Changes to electoral legislation

 

Due to the electoral system specifics, after the local elections in 2015, constituencies in most oblast and rayon councils are unevenly represented or not represented at all.

An expert study conducted with the assistance of the OSCE Project in Ukraine showed that some rayons and cities of oblast significance in 22 oblast councils (except for the Mykolayiv and Cherkasy Oblasts) were not represented by any deputies, and some – by two and more. In rayon councils, too, there is often no representation of certain hromadas of the rayon, and some are represented by several deputies (reference information).

Amalgamated hromadas also have a problem with representation of citizens in the local council. Due to uneven number of residents in cities, villages and settlements of AH, it is almost impossible to make sure that every locality is represented by at least one deputy in the AH Council (reference information).

Obviously, the current electoral system does not prove itself and needs to be ameliorated – to create conditions for the proper representation of hromadas in local councils. And it is necessary to do this before the local elections of 2020, which are to take place on the new territorial basis of hromadas and rayons.

This section features results of the working group, set up by MinRegion and working on amendments to the electoral legislation to ensure proportional representation of citizens in councils of hromadas and territorial communities in rayon and oblast councils.

The working group is open for proposals on the provisions of the future draft law. Proposals can be sent to: decentralization@minregion.gov.ua

Materials of the first session of the working group

The OSCE in Ukraine and the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine provide technical and expert support in drafting the necessary draft laws.

---