On the basis of a statistically valid number of polling stations, the Civil Network OPORA assessed the quality of compliance with election procedures, including PEC preparatory meetings and opening of polling stations, in the early elections of the Kharkiv mayor and by-elections of MPs in constituencies No.184 (Kherson region) and No.197 (Cherkasy region).
OPORA's monitoring helps reveal the trends and the most frequent violations in the operations of PECs, during the voting and counting processes, rather than hande individual facts.
Extraordinary Elections of the Kharkiv Mayor
According to the OPORA survey, at 2.5% of the city's polling stations, attempts were recorded to obstruct the organization's observers' from accessing to PEC preparatory meetings. During such incidents, PEC members demanded from OPORA observers to take the measures related to the anti-epidemiological requirements, although they are not provided by the current election law. Following clarifications from OPORA and appeals to the TECs and the National Police, observers were able to begin their duties, albeit with some delay. In 2015, during the local elections, OPORA found attempts to obstruct the activities of observers in 3% of polling stations.
The Electoral Code obliges PECs to begin their preparatory session no earlier than 45 minutes before the start of voting. At the same time, the expected time of the meeting enables electoral subjects to control all procedures of preparation of polling stations for the opening. If PECs do not comply with this requirement, the conditions for monitoring the process can not be fully met. According to OPORA monitoring, 72.6% of PECs started preparatory meetings within the timeframe provided by law. Instead, 24.66% of PECs started working between 07:00 am and 07:15 am, and 2.74% of PECs performed procedures before 07:00 am. Compared to the 2015 local elections, the city recorded some deterioration in the timing of preparatory meetings, as at that time, 81.6% of PECs complied with the law.
One of the formal but important requirements for recording the legality of PEC work is to keep the minutes of the preparatory meeting. OPORA observers report that they did not see compliance with this statutory requirement in 21.46% of polling stations (accordingly, 78.54% of PECs did follow the procedure). Compared to the 2015 local elections, when OPORA provided statistically sound observation in Kharkiv, the commissions now performed significantly worse in the procedure of keeping the minutes at the preparatory meeting. At that time, only 5.7% of PECs ignored this legal requirement.
According to observers, in 11% of polling stations in the city, voting started before 08:00 am, and in 0.5% of PECs, voters were given access to vote behind due start time.
By-elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine in Constituencies No.184 and No.197
As in Kharkiv, OPORA observers assessed the quality of compliance with election procedures at PEC preparatory meetings and the start of voting in single-member constituencies No.184 and No.197.
In single-member constituency No.184 (Kherson region), 77.63% of PECs started preparatory meetings within the timeline provided by the Electoral Code (within 45 minutes before the start of voting). The corresponding figure for constituency No.197 (Cherkasy region) was 82.61%. Other PECs started preparatory meetings earlier than required by law, potentially hindering the monitoring of all pre-opening procedures. To compare, in the early elections of people's deputies of Ukraine in 2019, 81.6% of PECs within the country adhered to the start time of the preparatory sessions.
At 4.35% of PECs in constituency No.197 of Cherkasy Oblast and at 6.58% of PECs in constituency No.184 of Kherson Oblast, members of election commissions did not meet the requirements for keeping minutes at preparatory meetings. For the early elections of people's deputies in 2019, this figure was 5.7% on a nationwide scale.
23.68% of PECs in constituency No.184 of Kherson Oblast and 18.12% of PECs of constituency No.197 of Cherkasy Oblast opened for voters before 08:00 am, formally violating the start time of voting. For the 2019 parliamentary elections, this figure was 19.1% of polling stations. In other polling stations, voting began between 08:00 am and 08:30 am.
OPORA hereby urges PEC members to strictly adhere to all election procedures that guarantee the organization of fair and lawful ballot.
The maximum error of the survey for the elections in Kharkiv is 5.5%, for the by-elections of the People's Deputy in constituency No.184 (Kherson region) – 9.6%. In constituency No.197 (Cherkasy region), the monitoring survey covers all polling stations of the constituency.
