On 12 July 2021, Mr. Steen Nørlov, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, met with Mr. Oleg Didenko, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, to discuss and agree on further cooperation* on ensuring free and transparent elections in Ukraine.
Mr. Steen Nørlov recalled the readiness, and willingness, of the Council of Europe to pursue further the cooperation with the Central Election Commission which is based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2018, as well as on the Protocol of understanding and cooperation signed in May 2020.
During the meeting the parties discussed plans for future cooperation, and in particular, in the following areas:
- Modernisation, digitalisation and use of new information technologies at different stages of the electoral process: provision of expert support and application of standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe in this area;
- Training and education of various stakeholders and participants, including voters, to increase overall legal and political culture of electoral processes;
- Support to the establishment and organisation of the regional and territorial offices of the Central Election Commission;
- Cooperation and support on the organisation and conduct of referenda in view of the recently adopted Law of Ukraine "On All-Ukrainian Referendum", which entered into force in April 2021, as well as the ongoing work on the draft law on local referenda in Ukraine.
The Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine reaffirmed the Council of Europe's readiness to continue providing all necessary support for the implementation of activities and support agreed. On his side, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine expressed readiness and willingness to further develop cooperation with the Council of Europe to ensure the transparency of the electoral process, as well as to increase essential public trust towards elections and their results.
*The cooperation with the Central Election Commission is carried out within the framework of the Council of Europe project "Supporting the transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine", implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018 – 2022.
