Final Report

2020

FINAL REPORT

The Ukrainian World Congress International Observation Mission to Ukraine’s 2020 Local

Elections

CONTENT

FOREWORD BY BORYS WRZESNEWSKYJ, HEAD OF MISSION OF THE UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS ...... 2 FOREWORD BY ANDRIY FUTEY, HEAD OF MISSION OF THE UKRAINIAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE OF AMERICA ...... 3 PART ONE OF THE UWC AND UCCA MISSIONS FINAL REPORT ...... 4 I. Executive Summary of the Final Report ...... 4 II. The UWC and UCCA Mission Reports ...... 5 III. The UWC and UCCA Mission Recommendations ...... 10 PART TWO OF THE UWC AND UCCA MISSIONS FINAL REPORT ...... 20 I. About Ukrainian World Congress ...... 20 II. About UWC and UCCA Missions ...... 23 III. Domestic and international observers ...... 27 IV. Background ...... 29 V. Legal framework ...... 36 VI. Local election threats and risks ...... 53 VII. Ukraine’s preparedness for local elections ...... 54 VIII. Training of the official election observers ...... 57 IX. Meetings of the UWC and UCCA Mission leadership ...... 60 X. Address of the UWC and the UCCA Missions to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky ...... 79 XI. Address of the UWC and the UCCA Mission to the Chairman of the Verhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov ...... 80 XII. Election monitoring by the official observers at the polling stations ...... 82 XIII. Local elections observation conclusions ...... 90 XIV. Conclusions of analytical observations of the electoral process ...... 90 XV. Media monitoring conclusionsedia monitoring conclusions ...... 111 XVI. Acknowledgment ...... 128 XVII. Information sources (online) ...... 129 XVIII. Contact information: ...... 130

TORONTO – NEW YORK – KYIV – BRUSSELS Head Office: 145 Evans Ave., Suite 207 Toronto, ON M8Z 5X8 Canada Tel.: +1.416.323.3020 Fax: +1. 416.323.3250 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org

FOREWORD BY BORYS WRZESNEWSKYJ, HEAD OF MISSION OF THE UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS Ukraine’s December 1, 1991 Independence Referendum and presidential election were the first “free and fair” elections that Ukraine’s people had participated in in modern history. Turnout was 80%, and answering a clear and concise question, over 90% voted “TAK”- “YES” for independence. It was this act by the people of Ukraine, and their overwhelming declaration that they would be free, that sealed the fate of the Soviet Union. On December 26 the Belavezha Accord officially declared that the Soviet Union was dissolved. The “evil empire,” prison of nations, ceased to exist not through war and bloodshed, but by this act of free will by tens of millions of Ukrainians. World history changed that day and the Doomsday Clock’s hands moved the furthest from midnight the clock has been since its inception. Since that first democratic vote in Ukraine; this post-Soviet economically and culturally devastated country and her centuries long subjugated people, survivors of genocide, have been on a difficult journey of building a democracy with its promise of resultant freedom and prosperity. In 2004 there was a long-planned, sophisticated attempt, with Kremlin collusion to commit electoral fraud against the people’s will during the presidential elections. It resulted in the Orange Revolution and a rerun of the vote according to the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. In 2013/14 President Yanukovych, notwithstanding the clear will of the people of Ukraine, refused to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union and instead pivoted to the Kremlin. It resulted in the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity. This time a revanchist Kremlin invaded Ukraine; first militarily occupying and annexing Crimea and then militarily invading Eastern Ukraine. For the first time in the history of the European Union people have been shot and killed while carrying the European Union flag, for what it symbolizes. The continent of two World Wars has a democratic and peaceful union whose historical mission must be to embrace the epicentre of Europe’s WWII killing fields, Ukraine. At a time when globally democracy is under attack and in retreat, Ukraine is literally its front line. Free and fair elections during Ukraine’s almost 30 years of independence are not just affirmations of the people’s will, they are of geopolitical consequence. It is imperative that we in the West be guarantors of this process through robust support including observer missions during electoral processes. Slava Ukraini!

Borys Wrzesnewskyj

FOREWORD BY ANDRIY FUTEY, HEAD OF MISSION OF THE UKRAINIAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE OF AMERICA

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) has always upheld that elections are a critical step in protecting and securing a democracy; and International Election Observers can enhance the transparency of and the public confidence in the election process.

Voting is not only a fundamental process in a democratic system – but a civic duty that enables one to shape their government and future – and the 2020 local elections were no different. Some might even argue these elections were more important given that they were held under a new election law whereby the role of local self-government bodies would be significantly enhanced due to recent expansion of decentralization reforms and consolidation of territorial communities due to changes in the administrative-territorial structure.

However, fielding a delegation of International observers posed a challenge for UCCA due to the worldwide pandemic, Covic-19 travel restrictions and most importantly proper accommodation of the health concerns of volunteers. But by joining forces with our global umbrella organization – the Ukrainian World Congress – together we were able to register two Election Observation Missions which consisted of 26 members. These 26 volunteers deserve immense gratitude for their sacrifice – volunteering their time and money to serve as members of our joint mission during this worldwide pandemic. Their commitment to democracy and Ukraine must be applauded.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America would also like to thank Ukraine’s Central Elections Commission and other government bodies for taking all the proper precautions to safeguard the voters’ right to cast their ballots.

Andriy Futey

PART ONE OF THE UWC AND UCCA MISSIONS FINAL REPORT

I. Executive Summary of the Final Report The UWC and the UCCA International Election Observation Missions to Ukraine’s 2020 local elections present the Final Report on the observation of local elections in Ukraine and confirm that: “The 2020 local elections in Ukraine were conducted in accordance with the Ukrainian law, without significant violations and generally met the standards for democratic elections.” According to the Missions, the following issues may have the potential to adversely affect the democratic electoral process and the principle of equal electoral conditions and universal access to vote in the future elections in Ukraine: External threats: 1) aggressive disinformation by the Russian Federation; 2) direct interference of foreign states, as occurred by high-ranking officials of Hungary. Internal challenges: 1) “telling the truth” to the voters, oligarchic media control; 2) transparency of election campaign financing; 3) unconditional implementation of voting rights of all categories of voters, including persons with disabilities; 4) prevention of the use of administrative resource [political influence] and illegal interference of public authorities in the preparation of elections and the electoral process. The Final Report covers the activities of the UWC and UCCA Missions during all stages of observation of the electoral process, including voting days and the determination of election results: 1) meetings with representatives of government bodies, international observation missions, church hierarchs, leaders of public organizations; 2) election monitoring at the polling stations on the day of voting on October 25, 2020 and on the days of repeated voting on November 15, 22, 29, and December 6, 2020; 3) analytical observations by the experts of various aspects of the electoral process 4) media monitoring. The historical significance of the 2020 local elections is that 1) for the first time the new provisions of the Electoral Code of Ukraine were adopted shortly before the elections 2) they were the result of the largest changes in the administrative-territorial system since Ukraine’s independence 3) they were held during the ongoing COVID19 coronavirus pandemic and related quarantine restrictions. The observers recorded certain violations of the Electoral Code, which were not systemic. The Heads of Missions submitted official letters to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and to the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov emphasizing problematic issues that needed to be resolved.

An important part of the Final Report is the section with recommendations for state bodies, local self-government authorities and civil society on further improvement of legislation to create democratic conditions for the unconditional exercise of voting rights for all demographics of citizens, address critical issues during the election cycle and create safeguards to counter external and internal threats of interference in the electoral process, combating disinformation and manipulation in the information environment 1) exercising citizen’s voting rights; 2) countering attempts to distort the will of voters; 3) transparency and openness of electoral procedures: 4) integrity of election campaigning; 5) financing; 6) local government authority; 7) sustainable development and reforms. The UWC and UCCA International Observation Missions express their gratitude to the Ukrainian people for their hospitality, to the individuals, government officials and representatives of NGOs and to all UWC and UCCA official observers and experts. The report is addressed to the Central Election Commission, state authorities, local governments, political parties, public associations, organizations, as well as all citizens of Ukraine. We hope that the report will be of interest to foreign partners and all those who care about the fate of Ukraine.

II. The UWC and UCCA Mission Reports The UWC and UCCA missions issued 4 (four) reports on the 2020 local elections: A) Interim report of the UWC International Observation Mission to Ukraine’s Local Elections on October 25, 2020. Issue date - October 19, 2020. https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uwc-interim- report-on-local-election-observation-mission-in-ukraine_ukr_mk-1-1.pdf

B) Preliminary Observations of the UWC International Observation Mission to Ukraine’s Local Elections on October 25, 2020 (the day after the elections). Issue date - October 26, 2020. https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/uwc-interim- report-on-local-election-observation-mission-in-ukraine_ukr_mk-1-1.pdf

C) Preliminary Observations of repeat elections on 15 November, 22 November, 29 November, 6 December 2020. Issue date – December 7, 2020. https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/programs/elections-missions/?lang=uk

On October 28, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and the Ukrainian Congressional Committee of American (UCCA) International Election Observation Missions made a public presentation of Preliminary Observations Report of local elections in Ukraine.

UWC website announcement: https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/novini/poperedni-visnovki-roboti- mizhnarodnih-misij-sku-ta-ukka/?lang=uk

On behalf of the UWC and UCCA International Monitoring Missions, the Central Election Commission has accredited 26 official observers. On election day, the electoral process was monitored by representatives from six countries of the world, namely, Canada, USA, Denmark, Switzerland, Great Britain and France.

