On 13-14 November 2017, an international conference devoted to the 20th Anniversary of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine was conducted to discuss the ways to improve the election management system in the country. The conference was organized by the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine jointly with its national partner – Central Election Commission of Ukraine, and its international partners – OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).

Mr. Mykhailo Okhendovskyi, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, stated that “it might be symbolic that this conference starts not only on the day of the CEC 20th Anniversary, but less than a week after the draft Electoral Code was considered and voted for by the Parliament of Ukraine in the first reading. Therefore, this conference might serve as a good forum for national and foreign experts to share opinions on different aspects of election management which could be reasonably suggested and introduced into the Electoral Code. Thus, we hope that respective proposals and recommendations from the Central Election Commission will be taken into account by the Parliament of Ukraine when preparing the draft Electoral Code for the second reading”. The CEC Chair also stressed the importance to discuss the influence of modern information technologies and social networks on the voters’ choice at elections in the context of the conference.  

Ms. Olena Lytvynenko, the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, mentioned that “improvement of the electoral legislation and practice is indispensable to ensure sustainable development of a democratic and legal state. Activities of the election management bodies should ensure and guarantee the implementation of the fundamental principles of the European Electoral Heritage, namely, universal, equal, free, secret and direct suffrage. For that purpose, in particular, electoral management bodies should be impartial and their activities be transparent, effective and focused on ensuring rights and interests of the citizens

 “When talking about election management in a certain country, the electoral system is usually discussed. And it is fair because the choice of the electoral system influences not only on the procedure of forming the representative bodies of power, but also on the whole electoral process.” was stated by Mr. Vaidotas Verba, Ambassador, the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine. He further mentioned „However, the mechanisms to organize and manage elections should not be underestimated. Elections are a complicated and costly process whereto a lot of people are involved and whose work should be carried out in short terms and in light of political pressure. In such circumstances, organizational problems could lead to unpredictable consequences, even to failure of trust toward the elections and its results”.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Peter Erben, Country Director, IFES in Ukraine, stressed on the hope that "the draft electoral code, now moving through the Parliament of Ukraine, will be promulgated, with crucial amendments adopted through a transparent, inclusive and consultative process before its second hearing". In his intervention at the panel of the second day about the use of new technologies in the electoral process, he reminded to consider any steps in this direction carefully and to take well informed decision on what kind of technology should be introduced in the electoral process for what purpose.

The conference gathered more than 130 participants, including members and representatives of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, election management bodies of Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, representatives of national legislative and judiciary bodies as well as international and national election experts. The participants of the conference discussed not only different methods and approaches to modernise the election management system and process in Ukraine, but learned also from good practice examples from neighbouring countries. The conference showed the importance of peer exchange between electoral management bodies of the region, who appreciated the possibility to share their experience in organization and conduct of elections in their respective countries in the light of the challenges of the new technologies era.

The conference was organized within the framework of the Council of Europe projects on “Reform of the Electoral Practice in Ukraine” and “Assistance to the Ukrainian authorities in reforming electoral legislation and in conducting constitutional reform”.

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