Today, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Draft Law No. 13618 ‘On Amendments to the Electoral Code of Ukraine and Other Legislative Acts Regarding the Procedure for Appealing the Recall of Local Councillors and Conducting Their Replacement’.

The document aims to establish an effective and efficient mechanism for judicial control over the procedure for recalling local councillors, while also ensuring that the rights and legitimate interests of all parties involved in this process are observed.

The draft law proposes:

• to establish that the territorial election commission cannot replace a councillor if the party’s decision to recall them is being challenged in court, until a final court decision has been made;
• to establish a special procedure for courts to consider cases concerning the recall of councillors by a people’s initiative and their replacement;
• determine when the powers of a local councillor are terminated or renewed in cases of recall or when the relevant decision is cancelled by a court;
• clarify the powers of a territorial election commissions and the Central Election Commission with regard to replacing councillors and scheduling by-elections.

Additionally, the Draft Law sets out the basis for amending the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, the Law ‘On the Status of Local Councillors’ and the Law ‘On the Central Election Commission’ to align them with the new provisions.