The UWC and UCCA missions observed the electoral process in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv oblasts, and in the city of Kyiv.

The UWC and UCCA international missions focused on the following key tasks:

• analysis of the legal basis of the electoral process, particularly, the Electoral Code of Ukraine, and Ukraine's commitment to an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe and in the context of other international standards of democratic expression of will; • evaluating Ukraine's preparedness to ensure democratic elections, counteracting possible foreign interference, manipulation and violations of the electoral process; • monitoring of Ukraine's readiness to hold elections during the pandemic; • media monitoring that also covers international media; • observation of the electoral process on the eve of and on election day at polling stations, as well as observing the vote counting process and the announcement of election results.

The Missions note a number of positive legislative changes compared to the 2015 local elections. This is the first time when the suffrage by internally displaced persons (IDPs) and internal labor migrants has been adjusted for the purpose of local elections as well as the innovative electronic services to change the electoral address have been introduced. Almost 92,000 voters (10 percent of the total amount of IDPs) used this service and changed their voting address to participate in the local elections. Another positive factor is the approach toward gender representation introduced in the Electoral Code of Ukraine during the formation of single and territorial electoral lists, provisioning the inclusion of at least two candidates of each gender in every consecutive set of five candidates (at least two male/female candidates among the first five candidates numbered first through fifth on a list, then the next set of five and so on.) It’s been the first time that Ukraine has adopted the legislative norms to fully ensure the voting rights of people with disabilities.

The missions were alarmed by the fact that despite Verkhovna Rada’s announcement in July about the local elections taking place all over Ukraine except for the temporarily occupied territories, local elections were not held in 18 territorial communities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

In 2019, both presidential and parliamentary elections were held in these 18 territorial communities. Now, that the ceasefire regime has been declared the conditions for holding the elections are probably more favorable than a year ago.

The Missions notice the imperfection of the legislation, which gives Civil-Military Administrations the right not to comply with the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and to decide on the impossibility of holding local elections. Notably, Civil-Military Administrations have a conflict of interest with local communities as to control over community funds.

More than 500,000 voters were effectively robbed of their constitutional right to elect the government of local self-government bodies.

Since the launch of the electoral process the UWC and UCCA International Election Observation Missions met with representatives of key government bodies that were responsible for facilitating various aspects of the election: CEC leadership, the Ministry of Interior, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and respective representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The UWC and UCCA observation missions also worked closely with international missions, including the OSCE, expert NGOs such as the Committee of Voters of Ukraine and OPORA, and a number of other NGOs and think tanks. In addition, meetings were held with the Hierarchs of Ukrainian Churches. As to foreign interference the Missions note that any direct interference in Ukraine's internal affairs by foreign states is absolutely unacceptable. This includes campaigning for a political party during Hungarian State Secretary János Árpád Potápi’s visit to Zakarpattia oblast and the call of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó addressing Hungarians of Transcarpathia to support party KMKSZ – Hungarian Party in Ukraine in the local elections. Official observers noted minor irregularities and difficulties before and during the election day at selected polling stations, including: - delays in opening some polling stations; - lack of ballot boxes, improper sealing and placement of ballot boxes, including mobile ballot boxes, at the polling station; - attempts to take a picture with a ballot paper and attempts to take a ballot paper outside; - lack of voting booths, including special voting booths for people with disabilities; - improper arrangement of voting booths; - elements of prohibited campaigning on election day; - problems with the voter lists, absence of people on the lists who were discharged on the eve of the voting day; - difficulties with access of elderly people and people with disabilities to some polling stations; - non-compliance with anti-epidemiological measures.

These violations were not systemic and generally did not affect the voting results.

These preliminary observations are submitted prior to the completion of vote counting, the announcement of the preliminary and final results of the election, and adjudication of possible complaints and appeals.

“These elections are different from any other election in Ukraine’s history because of the challenges posed by the pandemic and the fact that local governments now have bigger say in their local affairs and have more capacity to address local issues,” stressed Andriy Futey, Head of the UCCA Election Observation Mission.

“In fact, Russia's hybrid military aggression against Ukraine had the largest negative impact on the 2020 local elections in Ukraine, as it robbed the Ukrainian people of a chance to elect local governments in Crimea and in the occupied territories of Donbas,” said the Head of the UWC Monitoring Mission Borys Wrzesnewskyj. "The UWC and UCCA missions continue their work, and a detailed report from both missions with specific recommendations on how to improve the electoral process will be submitted after the elections"

Check out PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS REPORT

The presentation of Monitoring Missions’ Preliminary Observations Report was widely covered by the media

Announcement on the ASPI News Agency website:

9 https://aspi.com.ua/news/politika/moskva-budapesht-ta-covid-19-svitoviy-kongres-ukrainciv- prokomentuvav-vpliv#gsc.tab=0

The UWC Head of Mission Borys Wrzesnewskyj listed factors of significant external influence on the October 25 electoral process in Ukraine. A Canadian politician of Ukrainian descent mentioned the Kremlin and the illegal campaigning of the Hungarian government in Zakarpattia.

The major external factor influencing the Ukrainian voter is Russia's imperial policy. Due to military aggression, millions of Ukrainians were deprived of the right to elect local government. Besides the citizens who remained in the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea there were another half a million residents of 18 territorial communities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the elections were canceled due to the proximity to the front.

"Besides, Russia is an autocracy, so it will try to destroy democracy in neighboring countries at all costs, particularly in Ukraine," said Wrzesnewskyj. "The Kremlin is waging a powerful information war not only in Ukraine but also spreading false information about the state of affairs in the Ukraine all over the world.”

The second factor was the continuous work of Hungary to influence the electoral process in the Zakarpattia oblast. "It is strange that a country that is a member of NATO and the EU has behaved in this way," said the UWC mission leader. Indeed, according to observers from the OPORA civil network, on October 8-9, Hungarian State Secretary for National Policy Janos Arpad Potápi campaigned for the KMKSZ "Party of Hungarians of Ukraine" during a visit to Zakarpattia.

Despite the protests of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó addressed Ukrainian Hungarians on election day, October 25, 2020, in his Facebook post: “The only Hungarian party, the KMKSZ, is running for the Zakarpattia Regional Council, and it would be bad if Hungarians were left without representation at the oblast level.” He also campaigned for the election of current mayor Zoltan Babyak as the next mayor of Berehove.

The UWC called the COVID-19 pandemic the third most important external factor in the Ukrainian elections. Among the internal factors the following changes in the legislation had a positive impact on the elections: the gender quota in the voter lists and creation of voting opportunities for the internally displaced persons. "Overall, during the elections the missions recorded minor violations, which were not systemic in nature and did not affect the results. The elections were held in compliance with international standards of democracy," Wrzesnewskyj concluded.

D) Final Report on the observation of 2020 local elections in Ukraine (January 25, 2021) consists of forewords and a total of 21 sections divided into two parts. The conclusions of the UWC and UCCA Missions were based on direct short-term and long-term observations, as well as meetings with senior government officials, NGOs and the international community. The missions were completely independent and did not receive any government funding. An online reporting system for short-term observers was developed by Sterling Business School.

III. The UWC and UCCA Mission Recommendations Following the discussion of problematic issues during meetings with the CEC senior leadership, a number of leading NGOs that deal with the elections, after active monitoring of all events and news related to the local elections, the Heads of the UWC and UCCA Election Observation Missions Borys Wrzesnewskyj and Andriy Futey respectively sent a letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the importance of holding transparent, democratic and fair elections in Ukraine and the need to ensure a range of anti-epidemic measures during the elections: “This electoral process will take place in very difficult conditions of the new election legislation, a large number of internally displaced persons and military aggression in eastern Ukraine. One of the main problems of this election campaign was the wide spreading of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) in Ukraine. It is obvious that Ukrainian legislation cannot foresee these challenges that strongly influence the electoral process and in particular the participation of voters themselves, the work of election commissions and observers… The successful resolution of this issue depends on the combined efforts of the authorities at all levels and the provision of resources at all stages of the electoral process. We hope for a successful combination of efforts to ensure transparent, democratic and fair elections in Ukraine, and the appropriate recognition of these elections by the international community as a confirmation of the development of democratic processes in Ukraine."

The Heads of Mission submitted an official letter to the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Mr. Dmytro Razumkov, expressing their concern over the implementation of the citizens' voting rights requesting that the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning “holds hearings on the restoration of the constitutional suffrage of citizens living in 18 territorial communities who were deprived of the right to elect representative bodies of local self-government in the October 25, 2020, local elections in a manner not determined by the Electoral Code of Ukraine. The heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblast civil-military administrations should be invited to the hearing to provide a detailed explanation of all the circumstances that served as grounds for canceling the local elections in 18 territorial communities.”

The missions hope for a constructive legislative solution to the issue of ensuring the rights of citizens to choose local government bodies.

