Since 2015, the Council of Europe has been implementing electoral assistance projects in Ukraine.  The project "Reform of the electoral practice in Ukraine" was implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2015–2017.  The current project  "Supporting the transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine" is being implemented under the Council of Europe Action Plan 2018–2021.  The above-mentioned Action Plan, similar to the previous documents, is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian authorities.  They are aimed at supporting Ukraine in fulfilling its statutory and specific obligations as a member state of the Council of Europe and at contributing to the assuring fundamental human rights and the rule of law in Ukraine.

The overall objective of the project is to improve integrity, transparency and quality of  electoral process, both nationally and locally.

The project activities are intended to enhance and ensure:

• the capacity of public authorities to organise elections in accordance with European and international electoral standards;
• the use of modern approaches and technologies in organisation and conduct of  electoral process in accordance with the European electoral standards and good  practices;
• the transparency of political funding and efficiency of accountability mechanisms;
• the political and legal culture of electoral process’ participants, in particular, voters;
• the capacity of women, young voters, national minorities to actively participate in political and public decision developing and making processes;
• domestic election observation in line with European standards and good practices.

Throughout the implementation of the electoral assistance projects in Ukraine, many organizations from various sectors have become our partners in strengthening and contributing to more fair, transparent and inclusive electoral practice in the country. They encompass public authorities at various levels, including the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power, higher education institutions, NGOs, international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.  In particular, a number of project activities have been organised in close collaboration with other Council of Europe projects and programmes, both within and outside Ukraine.  Key partners in the achieving current project's goals and objectives are:

 -  Central Election Commission;

 - Supreme Court and administrative judiciary;

 - National School of Judges of Ukraine;

 - National Council of Ukraine for Television and Radio Broadcasting;

 - Parliamentary Sub-committee on Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination;

-Parliamentary Interfaction Union "Equal Opportunities";

 - non-governmental organizations "Institute of Election Law", "Commission on Journalism Ethics", "Human Rights Platform", "Ukrainian  Media and Communication Institute", "StopFake", NGO "Women's Rights Protection League "Harmony Of Equals";

 - UA: Ukrainian Radio;

 - projects of the Council of Europe "Strengthening freedom of media, access to information and reinforcing public broadcasting system in Ukraine", "Supporting constitutional and legal reforms, constitutional justice and assisting the Verkhovna Rada in conducting reforms aimed at enhancing its efficiency", "Assistance in reforming electoral legislation and conducting constitutional reform", as well as "The Istanbul Convention: a tool to advance in fighting violence against women and domestic violence in Ukraine".

1) supporting the organisation and conduct of electoral process in order to improve the quality of national and local elections in accordance with European electoral standards and good practices;

2) supporting electoral justice with the purpose of improving the effectiveness of mechanisms to protect citizens' electoral rights;

3) improving the effectiveness of the mechanisms of liability for electoral offenses;

 4) promoting impartial and objective media coverage of electoral process by enhancing media literacy and conducting trainings for journalists on election coverage standards, monitoring election coverage for compliance with electoral law and standards;

5) supporting public oversight and independent monitoring of the various cycles and aspects of  electoral process, in particular through the development of monitoring methodologies and support of their implementation;

 6) promoting gender equality and enhancing balanced representation of women and men in politics –  one of the priorities of the Council of Europe's Gender Equality Strategy 2018–2023 –  by means of supporting legislative action, enhancing women's capacity to participate in political and electoral processes and holding awareness raising activities among the representatives of the authorities and the public;

 7) raising legal and political culture and awareness of participants about electoral procedures and process in order to improve the quality of the latter and to strengthen citizens' trust in elections and their results.

Essay by Vladyslav Dzhus 

Essay by Julia Zaharevych 

• Local elections: concept for the legislative amendments in the context of reforming local self-governance and administrative and territorial system of Ukraine