Mikhail Okhendovsky
"We must now do everything we can to fundamentally change the composition of the Central Election Commission. This composition must be one that the entire country trusts; otherwise, the crisis will only deepen... There will be no elections at all with such a court and such a Central Election Commission... Ukraine and the world will not accept elections that are formed in this way," this quote from Petro Poroshenko from February 10, 2014, then still just an independent MP. Yanukovych's regime was already crumbling, but hardly anyone could have imagined the mass shootings, Yanukovych's flight, the "polite people" in Crimea, and all the events that followed. Just as few considered Petro Poroshenko as Yanukovych's "successor."
But, paradoxically, Poroshenko appointed as head of state the very same Central Election Commission that "Ukraine and the world will not accept." Moreover, this same commission also held parliamentary elections, and there are no clear signals yet that the president and parliament intend to replace the commission, 12 of whose 15 members were appointed back in 2007 (and some of whom, moreover, are already serving their second terms).
Under the previous version of the law, the terms of CEC members were limited to seven years, meaning the election of most of them was scheduled for June 1, 2014—precisely between the two rounds of the snap presidential election. To resolve this conflict, the Verkhovna Rada amended the law, allowing CEC members to serve until the next commission is elected. In essence, from a legal perspective, this commission can serve indefinitely. However, a moral issue arises: what kind of "post-Maidan" Ukraine can we talk about if the CEC is still headed by Mykhailo Okhendovskyi , a protégé of the Party of Regions, and its secretary is Tatyana Lukash, the sister of the former Minister of Justice (although, according to some reports, she currently plays virtually no role in the commission's work).
The Verkhovna Rada can overload the Central Election Commission (CEC), as the President nominates members after consultations with parliamentary factions. Traditionally, this is a kind of consensus between the various branches of government. It would seem that between the presidential elections in May and the snap parliamentary elections in October, there was enough time to sort this out. But somehow, he never got around to it, and after winning the election, Petro Oleksiyovych abruptly stopped calling the CEC a fiend. As a result, the parliamentary elections were conducted by the same people, with a few exceptions. Last spring, at the instigation of then-acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, the Rada dismissed two CEC members from the Communist and Party of Regions quota – Yuriy Donchenko and Oleksandr Kopylenko – and appointed Oleh Didenko (from UDAR) and Kateryna Berezyuk (from Svoboda). The rest, including the commission's head, remained the same. When Poroshenko became president, he attempted to replace Tatyana Lukash with Svetlana Kustova and even sent a corresponding resolution to the Rada, but it was never considered.
Local elections are expected to take place this fall, unless they are postponed under the pretext of decentralization. And it's highly likely that Okhendovskyi and his associates will once again conduct them. In March of this year, Speaker Volodymyr Groysman spoke about a possible rotation of the Central Election Commission: "This work is underway. And not just for the Central Election Commission. This also concerns other government bodies appointed by the Ukrainian parliament. This includes the Antimonopoly Committee, and this includes the Accounting Chamber." However, while the appointment of the heads of the Antimonopoly Committee, the Accounting Chamber, and the State Property Fund, as well as the filling of parliamentary quotas in the High Council of Justice, were actively discussed during the previous session week and will definitely be submitted to parliament next week, nothing concrete has been heard about the Central Election Commission.
"I myself don't understand what the coalition's plans are on this matter," says one of the Poroshenko Bloc MPs. "There were such conversations for a while, but then they died down. They probably decided not to complicate the already difficult negotiations over the 'bread and butter' departments."
"Right now, more negotiations are underway regarding the new local election law, which we need to pass by July 16," explains Oleh Lavrik of Samopomich. "As for the Central Election Commission, personnel matters are not currently being discussed; at least, they haven't been brought up at official meetings of the Coalition Rada. I think once the local election law is clear, we'll be able to work things out with the Central Election Commission."
However, the coalition members insist that the issue of changing the composition of the Central Election Commission is fundamental for them and must be resolved in conjunction with other personnel issues.
"According to parliamentary tradition, the Central Election Commission more or less reflects the composition of the political forces in parliament, and the current composition doesn't include a single member who applied for our quota," recalls radical Igor Popov. "Many vacant seats (the Supreme Judicial Council, the Antimonopoly Committee) need to be filled transparently and simultaneously, to avoid any jealousy within the coalition, and not in the manner proposed by the major factions. And the Central Election Commission is part of a large package of issues being decided by the Verkhovna Rada. I don't rule out the possibility that some of its members will be re-appointed."
"Consultations on this matter haven't taken place yet, but we hope they will take place as quickly as possible, since the mandate of this Central Election Commission expired between the first and second rounds of the presidential elections," says Leonid Yemets of the People's Front. "And the list of personnel issues that the Verkhovna Rada must resolve includes the Central Election Commission."
Opponents of reforming the Central Election Commission "here and now" may use various arguments. They say, "Let's first decide on the law on local elections and their dates, and then we'll deal with the Central Election Commission." In turn, certainty regarding local elections is often made contingent on constitutional amendments regarding decentralization, which is a short path. The by-election in the 205th constituency in Chernihiv Oblast could also play a role. Rumor has it that the President deliberately appointed Valeriy Kulich, a majoritarian MP, as governor, in order to secure the election of Serhiy Berezenko, head of the State Duma of Ukraine, in the by-election in this constituency. Berezenko has already been appointed to a region unfamiliar to him as the coordinator of the recently created Regional Development Council, which many interpreted as preparation for the election campaign.
In fact, there may be many official excuses, but one theory is that no one genuinely wants to get involved in discussions about changing the composition of the Central Election Commission, which, by and large, suits everyone. And for Poroshenko, who won in the first round, it's also a stroke of luck. As for Okhendovskyi, the head of the Central Election Commission, who was once chosen to secure Yanukovych's second term, has long since sworn allegiance to the new government. If there's a persistent suspicion that he might, out of habit, help his former patrons from the Opposition Bloc, nothing prevents the CEC members from electing a new head—they should have enough votes to do so.
"For better or worse, this Central Election Commission (CEC) proved manageable and quite efficient, performing well in the presidential and parliamentary elections," says political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko. "The paradox is that most of its members have no ties to the current political forces and serve a technocratic function. This is their great advantage, something I believe both the President and the Prime Minister have realized. But if a new CEC is created, a new balance of interests must be sought, and these potential conflicts could further drive the coalition into a corner of contradictions. It's like an old car—it's obsolete, but it's a shame to throw it away. And there's a strong suspicion that this CEC will be retained until the local elections, but, of course, it will still have to be changed—the only question is when."
For now, comfort for the major players and the reluctance to inadvertently strengthen the position of competitors prevails over the urgent need for change. Meanwhile, many Central Election Commission members have already put down real roots in the building on Lesi Ukrainky Street.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!