Recommendations for improving the electoral process in Ukraine

The UWC and UCCA missions offer the following recommendations to public authorities, local governments, and civil society to improve access to suffrage, further improve legislation to create democratic conditions for the unconditional exercise of voting rights by all citizens, address critical issues that arose during the election cycle, and create safeguards to counter external and internal threats of interference in the electoral process, combating disinformation and manipulation in the information space: ➢ Exercising citizen’s voting rights: 1) make every effort to ensure the exercise of citizens' voting rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions only after the de-occupation of the area, obtaining full control over the border with Russia, launching of Ukrainian media, creating conditions for the return of internally displaced persons and ensuring free expression of will of all citizens; 2) ensure the exercise of citizens' voting rights in local self-government elections in 18 territorial communities of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which did not hold elections on October 25, 2020, at the request of Donetsk and Luhansk civil-military administrations; 3) continue work on providing conditions for the exercise of voting rights of all citizens including persons with disabilities, focusing on accessibility of polling station premises, arrangement of special booths and other measures; 4) provide conditions for the exercise of voting rights by citizens, persons experiencing health issues and in self-isolation, including the use of electronic notification forms regarding the inability to vote at the polling station; 5) continue improving procedures for changing citizens’ electoral address for the exercise of voting rights; ➢ countering the attempts to distort the will of voters: 1) prevent the use of administrative resources by senior officials and civil servants to interfere in the electoral process or campaign; 2) legislatively regulate the issue of informing voters about changes in the surname, name or patronymics of clone candidates [candidates who obtain the same names as the high- rating candidates in their district thus confusing voters – Ed.]; 3) ensure the inevitability of punishment for violating the electoral law and widely informing citizens about the results of court proceedings and administrative and criminal prosecution of persons who violated the electoral law in previous elections through bribery of voters, candidates, mayors, and voters who changed electoral address seeking financial gain or benefits; 4) ensure unconditional implementation of Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Central Election Commission” to prevent interference by any government bodies, officials and public servants, citizens and their associations in the affairs of the Central Election Commission;

➢ transparency and openness of election procedures: 1) ensure the increase of transparency of the electoral process by prompt and full information disclosure from polling stations, making it freely available on the Web portal of the information-analytical system "Local Elections" hosted by the Central Election Commission’s website, including detailed information on candidates for deputies, candidates for city, settlement, and village mayors, as well as electronic protocols of precinct and territorial election commissions; 2) ensure through legislative means the transparency and effective public control over the financing of electoral processes by prompt and full information disclosure of all financial transactions of political parties, candidates for deputies, candidates for city, settlements, and village mayors making it freely available on the Web portal of the information- analytical system "Local Elections" hosted by the Central Election Commission’s website to account for the costs of all types of pre-election campaigning and events; ➢ integrity of election campaigning 1) abolish through legislative means the "Day of Silence" as an outdated norm, which is difficult to ensure with the increase of campaigning on social networks and messengers; 2) ensure through legislative means the creation of equal conditions in the media environment for political parties and candidates, so as to limit media owners’ capacity to influence what journalists say or write; 3) continue to raise citizens' awareness of the serious threats of disinformation to political stability, sustainable development and fundamental rights and freedoms; 4) develop an effective Strategy for Combating Disinformation and Information Manipulation, which are key elements of the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine; ➢ financing: 1) support the territorial and election commissions with all necessary financial, material and technical resources from the state budget during local elections; 2) determine through legislative norms the upper limits of campaign funds and the upper limits of campaign expenses and introduce financial responsibility for exceeding these amounts; 3) identify by law the responsibility of political parties that formed parliamentary factions in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for the timely delegation of candidates to form territorial and district election commissions in local elections and guaranteeing the honesty of their representatives in territorial election commissions and district election commissions at all stages of the electoral process and during the repeat voting and the determination of voting results; 4) consider legislation to establish financial incentives for political parties that complied with the established gender quota during the registration of authority of the local council deputies; 5) consider legislation that would authorize payment of remuneration to local council deputies for fulfilling their deputy duties, particularly during the period when the council is in session and when working in deputy committees;

➢ local government authority: 1) continue the decentralization reform and ensure that local budgets have adequate financial capacity to satisfy the statutory responsibilities of local governments and electoral obligations; 2) establish legislative safeguards to prevent changes or redistribution of the authority of local self-government bodies from the beginning of the electoral process up until at least a year after the end of the local elections; ➢ sustainable development and reforms: 1) invest in raising media awareness among the citizens of Ukraine, including disinformation and manipulation by introducing specialized training and the introduction of critical thinking and media literacy curriculum in school and academic programs; 2) establish cooperation with Western governments and international organizations on the exchange of data and experience in combating Russian disinformation and the coordinated response to eliminate its destructive consequences; 3) establish cooperation with Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram and other electronic social media systems to respond to and counter the spread of Russian and other disinformation; 4) promote the development of independent, high-quality media that would effectively disseminate truthful information about Ukraine in several languages among various target audiences; 5) study the possibility of increasing election participation among Ukrainian voters using best world practices of electronic voting, voting by mail, telephone voting.

PART TWO OF THE UWC AND UCCA MISSIONS FINAL REPORT

I. About Ukrainian World Congress The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is the international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has a network of member organizations and ties with Ukrainians in over 60 countries. Founded in 1967, the UWC was recognized in 2003 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organization with special consultative status and obtained in 2018 participatory status as an international non-governmental organization with the Council of Europe. The UWC consists of such member organizations as the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (USA), the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Canada), the Coordination Center of Ukrainian Public Central Institutions (Europe), the Union of Ukrainian Organizations in Australia, the Ukrainian Central Representation of Argentina, the Coordination Committee of Ukrainian Organizations in Brazil, and many others exceeding 150 in total. The purpose of the association is to help the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom and state independence and to coordinate the activities of its members. The main goals and objectives of the UWC are: • to represent the interests of Ukrainians in the diaspora; • coordinate the international relations of its member organizations that support and develop the Ukrainian national identity, spirit, language, culture and Ukrainian heritage around the world; • to promote the development of civil society of Ukrainians in their countries of residence and at the same time to strengthen the positive attitude towards Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state; • to protect the rights of Ukrainians regardless of their place of residence in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For more than 50 years, the UWC has been uniting Ukrainians all over the world around common goals and values and has paid special attention to such issues as: the protection and defense of the human and national rights of Ukrainians; international recognition of the Holodomor of 1932- 33 as an act of genocide; democratization of Ukraine and its integration into the European Union; strengthening of Ukraine as a state and inviolability of its borders; election observation; social and economic issues related to economic migration from Ukraine; promoting the development of the Ukrainian language in Ukraine and in the diaspora. Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, the UWC has worked to make it a true global epicenter of Ukrainization, which is in the interests of both Ukrainians living in Ukraine and those living abroad. On 11 July 2019, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation declared the UWC to be an undesirable organization, that constitutes a threat to the constitutional framework and security of the Russian Federation.

The key activities of the UWC are: Strengthening of Ukraine as a modern democratic wealthy state: • support of the European integration and Euro-Atlantic course of reforms; • promoting democratization processes; • election monitoring in Ukraine; • raising the image of Ukraine in the world Promotion of the "Ukrainian world" - the integration of Ukrainian heritage into the world Strengthening the international coalition to counter Russian aggression and disinformation: • protection of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and de-occupation of Crimea and Donbas; • strengthening the sanctions of the international community against Russia for its military aggression in Ukraine; • termination of the Russian Nord Stream-2 project; • the release of Ukrainian political prisoners and hostages held in Russia; • raising the image of Ukraine in the world Building prosperous and influential Ukrainian communities in the diaspora: • protection of human and national rights and freedoms; • preservation of Ukrainian national values; • raising national consciousness; • education of youth in the Ukrainian spirit Strengthening ties between Ukrainians in the diaspora and Ukraine International recognition of the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people International recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and deepening of its ties with Ukrainians all over the world Promote the granting of patriarchal status to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Since 1999, the UWC deployed election observation missions to monitor all presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine. In 2020, the UWC deployed its mission to observe the local elections.

UWC website:

https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) is a non-partisan non-profit organization representing the Ukrainian community in the United States, is a member of the Ukrainian World Congress. It was founded during the First Ukrainian American Congress in Washington, D.C. on May 24, 1940, with the participation of more than 800 delegates from 168 localities. The UCCA was initiated by fraternal organizations: the Ukrainian National Association, the Ukrainian Workingmen’s Association, the Providence Association of Ukrainian Catholics in America and the Ukrainian National Aid Association. In addition, the UCCA includes regional associations as well as national socio-political, professional, economic, women's, youth, veterans, scientific, cultural, church, and local organizations. The activities of the UCCA are aimed at protecting the right of the Ukrainian people to live independently, at protecting religious freedom, culture and other forms of national expression not only in Ukraine but also of Ukrainian minorities abroad. It launched campaigns in support of political prisoners in Ukraine and the protection of human rights and organized numerous events in proper recognition of the Ukrainian ethnic group in the United States. The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the national umbrella organization in the United States representing the interests of Americans of Ukrainian descent for 80 years has been conducting comprehensive civic education programs in Ukraine to teach citizens the benefits of democracy and free market economic reforms since 1991. A large part of the UCCA’s Civic Education work has included hosting delegations of international election observers to monitor Ukraine's presidential and parliamentary elections. UCCA Delegations have monitored every election held in Ukraine since 1991. In 2004, during the historic Orange Revolution, the UCCA’s delegation, which numbered 2,408 individuals, was the largest delegation of International Election Observers ever registered by Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, surpassing the OSCE’s delegation by almost 1,000 observers.

