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2007 Assessment

Ukraine: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Ukraine: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Voting & Citizen Participation
Indicators		Score
14	Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?	100
15	Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?	100
16	Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?	95

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?

14a: In law, universal and equal adult suffrage is guaranteed to all citizens.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Constitution of Ukraine guarantees free and fair general elections of the president, the national Parliament and bodies of local self-government (regional, district, municipal) councils that are held on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage.

References: Art. 71, Constitution of Ukraine

14b: In law, there is a legal framework requiring that elections be held at regular intervals.

Score:

YES

Comments: The recent parliamentary elections (2002 and 2004) were held every 4 years, and and the presidential election (2004) were held every 5 years.

The forthcoming parliamentary election is supposed to be held according to political decision (in September 2007).

References: Art. 71, Constitution of Ukraine

Peer Review Comments: The recent parliamentary election of September 30, as the author rightly comments, was held following a strong political decision by President Viktor Yushchenko, which - however morally justifiable it was - rested upon questionable legal grounds. This situation, among others, attests to just how much the Ukrainian political life remains a power game where legal foundations can be manipulated provided there exists a strong political will and sufficient backing from a number of the country's power brokers.

Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?

15a: In practice, all adult citizens can vote.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, all adult people can vote. According to the Constitution, citizens who have attained the age of 18 on the day of elections (referenda), have the right to vote. The Committee of Voters of Ukraine often fixes violations and abuses during the election periods, but never concerning this constitutional right

References: Art. 71, Constitution of Ukraine Interview with MP Levchenko Katerina, Kiev, August 4, 2007

Peer Review Comments: There have been widely documented accounts of various problems with the voter lists in recent elections (2004, 2006, 2007). In the latter two cases, these were not of a systematic character. For example, in 2007 most problems arose due to problems with the translation of surnames from Russian to Ukrainian and due to recent changes to the election law on citizens abroad. However, voter lists are made available in advance of polling to allow citizens to check them, and to appeal to court if necessary.

15b: In practice, ballots are secret or equivalently protected.

Score:

100

Comments: Ballots are secret. Voters can obtain the ballots only after signing a special paper and showing their passports. But the procedure of counting the ballots is not adequately protected from abuses.

References: Interviews with MP Levchenko K. Kiev Aug.4, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Based on personal and OSCE observations of the 2007 mission, I would note that secrecy of voting in polling stations is very good. Sometimes ballots are not folded properly by the voter and can be seen through the transparent ballot box, but the problem is minor and not systematic.

15c: In practice, elections are held according to a regular schedule.

Score:

100

Comments: The recent parliamentary elections (2002 and 2006) and the presidential election (2004) were held according to the regular schedule. The forthcoming parliamentary election is supposed to be held according to political decision (in September 2007).

References: Official site of Ukrainian Parliament www.rada.gov.ua, president.gov.ua

Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?

16a: In law, all citizens have a right to form political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the law all citizens have a right to form political parties.

References: The Law on Political Parties (2002), Art.1

16b: In law, all citizens have a right to run for political office.

Score:

YES

Comments: Citinzes can run only if they belong to a political party.

References: Interview with civil rights protection activists Levchenko K. Constitution of Ukraine The Law on Political Parties (2002), Art.1 The Election Law

Peer Review Comments: Yes, legally all adult citizens have the right to run for office if they have been resident for a specified period, but due to the 2004 change to a 100% proportional system with closed party lists, a candidate needs to get placed on a party list. However, they do not need to be a member of a political party. In practice, this process is subject to corruption, with parties selling places on their list for millions of dollars.

16c: In practice, all citizens are able to form political parties.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: While there is no guarantee of electoral success, political parties can form freely without opposition. <p>50 Score Criteria: Some barriers to formation are present, such as burdensome registration requirements that may not be fairly applied. Some parties\' political viewpoints may draw pressure from the government, such as surveillance or intimidation. Some political parties or organizations may have extra barriers to getting on a ballot. <p>0 Score Criteria: Some political parties are effectively barred from forming through some manner of official or unofficial pressure. This may include threats, arrest, or violence from competing parties or other groups.$

Comments: Yes, in practice all citizens have a right to form a political party, as it is guaranteed in law. According to the Ministry of Justice and Central Electoral Committee, there are 140 political parties in Ukraine (as of May 17, 2007). See [ LINK ]

References: The Law on Political Parties (2002), Art.1 [ LINK ] [ LINK ]

16d: In practice, all citizens can run for political office.

Score:

100

Comments: Theoretically, all citizens have a right of access to political parties.

References: Interviews with MP Katerina Levchenko. Kiev. Aug. 4, 2007

16e: In practice, an opposition party is represented in the legislature.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The opposition party always has some influence on the proceedings of the legislature. The opposition party can introduce legislation or bring pending matters to a vote without the consent of the ruling party. <p>50 Score Criteria: The opposition party has influence on the proceeding of the legislature, but it is limited in scope. The opposition\'s ability to force votes or publicly debate certain topics may be limited. <p>0 Score Criteria: The opposition party has only token participation in the legislature\'s proceedings and cannot advance legislation or force a debate.$

Comments: There is no special law regulating opposition parties. The opposition became the way of seizing power but not the source of alternative decisions and proposals. This is a modern model of Ukrainian politics.

References: [ LINK ] website of opposion party "Pora-PRP" [ LINK ] Ukrainskaya Pravda

Peer Review Comments: In Ukraine since 1991, parties opposed to the current president/government have been well-represented in the Parliament. In fact, such deputies usually made up a majority of deputies during the 1990s. Admittedly, due to the fluidity and underdeveloped nature of political parties, it is difficult to attribute to them a similar opposition role to that in the West, but they do oppose those in power and do so vocally in Parliament, in the media and in other public forums. The absence or presence of a law on opposition is not relevant here as most consolidated democracies do not have such a law.

Peer Review Comments: I can agree with the researcher that the Ukrainian opposition is rather a way of participating in the power and resources distribution in the country and not a source of alternative governance strategies. At the same time, formally there are opposition parties in the Parliament. As the recent election showed, there is very little ideological difference between the biggest Ukrainian parties, hence it is difficult to talk about competing ideas of government.