OPORA calls on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine to continue active consultations towards the agreement concerning the inclusion of candidates from each faction and group without exception. In particular, the President's representative in Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Lutsenko has announced that the President is ready to include an additional candidate representing the Opposition Bloc faction after the faction chooses its top priority candidate. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, to our mind, should appoint a new membership of the CEC with consideration of candidates from all 6 factions and 2 groups of MPs.
On 5 February, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii has published an updated list of candidates for members of the CEC, whose documents he had sent for a special verification. Although the number of candidates is the same – 14 persons for 13 vacant seats, and one name changed. Thus, instead of Nadiia Synytsia, whose nomination was not certain, a representative of AUU Batkivshchyna Andrii Yevstihnieiev has appeared on the list. The Opposition Bloc faction still does not have a representation among official candidates.
Leader of the AUU Batkivshchyna faction Yuliia Tymoshenko has welcomed the news. She has stated on her Facebook page that her political party will watch who is going to be eliminated during the voting, and will make every effort to include representatives from each faction including the Batkivshchyna into the CEC membership.
The Opposition Bloc, for its part, has published a statement on it website, demanding that the President submits two candidates for CEC members, representing the faction. It believes that the government is not democratic, and the election is not fair, if the CEC doesn't have opposition representatives in its membership.
As of today, 13 of 15 members of the CEC have had their term of office expired. Although Petro Poroshenko had submitted the documents for withdrawal of 12 of 15 members of the CEC on 3 June 2016 and appointment of 11 new members, the Parliament hasn't voted on it yet. On 23 January 2018, the President of Ukraine has signed a submission for appointment of new CEC members. OPORA welcomed in its statement the end of political consultations between the President of Ukraine, parliamentary factions and groups of MPs concerning the candidates and the progress in rotation process. However, the organization has also stated it regrets that political subjects have failed to compromise during previous consultations concerning formation of a politically balanced membership of the CEC representing each parliamentary faction or group without an exception. International partners and the AUU Batkivshchyna and the Opposition Bloc factions have also informed about their concerns regarding non-inclusive representation of factions among the CEC candidates.
Civil Network OPORA has prepared a material about all the candidates for members of the Central Election Commission, and a timeline about discussion of CEC rotations for the last three years.