UCCA website: https://ucca.org/

II. About UWC and UCCA Missions

The Central Election Commission has accredited 12 official observers from the Ukrainian World Congress and 14 official observers from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America to monitor local elections on October 25, 2020 (CEC resolutions № 294 of September 24, 2020, № 313 of September 29, 2020, and № 384 of October 15, 2020): https://act.cvk.gov.ua/acts/pro-akreditatsiyu-ofitsiynih-sposterigachiv-vid-svitovogo- kongresu-ukraintsiv-na-mistsevih-viborah-25-zhovtnya-2020-roku.html https://act.cvk.gov.ua/acts/pro-akreditatsiyu-ofitsiynih-sposterigachiv-vid-yevropeyskoi- merezhi-organizatsiy-z-monitoringu-viboriv-ukrainskogo-kongresovogo-komitetu- ameriki-slovatskoi-respubliki-ta-korolivstva-ispaniya-na-mists.html https://act.cvk.gov.ua/acts/pro-akreditatsiyu-ofitsiynih-sposterigachiv-vid-komitetu-za- vidkritu-demokratiyu-natsionalnogo-demokratichnogo-institutu-mizhnarodnih-vidnosin- mizhnarodnogo-fondu-za-krashhe-upravlinnya-svitovogo-ko.html

Thus, on October 1, 2020, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has announced the launch of the UWC and UCCA Election Observervation Missions to Ukraine’s 2020 Local Elections to monitor and protect democracy in Ukraine and announced a call for volunteer observers for Ukraine’s local elections.

Announcement on the UWC website: https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/programs/elections-missions/ 01.10.2020 UWC & UCCA Call for Volunteer Observers for Ukraine’s Local Elections “On Sunday, October 25th, Ukrainians will vote for local council officials from the oblast down to the village levels.

These elections are significant because the role of local officials has been expanded by recent governmental decentralization reforms. The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) are seeking volunteers to serve as international election observers. Given the worldwide pandemic and various travel restrictions, the Election Observation Mission (EOM) will rely primarily on expats already residing in Ukraine.

The EOM will be co-Chaired by Borys Wrzesnewskyj, former Member of Parliament of Canada and Andriy Futey, UCCA President and UWC Vice President. Tamara Olexy, UWC Regional Vice President and UCCA Executive Director will serve as Mission Coordinator. Natalia Nemyliwska, Director of the UWC Economic Prosperity and Investment Committee, will serve as Chief Observer from UWC. Veteran UCCA International Election Monitor, Reno Domenico will serve as Chief Observer from UCCA.

The joint UWC-UCCA EOM is made up of volunteers committed to Ukraine’s democratic progress and who will cover their own expenses related to their participation in the mission.

The EOM’s goal is to support an open and transparent electoral process in Ukraine. UWC and UCCA support Ukraine’s commitment to OSCE standards for free and fair elections that accurately reflect the will of the electorate, and do not support any candidate, political party or bloc. UWC & UCCA expect to release their findings at a virtual press conference following the elections.

“These elections are unlike any other in Ukraine’s history, not only because of the challenges posed by the pandemic but because local governments now have a greater say in their local affairs, which is a long overdue and welcome departure from the legacy of the highly-centralized, Soviet past. – stated Paul Grod, UWC President. – UWC remains committed to supporting transparency and fairness of electoral processes, even during these challenging times.” “Safeguarding fair and transparent elections in Ukraine not only secures the democratic future of Ukraine and her people; Ukraine is on the frontline of a continental struggle for democratic values and human rights.” – stated Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Head of UWC Election Observation Mission. To volunteer for the UWC-UCCA EOM please contact [email protected] Note: The UWC & UCCA EOM will coordinate in-country travel, lodging, translators and guides (if necessary) and provide official Central Election Commission (CEC) international observer accreditation. EOM volunteers will be responsible for all costs associated with their participation in the Mission. Prior to elections, the EOM will hold a mandatory virtual training for its observers that will include instruction on how to operate UCCA’s unique on-line election app, hostile environment awareness training, a review of the new election law, COVID- related safety protocols and election observation best practices. We encourage to carefully consider the risks related to COVID-19 before applying for this volunteer role, including the current situation in Ukraine and risks related to travel.”

The UWC and UCCA Election Observation Missions’ core teams included:

Borys Wrzesnewskyj - Head of UWC Mission, and former Member of the Canada’s House of Commons (2004-2011, 2015-2019), during which time he served as a member of 11 committees including Chairing the Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (a joint committee of the House and Senate). He was also the founder and chair of both the Canada-Ukraine and Canada-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Groups. Entrepreneur, philanthropist. Organized Canadian election observation missions to Ukraine.

Andriy Futey – Head of Mission of the Ukrainian Congressional Committee of America, President of the Ukrainian Congressional Committee of America (UCCA), Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Ohio, USA, International Elections Observer in Ukraine since 1991.

Natalia Nemyliwska – UWC Chief Observer, Director of the UWC Economic Prosperity and Investment Committee. Director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Kyiv (2011-2017), Deputy Director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Kyiv (2008-2010); worked as a project manager in the government of Ontario (Canada) in the field of financial services.

Reno Domenico – UCCA Chief Observer, long-term international observer; president of Sterling Business School, Chair of Democrats Abroad - Ukraine

Tamara Olexy – UCCA Mission coordinator, UWC Regional Vice President and UCCA Executive Director, UCCA president (2008-2016) since mid- 1990s, she has led civic education projects in Ukraine and participated in UCCA election observation missions in Ukraine.

The UWC mission is completely independent and does not receive government funding.

The missions also employed Ukrainian electoral experts:

Yaroslav Sydorovych – head of the expert group, Head of the Main Department for Implementation of Reforms of the Administration of the President of Ukraine (August 2014 -November 2019); Director of the Department of Information and Analytical Support of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine (2005-2010); researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications and Global Information Space of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2010-2014); mathematician.

Vilyen Pidgornyy – expert, UWC Senior Policy Analyst

The Office of the Ukrainian World Congress in Ukraine provided the necessary organizational and technical support to ensure the success of the UWC and UCCA Missions during the preparation and observation of the 2020 Local Elections. The missions consist of volunteers who are committed to Ukraine's democratic progress. Due to the global pandemic and travel restrictions, the Election Observation Missions consist of expats and Ukrainian diaspora who are already in Ukraine.

The purpose of the UWC and UCCA Election Observation Missions is to support an open and transparent electoral process in Ukraine. The UWC and the UCCA support Ukraine's commitment to OSCE standards for free and fair elections, which reflect the will of the electorate and do not support any candidate, political party or a bloc.

The UWC mission analyzes local elections based on Ukraine’s international commitments to democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech and a free and fair electoral process.

UWC and UCCA international missions focused on the following key tasks:

● analysis of the legal basis of the electoral process, particularly, the Electoral Code of Ukraine, and Ukraine's commitment to an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe and in the context of other international standards of democratic expression of will; ● evaluating Ukraine's preparedness to ensure democratic elections, counteracting possible foreign interference including cyberattacks, manipulation and violations of the electoral process; ● monitoring of Ukraine's readiness to hold elections during the pandemic; ● media monitoring to identify any attempts to weaken Ukraine, jeopardize the integrity of electoral processes or the legitimacy of democracy in Ukraine; ● observation of the electoral process on the eve of and on election day at polling stations, as well as observing the vote counting process and the announcement of election results. The UWC Mission had mobilized a group of experts and observers to conduct media monitoring. Observers monitored information in the media for any evidence of disinformation. Online information was checked for accuracy and classified according to sources and topics.

The Ukrainian World Congress Elections Monitoring Mission worked closely with the observation mission of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA). Combined the two missions employed 26 official observers from six countries.

Combined, the UWC and UCCA Election Observation Mission is the fifth largest international observation mission following the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), National Democratic Institute for International Relations (NDI), and "International Community for Human Rights" NGO.

By its composition and scope, the UWC and UCCA Election Observation Missions were unique in that they: ➢ consisted of a majority of Ukrainian-speaking observers who were knowledgeable about the situation in Ukraine; ➢ included long-term observers who carried out media monitoring within and outside Ukraine and ➢ included official observers who monitored the electoral process during voting and the counting of votes at polling stations.

III. Domestic and international observers The deadline for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), whose statutory activities include electoral process and observation, to apply to the Central Election Commission for permission to have their official observers participate in local elections is no later than forty days before election day - September 14, 2020. The Central Election Commission (CEC) has authorized 116 NGOs to have official observers during the October 25, 2020 local elections. This includes 85 nationally registered organizations and 31 registered in specific regions of Ukraine.

The deadline for submission to the Central Election Commission of proposals for the accreditation of official observers from foreign states and international organizations is no later than ten days before election day - October 14, 2020.

According to Article 58 of the Electoral Code of Ukraine, an official observer shall not be: 1) a person who is a citizen (subject) of a state recognized by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an aggressor state or an occupying state; 2) a person whose candidacy had been nominated or submitted by a state recognized by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an aggressor state or an occupying state.

Such rule has affected the work of the UWC Mission, as it has excluded citizens of the Russian Federation representing UWC member organizations from participating in the UWC Mission. The Central Elections Commission has accredited 312 official observers to monitor local elections on October 25, 2020 including 41 – from six foreign states and 271 – from nine international organizations.

