the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections in organization and conduct or regular elections of local council members and city mayors in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol haven't been amended.

According to the assessment of OPORA's observers, legal uncertainty in regard to election campaigning in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk has affected the interaction between candidates and voters. Besides that, some candidates had been campaigning in these cities even after 25 October 2015 and till the last Friday before the election day. When candidates have decreased the intensity of their election campaigns from 25 October to 29 November 2015, it had adverse effect on the level of citizen awareness about the planned election day.

On 20 November 2015, the CEC has approved a calendar plan for preparation and conduct of the election day in 25 October 2015 regular elections of Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol city mayors of city council members to be held on 29 November 2015[8]. According to the calendar plan, Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol city election commissions must pass one of the following decisions before 11/4/2015: to conduct the repeated voting or to recognize the mayoral election as not held. Instead, the corresponding territorial election commissions shall determine results of elections to local councils.

Table 1. Election commissions, polling stations, number of voters registered for regular local elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk

ACTIVENESS OF CANDIDATES AND CAMPAIGN EFFORTS

The list of city council and mayoral candidates in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol hasn't changed after the law on peculiarities of elections in these cities on 29 November was adopted. The voters will have an opportunity to choose candidates, which were registered by TEcs for participation in 25 October elections in accordance with the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections.

There are 20 mayoral candidates in Krasnoarmiisk and 22 in Mariupol. As for electoral lists, 13 local party cells have registered the lists in Mariupol and 12 in Krasnoarmiisk (see Infographics).

According to OPORA's observers, when the solution for regular elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk wasn't solved on the legislative level after disruption, campaigning activeness of candidates lacked organization for the certain period. Before the corresponding Law was adopted, electoral subjects had limited their expenditures on election campaigning. At the same time, from 25 October to 10 November some candidates were trying to use public occasions to draw voters' attention without direct campaigning. For example, local television in Mariupol was regularly covering activities of the Mariupol Development Fund, which director is a self-nominated candidate Vadym Boichenko, HR Director at the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works PJSC.

Election campaigning has intensified a bit after the Parliament adopted the Law of Ukraine on peculiarities of regular elections in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk. CEC's Explanations restricting election campaigning before 29 November, on the contrary, received negative response from many electoral subjects, and didn't help political competitors to agree about issues concerning voter rights and organizational tasks of the election process. Besides that, low activeness of candidates wasn't favorable in terms of increasing voter turnout on 29 November. It should be mentioned, however, that some candidates continued campaigning even after the CEC banned campaigning.

In Krasnoarmiisk, for example, candidates usually used outdoor advertising, and in Mariupol – outdoor and media advertising. Although in narrower scale than before 25 October, observers noticed campaigning tents and dissemination of printed campaign materials.

                        Table 2. Local cells of political parties, which campaigned after 25 October the most actively

Table 3. Mayor candidates, which campaigned after 25 October the most actively

OPORA's observers haven't noticed gross violations since the Parliament took a decision to schedule the election day in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol for 29 November. Law enforcement bodies in Donetsk oblast, for their part, actively work to prevent violations and destabilization in regular local elections in two cities. In particular, Head of Krasnoarmiisk Division of the Main Department of National Police of Ukraine in Donetsk oblast invited representatives of TECs, NGOs, and political parties to a meeting of Krasnoarmiisk City Election Commission to discuss proper response to electoral violations. In general, we may say that law-enforcement bodies are open to cooperation with official observers and electoral subjects.

ACTIVITIES OF TERRITORIAL AND PRECINCT ELECTION COMMISSIONS

On 11/2/2015, the CEC has early terminated the office of Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk city election commissions after the election process was disrupted on grounds that are not covered by the Law of Ukraine on Local Elections[9]. On 11/5/2015, the CEC has formed a new membership of Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk City Election Commissions. Some TEC members were also substituted some time later. Thus, Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk city election commissions will organize the voting in regular local elections on 29 November 2015 in a new membership.

Table 4. Representation of local party cells in Krasnoarmiisk City Election Commission

Table 5. Representation of local party cells in Mariupol City Election Commission

Taking into consideration that the CEC was authorized to produce ballots and deliver them to PECs, city election commissions were mainly responsible for registration of official observers, proxies of candidates, and authorized members of local party cells. According to the Procedure approved by the CEC, Kramatorsk City Election Commission and district election commissions in the city of Mariupol were obliged to guarantee proper conditions for keeping ballot papers before their delivery to PECs.

Although city election commissions were not overloaded with work, conflicts and political confrontations still could be noticed in their activities. The biggest challenge Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol election commissions faced was lack of understanding between commission members representing different electoral subjects.

There were only rare incidents noticed in activities of Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol TECs. For example, Head of Krasnoarmiisk City Election Commission Valentyna Chaika (nominating entity – Radical Party of Oleh Liashko) published an open appeal to highest officials and law-enforcement bodies concerning threats against commission head and possible provocations and violations of public order in Krasnoarmiisk on 29 November. Mariupol City Election Commission, for its part, had a conflict situation with remuneration of PEC members in Staryi Krym, Talakivka, and Sartana settlements (Illichivskyi district in Mariupol), where the voting was held on 25 November, and a number of other issues. However, according to OPORA's observers, activities of election commissions have stabilized as the election day gets closer and, therefore, one may assume that they are ready to properly fulfill their duties.

According to the CEC Resolution # 566 of 11/17/2015, State Voter Register maintenance bodies in Krasnoarmiisk and Mariupol were obliged to produce and deliver preliminary voter lists and personal invitations to PECs (until 18 November inclusive), and final voter lists until 26 November. Thus, these obligations were fulfilled in a proper manner. Voters could submit applications for update of preliminary voter list to a PEC or directly to a State Voter Register maintenance body until 23 November inclusive. At the same time, some PECs in Krasnoarmiisk had failed to secure a stable access to polling stations, and voters found it complicated to check the voters lists. However, the PECs have secured delivery of personal invitations to the voters.

PECs that were formed yet on 25 October 2015 underwent personnel rotations. According to OPORA's assessment, 30% of Krasnoarmiisk PEC members were substituted. However, we didn't notice any major disruptions in PEC activities that could have affected their ability to properly administer the voting process on 29 November.

According to the Calendar plan, CEC members started delivering ballot papers to precinct election commissions on 26 November. This process passes quietly.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To Law enforcement agencies:

• Secure proper investigation of criminal proceedings concerning disruption of regular elections on 25 October 2015, and inform the public about investigation results;
• Promptly respond to all notifications and statements concerning electoral violations made during the election process in correspondence with political impartiality principles;
• Operatively prevent or stop any destabilizing activities of any electoral subjects or unidentified individuals;
• Refrain from making any statements giving political assessment to activities of electoral subjects, like in some situations before.

To the Central Election Commission

• Respond more fully promptly to any problematic situations in Mariupol and Krasnoarmiisk and use controlling and coordinating functions if there is such a need.

To subjects of the election process:

• Use judicial and extrajudicial means of appealing against election law violations if there is such a need. Besides that, all parties without exception should give up any attempts to destabilize the situation or artificially delegitimize the election process;
• Refrain from making any political influence on commission members and overpolitization of these commissions.

To Donetsk Military and Civilian Administration, local authorities:

• To refrain from making any statements giving political assessment to activities of electoral subjects, like in some situations before.

[8] http://195.230.157.53/pls/acts/ShowCard?id=41828&what=0

[9]http://www.oporaua.org/novyny/41436-promizhnyi-zvit-za-rezultatamy-sposterezhennia-na-povtornomu-holosuvanni-z-vyboriv-miskykh-holiv