The Verkhovna Rada entered the snap elections with a legacy of old baggage. The people's representatives failed to thoroughly revise the basic law and failed to eliminate provisions that impact the expression of citizens' will and provoke public discontent. The approaches to the formation of district and precinct electoral commissions, the requirements for electoral actors—parties and candidates—and the unwritten rules of the campaign—almost all remained from the Yanukovych era. And if some legal provisions were amended, they were most often in the direction of opacity. The Rivne region has already "enriched" itself with the colorful experience of these elections.
Although Yanukovych's government was overthrown more than six months ago, the old principle of forming district commissions remained in full force. This time, small party headquarters again submitted numerous candidates who immediately refused to serve on the commissions. It's surprising that in District 156 in the Rivne region, centered in Sarny, the Central Election Commission carried out more than a third of the replacements—a total of seven. And in District 154 (Dubno), the entire leadership—the chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary—was replaced.
In the same city of Dubno, the formation of the district committee's leadership turned into a game of "left out in the cold." The commission held its first meeting without a chairperson or deputy. Ms. Lyudmila Kovalchuk, nominated by the Right Sector party for the position of chairperson, did not appear at the first meeting. However, at the second, on September 10, she took the oath of office and began performing her duties. But a farce ensued: on September 12, the Central Election Commission adopted a resolution on replacements within the district election commission, and this woman was replaced by Yegor Dzyubak, also from Right Sector. He has experience, having served as a district election commission member during the snap presidential election... representing Petro Poroshenko.
In these elections, neither the Petro Poroshenko Bloc nor the People's Front are capable of forming an absolute majority of their representatives on district committees with the help of smaller parties. However, the practice, perfected during the previous parliamentary elections, of introducing representatives of "technical" parties to district committees to strengthen the influence of one or another pro-government force remains. It's no surprise that during the first meeting, some members of District Commission No. 153 (Rivne) indicated that they represented the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, although officially they represented completely different entities—the Green Party of Ukraine and the Party of Pensioners of Ukraine.
Members of "technical" parties are now willing to work for more established political forces, even if they're not pro-government. And they're making no secret of it! According to an "Opora" observer, Sergei Bankovsky, a member of the Dubno district committee representing the Socialist Party, told everyone present that he actually represents Oleh Lyashko's Radical Party.
Back in early September, the Committee of Voters, the "Chesno" Movement, and the "Opora" public organization created the "For Democratic Elections" coalition in Rivne, aimed at promoting fair and transparent elections to the Verkhovna Rada. It would seem that the district committee leaders should have strongly supported this progressive initiative. But not all of them were willing.
The new Dubno district election commission chairperson has his own vision for election transparency. He refused to register an observer from Opora (having refused twice—on September 13 and 17!), citing his own busy schedule and the lack of a registration log. Neboraka was only registered on the third attempt.
The snap parliamentary elections in the Rivne region are marked by a large number of single-member candidates. The increasing attractiveness of the mandate has resulted in even more candidates in certain constituencies than in 2012. For example, in constituency 154 (Dubno), 16 candidates have registered to run for a parliamentary seat (up from 12 two years ago), and in constituency 155 (Dubrovytsia), 18 (compared to six in 2012). In each of the five constituencies, candidates have been nominated by established political players—Batkivshchyna, People's Front, and Oleh Lyashko's Radical Party; in four, by Serhiy Tihipko's Strong Ukraine party; and in three, by Right Sector. Svoboda and the Petro Poroshenko Bloc have also agreed on candidates, but with a clear advantage in favor of the president. The Svoboda candidate is running only in Rivne, while Poroshenko's supporters are running in the other four constituencies. Few are surprised that moneyed candidates like Oleksandr Danilchuk and Vasyl Yanitsky, who ran for seats as independents in 2012, are now running for the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.
The tight deadlines for holding snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada dictate their own conditions. Many potential candidates tried to make their presence known long before their official registration with the Central Election Commission. They did so through charitable foundations or repeated the practice of two years ago, without inventing anything new.
For example, People's Front candidate Yuriy Voznyuk began actively working in the 153rd district (Rivne) back in August and early September. He donated valuable gifts to schools—a video camera and sports equipment.
The "Love Ukraine" Foundation, founded in 2012 by parliamentary candidate Danylo Korilkevich in the 154th district, is now headed by another candidate—his son Mykhailo. Last weekend, the Foundation organized "Protect and Help" camps at sites of military glory—Tarakaniv Fort and Dubno Castle.
In June, Vasyl Yanitsky's "Our Land" foundation, known from the 2012 elections, resumed operations in the northern districts of the region. Back then, the aforementioned candidate ran in the 155th district (Dubrovitsa) and finished third. He now represents the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. The revived foundation is once again organizing cultural and public events and donating books to libraries.
A distinctive feature of the current campaign is the use of the theme of support for Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Donbas. This theme, successfully combined with others, provides the candidate with significant political dividends. So why not capitalize on issues that, at the very least, resonate with Ukrainians? Self-nominated candidate Oleh Chervonyuk (constituency #152), owner of the Rivne Flax Mill, manufactures military clothing at his enterprise, advertising this activity. Petro Poroshenko Bloc candidate Oleksiy Mulyarenko (constituency #153) is involved in the repair of military vehicles and donates a portion of his company's profits to the army. Vasyl Yanitsky (Petro Poroshenko Bloc) is purchasing ammunition for soldiers, helping hospitals and volunteers, while independent candidate Viktor Myalik (both from constituency No. 155) helped staff the Goryn Battalion before sending it to the war zone and even financed the repair of six combat reconnaissance and patrol vehicles.
Today, few candidates would dare to bribe voters with money or food rations. Candidates seek to build a lasting, positive image through their foundations, seemingly forgetting that electoral charity bears all the hallmarks of indirect vote-buying and is prohibited by the Law "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine" (Clause 14, Article 74).
These days, the entire Rivne region is lavishly covered with billboards of various political forces. However, many parties have not removed their outdoor advertising without their official information, even after registering as electoral participants. At the time of writing, small parties, such as the Internet Party of Ukraine (billboard "Vdarimo po volohatiy lapi koruptsii") and the Liberal Party of Ukraine ("Liberali – shlyakh miru ta idnosti"), which appear on the political scene only to disappear just as suddenly, have not complied with the law's requirements (clause 7 of Article 69). But more significant political players were also guilty of unmarked advertising—Oleg Lyashko's Radical Party (billboard reading "Putin is a dick! Good will win!"), the Petro Poroshenko Bloc ("It's Time to Unite"), and Batkivshchyna ("Ukraine will win!"). It seems the political parties are colluding in their "anonymous" advertising. That's why they're not filing complaints against each other in court, after which the Central Election Commission could at least issue a warning.
Svoboda took a more cunning approach. After officially registering its electoral list, the party switched from direct advertising to veiled one. Numerous billboards with the message "Who Voted for Lustration" appeared across the region. The text reminds everyone that the entire parliament voted for the law on purging power from Svoboda. And who among ordinary voters would guess that the head of the public organization "All-Ukrainian Lustration," which commissioned this outdoor advertising, is Svoboda MP Oleh Osukhovskyi?
Unmarked outdoor advertising is also illegal because it's not paid for from a party's election fund. But how can one actually comply with the law? The problem is that the Verkhovna Rada has limited the election fund for a party or candidate in these elections to 90 rubles and 4 times the minimum wage, respectively. Both parties and candidates are campaigning under the table, commissioning advertising and other services in a non-transparent manner. But which influential political players care about such trivialities?
Roman Yakel, ZN, UA
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