Information on official observers from foreign countries (source: cvk.gov.ua)

Number of Country observers

Republic of Hungary 19

Slovak Republic 6

Republic of Kazakhstan 5

Federal Republic of Germany 5

Kingdom of Spain 4

Czech Republic 2

Total number of observers 41

Information on official observers from international organizations (source: cvk.gov.ua) Number of Name of an organization observers

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

88 (OSCE/ODIHR) European Network of Election Monitoring

62 Organizations (ENEMO) National Democratic Institute for International

35 Relations (NDI)

"International Community for Human Rights" NGO 27

Committee for Open Democracy 24

Ukrainian Congress Committee of America 14

Ukrainian World Congress 12 International Non-Governmental Organization

5 "Coordination Resource Center"

International Foundation for Better Governance 4 Total number of observers 271

IV. Background

The tradition of free elections on the territory of Ukraine has existed since ancient times. Throughout several centuries Ukraine elected its hetmans (leaders), the Treaty-Constitution by Pylyp Orlyk had been officially recognized as the first Cossack, Ukrainian Constitution. In the thirtieth year of Ukraine's independence, elections were held in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, adopted on June 28, 1996 at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 2nd convocation, and the new election legislation. The 2020 Local Elections in Ukraine took place at a time when for the seventh consecutive year the country had been struggling with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine’s sovereign territory including the illegal annexation of Crimea and the occupation of parts of Donbas after the Revolution of Dignity. In 2014, the people of Ukraine opposed the authoritarian regime of Viktor Yanukovych during the Revolution of Dignity, which ended with sniper fire and the deaths of more than a hundred peaceful Ukrainian demonstrators on February 18-20, 2014 in Kyiv. Following the Revolution of Dignity, the Russian Federation invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and launched a military aggression in the eastern territories of Ukraine.

The military aggression of the Russian Federation has impacted nearly 2 million people in Crimea, as well as 4.4 million people in eastern Ukraine. As a result of the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Donbas, more than 13,000 people have been killed, and 30,000 wounded. As of September 1, 2020, 2,984 Ukrainian service members have been killed and 12,464 wounded. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since the introduction of the ceasefire (July 27, 2020), the intensity of shellings decreased, which reduced casualties among the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the armistice (from 27.07.2020) as of December 28, 2020, the number of casualties amounts to 4 service members. There were 15 non-combat casualties among the service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and 21 service members were wounded. Throughout the front most of the ceasefire violations by the enemy took place in the areas near Mariupol, Avdiivka, Toretsk and Popasnyansky direction. According to the Unified Information Database on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), 1,458,977 IDPs from the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea were registered as of October 18, 2020. As of January 19, 2021, 1,458,912 internally displaced persons were registered. Since the beginning of the military aggression, more than 2,500 people had been killed by exploding landmines, including more than 240 children; 1.9 million people continue to live in areas contaminated by landmines, 3.4 million people need humanitarian assistance, 2.2 million require medical aid and 1.2 million experienced food shortages. More than 120 political prisoners and over 130 hostages continued to be illegally detained in the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories of Donbas. The human rights situation in the occupied Crimean Peninsula continued to deteriorate, and the Russian Federation blocked access into the area by international humanitarian and human rights organizations. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) recorded daily ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, particularly, report № 228/2020 of September 24, 2020, indicated 80 ceasefire violations in the Donetsk oblast and one violation in Luhansk oblast on September 23, 2020. During the previous reporting period, the SMM recorded 157 ceasefire violations in Donetsk oblast and did not record any violations in Luhansk oblast. The SMM report № 246/2020 of October 15, 2020, indicated one ceasefire violation in Donetsk oblast and did not record any violations in Luhansk oblast. In a daily report № 15/2021 released by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine on 21 January 2021, the mission recorded 7 ceasefire violations in the Donetsk region. Reportedly, small arms fire was opened in the direction of a short-range SMM unmanned aerial vehicle near Talakivka, Donetsk region. https://www.osce.org/uk/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine The fact that the Russian Federation waged a hybrid military aggression against Ukraine had been widely acknowledged and repeatedly condemned by the international community, which provides military, financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 the following landmark events have occured:

• The coming into force of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, as well as the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Atomic Energy Community and its member states; • The adoption of a visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens travelling into Schengen countries; • The signing and coming into force of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement; • The granting of a Tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine; • The adoption of constitutional amendments reflecting Ukraine’s strategic goal of becoming a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union; • The holding of presidential and early parliamentary elections in 2019; • The adoption of the Electoral Code of Ukraine – the act of harmonization of electoral law according to Articles 4 and 6 of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.

According to Article 133 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the system of administrative-territorial organization of Ukraine includes the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts, raions, cities, districts in cities, towns and villages. Ukraine consists of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, such oblasts as Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv as well as the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol. According to the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, there are 29,710 settlements (cities, urban-type settlements and villages) in Ukraine.

By 2020, there were 11,694 territorial communities (city, town, village councils) in 490 districts in 27 regions (oblasts, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol) On June 12, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted 24 orders on the designation of the administrative centers and approval of the territories of regional communities. As a result, 1,469 territorial communities have been established in the country (including 31 territorial communities in the uncontrolled territories in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and within the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts). Ukraine had a total of 490 districts and the same number of raion councils and raion state administrations. They all functioned in the same way, but the workload was very different due to the size and population of the districts. For example, there were six raions with the population of up to 10,000 people, nine raions with population of more than 100,000 people and three raions had population exceeding 150,000 people. They all had the same functionality, but the amount of work was different. Also, 26 raions already had communities with enough capacity and resources, while 173 raions had established communities in 50% of the areas or a little over that. Since most of the powers had been transferred to the communities from the raion-level authorities the system was not balanced out. Therefore, the Government and the Parliament had to decide on how to reorganize power at the raion level. On July 17, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine issued the Resolution № 807-IX “On the formation and liquidation of districts” that stipulates the liquidation of 490 districts (raions ) and

33 creation of 136 new consolidated districts (raions) (including 10 raions in the in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, three raions in Donetsk oblast and 4 raions in Luhansk oblast). The reform of the administrative-territorial structure at the raion level began in December 2020, after the law on the division of powers and resources between raions and communities came into force. It is expected that there will be a transition period up to mid-2021, just to make sure that the process, quality and availability of services that were provided at the raion level would not deteriorate or decrease. Ukraine's state policy in the field of local self-government is based on the interests of residents of territorial communities and on the decentralization of power - i.e. the transfer of large part of decision power, resources and responsibilities from the executive bodies to local governments. This policy is based on the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the best world standards of public relations in this area. The legislative basis for a radical change in the system of government and its territorial basis at all levels began to take shape in 2014. In April 2014, the Government approved the main guideline document - the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organization of Government. Following the Concept was the approval of the Action Plan which launched the reform. In order to implement the provisions of the Concept and the tasks of the Action Plan, it was necessary first of all to make appropriate amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as to form a package of new legislation. Amendments to the Constitution were to address the establishment of executive bodies of oblast and raion councils, reorganization of local state administrations into control and supervisory bodies and setting up a clear definition of the administrative-territorial unit - the community. However, political circumstances did not allow the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the amendments to the Constitution on decentralization submitted by the President of Ukraine. Since then the following set of new legislation has been developed, introduced and remained in effect.: - Laws on Amendments to the Budget and Tax Codes of Ukraine on Financial Decentralization; - Law of Ukraine "On Voluntary Association of Territorial Communities" that made it possible to start forming a sustainable basic level of local self-government. In 2015-2019, 982 united territorial communities were voluntarily created in Ukraine, which included about 4,500 former local communities with a population of 11 million people; - Law of Ukraine "On Cooperation of Territorial Communities" that created a mechanism for solving common problems of communities: waste disposal and recycling, development of common infrastructure; - Law of Ukraine “On Principles of State Regional Policy”; - laws on expanding the powers of local governments and optimizing the provision of administrative services. This allowed delegating to local governments the appropriate level of authority to provide basic administrative services: residence registration, issuance of passport documents, state registration of legal entities and individuals, entrepreneurs, associations of citizens, registration of civil status, property rights, resolution of land issues, etc. The new legal framework has significantly strengthened the motivation for inter-municipal consolidation in the country, created the appropriate legal conditions and mechanisms for the

34 formation of sustainable territorial communities of villages, settlements, cities, which unite their efforts to solve problems. On July 15, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Resolution 795-IX on calling regular local elections on October 25, 2020. The 2020 local elections in Ukraine took place when Ukraine faced challenges to its territorial integrity, such as the illegal occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea and the ongoing military aggression in its eastern territories. This situation also made Ukraine vulnerable to potential foreign interference in the electoral process. Ukrainians voted for deputies of local councils, from the oblast to the village level. If in 2015 Ukrainians had elected more than 162,000 deputies of local councils and more than 10,200 mayors of city, settlement and village communities, then according to the new electoral legislation in 2020, more than 43,000 deputies and more than 1,400 mayors of city, settlement, and village communities were elected. These elections were particularly important as the role of local councils was expanded through decentralization reforms.

Comparative analysis of the number of elected positions of deputies in the local elections of 2015 and 2020 (source cvk.gov.ua)

140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 2015 20000 2020 0 Village Settleme District City Raion Oblast, councils nt councils councils councils Kyiv city councils in cities councils 2020 14006 10284 562 11124 5366 1780 2015 120266 12566 1032 11200 15135 1820

Comparative analysis of the number of elected positions of mayors in the local elections of 2015 and 2020 (source cvk.gov.ua)

10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 2015 4000 3000 2000 2020 1000 0 Village Settlement City 2020 623 428 369 2015 9219 612 378

Therefore, it was extremely important for Ukraine in 2020 to ensure free, fair and transparent local elections for its citizens, who, like all other free peoples, have the full right to express their opinion in the election of deputies to local councils and heads of local communities during the democratic process without foreign interference.

According to the Electoral Code of Ukraine, the Local Elections on October 25, 2020 were based on four local electoral systems: 1. A majority system of relative majorities in multi-member electoral districts (communities with population less than 10,000 voters) designed to elect deputies of village, settlement, and city councils. The voters elected 785 deputies of village, settlement, and city councils using this system; 2. A system of proportional representation using open electoral lists of deputy candidates in multi-member electoral districts designed to elect members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as well as members of the oblast, raion , raion in a city, city, village, settlement councils (applicable in communities with a population of 10,000 or more voters) from regional organizations of political parties. The allows to elect deputies of 22 oblast councils; 119 raion councils; 636 city, settlement, and village councils; and 15 raion in city councils; A total of 218,770 candidates for 25,952 seats have been registered in the electoral lists of 792 local councils, whose deputies are elected by a proportional representation system; 3. A majoritarian system of relative majority plurality in a single village, settlement, or city electoral district was designed for the election of village, settlement, city mayors in communities with populations of less than 75,000 voters. The voters had the opportunity to elect 333 city mayors, 428 settlement mayors, and 623 village mayors using this system;

4. A majoritarian system of absolute majority plurality in a single city electoral district regulates the election of mayors in communities with 75,000 or more voters. This system was designed to elect mayors of 37 large cities.

V. Legal framework Ukraine has constitutional guarantees and international commitments to democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech and free and fair elections.

The legal framework governing elections in Ukraine is based upon the following laws: a) Constitution of Ukraine; b) Election Code of Ukraine; c) Law on the State Register of Voters of Ukraine; d) Law of Ukraine on the Central Election Commission; e) Code of Administrative Proceedings; f) Code of Administrative Offences; g) The Criminal Code of Ukraine; and h) Code of Criminal Procedures. Below are excerpts from salient provisions of these laws:

CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE

Article 38. Citizens have the right to participate in the administration of state affairs in All- Ukrainian and local referendums, to freely elect and to be elected to bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government. Article 69. The expression of the will of the people is exercised through elections, referendums and other forms of direct democracy. Article 70. Citizens of Ukraine who have attained the age of eighteen on the day of elections and referendums have the right to vote in the elections and referendums. Citizens deemed by a court to be incompetent do not have the right to vote. Article 71. Election to bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government are free and are held on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage, by secret ballot. Voters are guaranteed the free expression of their will. ELECTION CODE OF UKRAINE: THE ELECTORAL RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS AND THE WAYS OF EXERCISING AND PROTECTING THEM (Article 48 of the Election Code of Ukraine) Ukrainian citizens who have the right to vote shall be the voters. A voter may exercise his or her right to vote in the election, provided he or she is included in the voter list for the respective election precinct. According to the Election Code of Ukraine (ECU) the right to vote: in the election of deputies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea may be exercised by voters whose electoral address is assigned to the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

37 in the election of deputies of village, settlement or city council and village, settlement or city mayor may be exercised by voters whose electoral address is assigned to the respective territorial community; in the elections of deputies of a raion council may be exercised by voters whose electoral address is assigned to one of the territorial communities of the respective raion; in the election of deputies of an oblast council may be exercised by voters whose electoral address is assigned to the territory of the territorial communities of the respective oblast; in the election of deputies of a city raion council (in cities with a raion division, in which city raion councils are formed) may be exercised by voters whose electoral address is assigned to the territory of the respective city raion. Military servicemen, citizens of Ukraine who reside abroad, as well as persons declared legally incapacitated by a court, and citizens of Ukraine who are detained in penitentiary institutions by a court sentence shall be deemed such that do not belong to any territorial community and do not have the right to vote in local elections. Voters shall have the right to: 1) participate as members of election commissions which organize the preparation for and conduct of the respective local election; 2) receive and disseminate the information related to the preparation for and conduct of the respective local election; 3) participate in election campaigning in the respective local election; 4) observe the conduct of the respective local election; 5) appeal against violations of their own electoral rights, other personal rights and legitimate interests related to participation in the electoral process.

According to Article 194 of the Election Code of Ukraine local elections may be ordinary, extraordinary, repeat, by-elections, supplementary or first. Ordinary local elections are called at the expiry of the term of office of local councils, village and settlement mayors elected in the previous ordinary local elections. Ordinary local elections are held simultaneously throughout Ukraine on the last Sunday of October of the fifth year of the term of office of the councils and mayors elected in the previous ordinary local elections. Ordinary elections of rayon in city councils (in case they are created) are held simultaneously with other ordinary elections on the entire territory of Ukraine within the time limits and in accordance with the provisions of the Election Code of Ukraine. The decision to call ordinary elections of members of oblast, raion, city, raion in a city, village or settlement councils and village, settlement or city mayors is made by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The decision to call ordinary elections of members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is made by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine. Extraordinary local elections are called by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in case of early termination of powers of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, an oblast,

38 rayon, city, rayon in city, village or settlement council or village, settlement or city mayor, as well as in other cases provided by the laws of Ukraine. Repeat local elections are appointed by the territorial election commission in the case of respective local elections being deemed as not having taken place according to the procedures established by the ECU. By-elections of a member of a village, settlement or city council (of a territorial community with up to 10,000 voters) are called in the respective multi-member electoral district because of early termination of the powers of a member of the respective council elected in that electoral district. Supplementary elections of members of village and settlement councils from a territorial community that has joined another territorial community are appointed by the Central Election Commission in accordance with the procedure established by the ECU. First elections of members of village, settlement or city councils or village, settlement or city mayors are appointed by the Central Election Commission upon the respective request from an authorized body. First elections of members of oblast and raion councils are appointed by the Central Election Commission upon the respective request of an authorized body based on the decision to form oblast and raion councils. First elections of members of city raion councils (in case they are created) are appointed by the corresponding city council based on the decision to form city raion councils. No by-elections are called or held in the year of ordinary local elections; the first local elections are called and held simultaneously with the ordinary local elections. The organization and procedures to hold local elections are regulated by the Constitution of Ukraine, ECU, laws of Ukraine “On the Central Election Commission”, and “On the State Register of Voters”, other laws of Ukraine, as well as acts of the Central Election Commission and other legislative acts. Citizens of Ukraine participate in the respective local elections on an equal basis. Each voter has one vote in each local election in which he or she is eligible to participate. In case several local elections are held simultaneously a voter may exercise his/her right to vote in only one electoral precinct, common to all local elections held simultaneously. Voters elect deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, deputies of the local councils, and village, settlement or city mayors by voting for candidates (electoral lists of candidates) registered in accordance with the procedure established by the ECU. Participation of citizens of Ukraine in the election is voluntary. Citizens of Ukraine are provided with conditions for the free formation of their will and its free expression when voting. Voting in elections in Ukraine is conducted by secret ballot. Each voter votes in person. A citizen of Ukraine who has the right to vote in accordance with Article 70 of the Constitution of Ukraine and does not have a criminal record for committing a grave or especially grave crime or a crime against citizens’ electoral rights or a corruption crime, which have not been lifted or expunged pursuant to the procedure established by the Law, may be elected as an MP, a local council member or a village, settlement or city mayor.

Citizens of Ukraine who are eligible to vote have the right to nominate candidates in the respective local elections through local organizations of political parties or by self-nomination in the manner identified in the ECU. Any direct or indirect privileges or restrictions on the voting rights of citizens of Ukraine on the grounds of race, skin color, political, religious and other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, disability and health, language or other signs are prohibited. Violence, threats, fraud, bribery or any other actions interfering with the free formation and expression of a voter’s will are also prohibited. To protect their voting rights citizens can appeal to the election commissions according to the ECU, to the court according to the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, to law enforcement agencies in cases where the law provides administrative or criminal liability for violations of citizens' voting rights. Law on the State Register of Voters of Ukraine How include yourself and other voters in the State Register of Voters. According to the Law on the State Register of Voters of Ukraine each voter has the right to file a statement with the respective body of the State Register of Voters (hereinafter - the body maintaining the Register) about illegal inclusion (non-inclusion) in the State Register of Voters (hereinafter – the Register) of themselves or other persons, or records about themselves or other persons, or in order to correct incorrect information in the Register about themselves or other persons (paragraph 5 of the first part of Article 10 of the Law On the State Register of Voters of Ukraine). Article 19 regulates the procedure for a person who is eligible to vote or has the right to vote but not found in the Register to apply to the body maintaining the Register at its place of residence on the territory of Ukraine to be included in the Register. Such a person submits a written application in a form approved by the Central Election Commission to the body maintaining the Register and presents an ID confirming the voter's identification and citizenship - a passport of a citizen of Ukraine or a temporary identity card of a citizen of Ukraine (if the person has recently acquired Ukrainian citizenship) attaching a copy of such document to the application. Such an application may be submitted to the body maintaining the Register in person or through an authorized person whose powers were duly certified in accordance with the law. A person may send an application in electronic form with a signature, which, according to the law, is considered an equivalent of a handwritten signature, using the Internet in the manner stipulated by the Register Administrator (Resolution № of the Central Election Commission as of June 25, 2020, “On the Procedure for Sending Applications requests stipulated in Articles 19 - 21 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Register of Voters”, using the Internet). An application sent using the Internet must contain the return e-mail address of the applicant. Information about the permanent physical disability of a voter (if there are such grounds) should be indicated in the application, which is submitted together with the document (copy of the document), which confirms such disability. The format of a person's application to be included in the Register was established by resolution № 96 of the Central Election Commission on June 2, 2020.

Procedures that verify a voter’s registration in the State Register of Voters A voter has the right to inquire about his/her inclusion (non-inclusion) or inclusion (non-inclusion) of other persons in the Register (paragraph 2 of part one of Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Register of Voters”). According to Article 21 of the Law, a voter, upon presenting a passport of a citizen of Ukraine or a temporary identity card of a citizen of Ukraine (if the person has recently acquired the citizenship of Ukraine) is entitled to personally inquire in writing of any body maintaining the Register about the content of his personal data in the Register, as well as surnames, first names, patronymics, dates of birth of all voters entered in the Register at his or her own electoral address. A voter who has a permanent physical disability may authorize another person whose powers have been duly certified in accordance with the law to submit a written inquiry. A voter may also submit an inquiry to the body maintaining the Register in electronic form with a signature, which is equal to a handwritten signature according to the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Trust Services”, using the Internet in the manner stipulated by the Register administrator (Resolution № 121 On the Procedure for Sending Voters' Applications and Inquiries stipulated in Articles 19-21 of the Law of Ukraine “On the State Register of Voters”, while using the Internet). Such an inquiry must include a return email address. The response containing a qualified electronic signature of the head of the body maintaining the Register is sent in electronic form to the e-mail address indicated by the voter. A voter can verify whether he or she had been included into the Register by using the electronic service of the Register (Voter's Personal Account) on the official website of the Central Election Commission (www.cvk.gov.ua). The possibility and procedures for voters to verify whether they or other voters have been included in voter lists at a regular polling station Procedure to familiarize voters with the preliminary voter lists at regular election precincts and to correct inaccuracies in voter lists The election commission of a regular voting station makes the preliminary list of voters available for public review the day after receiving it. A voter has the right to review the preliminary list of voters on the premises of the precinct election commission and verify the correctness of the information it includes. A voter may submit an application to the precinct election commission or directly to the body maintaining the State Register of Voters requesting to clarify the preliminary voter list, to include or exclude himself/herself or others from the list, as well as to notify about the presence or absence of a note indicating that the voter is permanently incapable of independent mobility. A voter shall personally submit an application indicating the particular circumstances to the precinct election commission or directly to the body maintaining the State Register of Voters. Should a voter not be able to submit an application personally due to health reasons (due to disability, temporary health disorder, age), the precinct election commission shall, upon application of such voter, provide for the receipt of the application from such voter in another manner. Such an application may also be submitted to the body maintaining the State Register of Voters through electronic services in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission (Resolution № 201 of the Central Election Commission Resolution as of August 25, 2020 “On the Procedure for Submitting an Application using the Internet).

The application shall have the attached documents (copies of documents) certifying the information presented therein. An application for clarification of the voter list may be filed no later than five days prior to the day of the voting and shall be considered by the election commission within one day of receipt. An application submitted after the expiry of the aforementioned term shall not be considered. An administrative claim requesting a correction of a voter list may be filed with a court in accordance with the procedure stipulated in the Code of Administrative Adjudication of Ukraine. A court decision on the amendments to the voter list shall be submitted by the voter no later than five days before the day of the voting to the respective body maintaining the Register or to the respective precinct election commission for immediate delivery to such body; or to the precinct election commission after the above deadline. The possibility and procedures for voters to verify whether they or other voters have been included in voter lists at a special polling station According to Article 45 of the ECU, a voter has the right to personally apply to the precinct election commission of a special polling station or directly to the court for clarification of the voter list. An application for clarification of the voter list may be submitted to the respective precinct election commission no later than two days before election day. The application submitted to the election commission after the deadline shall not be considered. An administrative claim to clarify the list of voters may be filed in court in the manner and within the terms established by the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine. Members of the precinct election commission of a special polling station who have the right to vote in the respective election shall be included in the list of voters at this polling station per decision of the respective election commission responsible for establishing a precinct election commission at this special polling station.

Location of respective election commissions and voting premises, as well as the procedure and deadlines for applying to precinct election commissions, in particular, Addresses of precinct election commissions and polling stations for local elections (Resolution № 117 of the Central Election Commission “On the establishment of regular and special polling stations on a permanent basis” as amended on June 25, 2020.) The grounds and procedures for an opportunity to vote at a place of stay Article 249 of the ECU determines the procedure for organizing the voting of voters at their place of stay. Thus, a precinct election commissions shall ensure that voters who are included in the polling station voter list and are incapable of moving independently due to health disorder (due to disability, temporary health disorders or age) are able to vote at the place of their stay. To facilitate the electoral right for those voters who are unable to move independently, the precinct election commission shall prepare an extract from the list of voters on the last day

before the voting day in accordance with the form established by the Central Election Commission.

The following voters may be included in the extract from the voter list: 1) without commission’s decision – a voter noted in the voter list as permanently incapable of moving independently, unless such voter notifies the precinct election commission, in writing or in person, by 12:00 noon on the last Saturday prior to the day of the voting of his or her wish to vote at the polling station; 2) upon a decision of the precinct election commission - a voter who is temporarily incapable of moving independently per their application and a health certificate issued by a medical institution. A voter who is temporarily incapable of moving independently shall file, by mail or through a third person, a handwritten application requesting that he or she be provided with an opportunity to vote at the place of his or her stay, with an indication of their place of stay. Such an application shall be submitted, along with a voter’s health certificate issued by a medical institution, to the precinct election commission no later 20:00 of the last Friday before the day of the voting. Voting at special polling stations set up in inpatient health care facilities shall be conducted on the basis of a voter's handwritten application requesting that he or she be allowed to vote at his or her place of stay, in view of their need to be confined to a bed. An extract from the voter list shall be made available to the public immediately upon its creation on the premises of the precinct election commission.

PROCEDURE FOR VOTING IN LOCAL ELECTIONS Voting shall be held on the day of voting from 8 am to 8 pm without any breaks. To receive ballot papers for the election of deputies of oblast, raion, city, raion in cities, village, settlement councils, village, settlement, city mayors (hereinafter - the ballot paper) one shall submit to a member of the precinct election commission one of the following documents that confirm identity and citizenship of Ukraine: 1) passport of a citizen of Ukraine (in the form of a passport or card); 2) temporary ID of a citizen of Ukraine (for persons who recently became citizens of Ukraine). Upon presenting one of the above documents, a voter, provided that he/she is listed in the voter list at the respective polling station, shall put his/her signature in designated place on the ballot counterfoil in the voter list. A member of the precinct election commission then shall release the ballot paper to the voter to vote in the respective local elections. It shall be prohibited to receive the ballot papers from a person other than the member of the election commission in charge of handing over the ballot papers, as well as to encourage or force voters, by means of bribery, threats, or in any other manner, to hand their ballot papers over to other persons. A voter shall have no right to transfer his/her ballot papers to other persons.

A voter shall fill out the ballot paper personally, in a booth for secret voting. The presence of other persons in the booth for secret voting, any photo and video recording during the time when a voter fills out the ballot paper shall be prohibited. A voter who is unable to fill out the ballot paper on his/her own due to health issues (physical disability, temporary health disorder, age) has the right, with the consent of the chair or a member of the precinct election commission, to use the assistance of another voter other than a member of the election commission, candidate for a deputy, candidate for the position of village, settlement, city mayor, authorized representative of a candidate, authorized representative of a political party, or an election observer. A voter shall be allowed to stay at the polling station only for as long as it is necessary for them to cast their vote. During the election of deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, of the oblast, raion, raion in a city, as well as deputies of the city, village, settlement council (territorial community with 10,000 or more voters), a voter shall identify the local organization of the political party that he/she wants to vote for in the ballot paper and enter a “plus” symbol (+) or any other mark, that clearly indicates the result of the expression of his/her free will, and in the square with a stencil for writing the number of the candidate shall enter the ordinal number corresponding to a candidate he/she supports. If a voter in a square with a stencil for indicating the number of a candidate for a deputy made a mark not directly on the stencil, but from which it is possible to establish the true will of a voter, it shall be assumed that the voter supports the candidate whose number is indicated. If the entry (mark) in the square with the stencil for writing the number of the candidate supported by a voter is made in the column of a political party that was not supported by a voter, it is considered that such voter supports the entire territorial list of candidates from the local political party without supporting any particular candidate. In the ballot for the election of deputies of the city, village, settlement council (territorial community with the number of voters up to 10 thousand), or village, settlement, city mayor, a voter shall put a "plus" (+) symbol or any other mark indicating his/her will, in the square right next to the name the candidate for whom he/she votes. A voter may vote only for one local organization of a political party, one candidate for deputies, one candidate for the position of village, settlement, city mayor. A voter shall personally drop the completed ballots paper into the ballot box. A voter with health issues (due to physical disability, temporary health disorder, age) is unable to place the ballot paper into the ballot box, has the right to request another voter to do so in his/her presence and per consent of the chairman or a member of the precinct election commission. Seeking such assistance from a member of the election commission, a candidate for deputy, a candidate for the position of village, settlement, city mayor, an authorized representative of a candidate, a representative of local organization of a political party, or an official observer is prohibited. If a voter makes a mistake when filling out the ballot paper, he/she shall have the right to immediately address the election commission member who handed over the ballot paper with a written request to provide another one. Another ballot paper is issued only in exchange for a spoiled one and only once.

Repeated handover of a ballot paper instead of a second spoiled one is not allowed. At 5 minutes to 8 pm, the chair of the precinct election commission shall announce that the voting will end, and the election precinct will be closed at 8 pm. Voters who have come to the polling station on or before 8 pm for voting shall have the right to vote. To ensure that those voters’ rights are exercised, one of the election commission members shall, per instructions from the chair of the precinct election commission, approach the entrance to the polling station and invite all voters who have not yet voted to come inside to cast their vote and shall close the door.

THE RIGHT TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST VOTING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND METHODS OF EXERCISING SUCH RIGHT The issue of filing a complaint against decisions, actions or inactivity related to the local electoral process is regulated by Section XI of the ECU and by the Procedure for Reviewing Complaints by the election commissions on elections of the President of Ukraine, people's deputies of Ukraine, and local elections, that has been approved by resolution № 192 of the Central Election Commission on August 21, 2020. Decisions, actions, or inactivity related to the electoral process may be contested by filing a complaint to a court or to an election commission. Filing a complaint against decisions, actions or inactivity related to the local electoral process with the respective election commission, reviewing of cases and adoption of a decision by the election commission shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the ECU. The review of complaints not regulated by the ECU by election commissions shall be determined in accordance with the Procedure for Reviewing Complaints by the election commissions on elections of the President of Ukraine, people's deputies of Ukraine and local elections, that has been approved by the resolution № 192 of the Central Election Commission on August 21, 2020. According to part one of Article 65 of the ECU, a complainant addressing a local election commission with a complaint related to the electoral process may be: 1) A deputy candidate to the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a deputy candidate to an oblast, raion, city, raion in a city, settlement and village council or a candidate for village, settlement or city mayor, registered to participate in the respective local elections. A candidate’s agent or representative may be also a complainant filing a complaint on behalf of a candidate. 2) A local organization of a political party participating in the local electoral process represented by its leader, or a representative of the local organization of a political party in the election commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast, raion, raion in a city as well as city, village, settlement (territorial community with 10,000 and more voters) election commission, an authorized person of a local political party organization in a single multi- member territorial constituency or another person authorized by a decision of the governing body of a local political party organization.

3) An official observer from a deputy candidate of the village, settlement, city council (territorial community with up to 10,000 voters) in a multi-member constituency, a candidate for the position of village, settlement, or city mayor, a local political party organization that nominated deputy candidates for local elections, representative of an NGO - to the territorial election commission on the territory of the respective constituency for the respective local elections. 4) A voter whose electoral rights or legally protected interests as to participation in the local electoral process have been violated by a decision, action or inactivity of a respondent. Taking into account the provisions of parts 1, 5, 13, 14, of Article 236 of the ECU, the complaint signed by a representative of the local political party organization in the election commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast, raion, raion in a city, as well as within the city, village, settlement (with the number of voters 10,000 and more) election commission may only be submitted to the respective election commission. An authorized person of a local political party organization in a single multi-member, territorial constituency may submit their complaint to the territorial election commission on the territory of the respective constituency for the respective local elections. A voter may file a complaint with the respective election commission against decisions, actions or inactivity of the respondents if such decisions, actions or inactivity violate his or her personal voting rights or legally protected interests while participating in the electoral process. This includes participation in the work of an election commission, or acting as an observer, or presence at the meeting of an election commission in cases specified in the ECU, during the voting process in accordance with the ECU, or failure to provide conditions for access of voters with health issues (due to physical disability, temporary health disorder, age) to the electoral process as established by the ECU. A candidate registered to participate in the respective elections (hereinafter - the candidate) and an authorized person on his or her behalf can file a complaint with the respective election commission regarding the decisions, actions or inactivity of the respondents, if such decisions, actions or inactivity concern the respective oblast, raion where this candidate is registered to run in the election. According to parts three and four of Article 65 of the ECU, the following complaints may be filed: 1) to the Central Election Commission regarding the inactivity of the territorial election commission, which establishes the results of the respective local elections; 2) to the territorial election commission, which establishes the results of the relevant local elections regarding: - decisions, actions or inactivity of the lower level territorial election commission, which establishes the results of voting in the relevant local elections; - decisions, actions or inactivity of the precinct election commission, which ensures the organization and conduct of the respective local election (if the results of voting in the respective local election are not established); 3) to the territorial election commission, which establishes the results of the voting in the respective local elections (if the results of such local elections are established by the higher- level territorial election commission), against the decisions, actions or inactivity of the precinct

46 election commission that ensures the organization and conduct of the respective local elections; 4) to the territorial election commission that established the respective precinct election commission against actions or inactivity of a member of such a precinct election commission. The deadlines for filing a complaint regarding the local electoral process with the respective election commission are stipulated in Article 66 of the ECU. The requirements for the form and content of a complaint submitted to the election commission are stipulated in Article 67 of the ECU. The complaint may be filed against a decision, action or inactivity related to the electoral process to a court in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine. The following shall be contested exclusively by filing a statement of claim to court in a manner stipulated by the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine: 1) decisions, actions, inactivity of the Central Election Commission; 2) actions or inactivity of a member of the Central Election Commission; 3) decisions or actions of the territorial election commission, except for the cases referred to in parts two and four of Article 65 of the ECU; 4) actions or inactivity of a member of the territorial election commission; 5) actions or inactivity of a candidate; 6) decisions or actions of a local political party organization, NGO, their officials or authorized representatives with regards to the electoral process, except for those decisions or actions which belong to their internal activity or exclusive competence, in accordance with the Law or their charter (regulations); 7) actions or inactivity of an authorized representative of a candidate, authorized person of the local political party organization; 8) actions or inactivity of an official observer from a candidate, a local political party organization that are electoral subjects in the respective electoral process, or a non- governmental organization; 9) decisions, actions or inactivity of the executive bodies, bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, local self-government bodies, enterprises, institutions, establishments or organizations and their officials; 10) decisions, actions or inactivity of mass media, news agencies, their owners, officials and creative staff members. Decisions, actions or inactivity of election commissions for local elections and their members, as defined in Article 65 of the ECU, may also be contested by filing a statement of claim with a court. The court reviews and rules on the cases contesting decisions, actions or inactivity regarding the electoral process in the local elections following the procedure established by the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine.

LIABILITY FOR VIOLATING THE LEGISLATION ON LOCAL ELECTIONS Persons guilty of violating the election legislation, electoral rights of voters, candidates, local political party organizations – participants of the electoral process, shall be prosecuted in the criminal, administrative or other court in accordance with the procedure established by the Law (part three of Article 19 of the ECU). Articles 157 - 160 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine establish liability for criminal offenses against violations of the electoral rights of citizens, particularly for: - obstruction of a voter’s free exercise of his / her electoral right, or activity of another subject of the electoral process, member of an election commission or an official observer while exercising his / her powers or exercising his / her rights combined with deception or coercion, is punished by the restriction of liberty order for up to three years of imprisonment for the same term (part one of Article 157); - illegal interference of an official in the activities of an election commission or a member of an election commission while using his/her official position to influence their actions or decisions is punished by imprisonment for a term of five to ten years with restrictions to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to five years (part four of Article 157); - evasion of a member of an election commission from performing his / her duties in the work of the commission without valid reasons, which led to inactivity of the election commission on election day, and/or failure to count votes at the polling station, or establish the results of voting in the constituency is punished with restriction of liberty order for up to three years or same term imprisonment, with restrictions to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to five years (part five of Article 157); - intentional submission to the State Register of Voters of false information about voters, intentional entry of false information into the database of the State Register of Voters, unauthorized actions regarding information contained in the database of the State Register of Voters, or other unauthorized interference with the database of the State Register is punished with imprisonment for a term of two to four years with restrictions to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of five years (part one of Article 158); - handing over or receiving a ballot paper by a person who has no right to hand over or receive it, or providing a voter with a filled out ballot paper, or casting more than one vote, illegal submission of a ballot paper into the ballot box is punished with a fine in the amount of one hundred to three hundred non-taxable minimum incomes or three years of correctional (community) service, or imprisonment for up to two years. (part one of Article 1581); - theft, damage, concealment or destruction of a ballot paper is punished with a fine of two hundred to four hundred non-taxable minimum incomes or up to two years of correctional (community) service, or restriction of liberty order for up to three years, or imprisonment for up to two years (part second article 1582); - Unlawful destruction or damage of election documentation in archival institutions or in the Central Election Commission after the election is punished by the restriction of liberty order from three to five years or two to four years of imprisonment (part one of Article 1582);

- signing by the chairman, deputy chairman, secretary, other member of the election commission of the protocol on vote count at the polling station, the protocol on the results of voting within the respective constituency or on the election results before the final completion of the protocol, and signing such protocol not during the election commission meeting is punished with two to six year of imprisonment with restriction to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of five years (part one of Article 1583); - forgery or illegal production of election documentation, use or storage of illegally produced or forged election documentation, as well as inclusion in the election documentation of knowingly false information is punished with three to seven years of imprisonment with restriction to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of five years (part two Article 1583); - theft, damage, concealment, destruction of the election commission seal, ballot box, voter list or the protocol on the vote count, on the results of voting within the respective election constituency, on the election results is punished with five to seven years of imprisonment with restrictions to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of five years (part three of Article 1583); - intentional violation of the voting secrecy during the election, which was expressed in the disclosure of the content of a voter's will is punished with a fine of three hundred to five hundred non-taxable minimum incomes or by restriction of liberty order for up to three years, or up to two years of imprisonment ( part one of Article 159); - submission of knowingly false information in the financial report on the receipt and use of the election fund of the local party organization, or a candidate is punished with a fine of one hundred to three hundred non-taxable minimum incomes or correctional (community) service for up to two years, or restriction of liberty order for the same period, with restriction to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of five years (part one of Article 1591); - acceptance of a proposal, promise or receiving any illegal benefit by a voter, member of an election commission, official observer whether for himself or a third party for committing or failing to commit any actions related to the direct exercise of his or her voting rights is punished with a fine of three hundred to four hundred non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens or with correctional (community) service for up to two years, or imprisonment for the same term (part one of Article 160); - proposal, promise or granting illegal benefit to a voter, candidate, member of the election commission for committing or failing to commit any actions related to the direct exercise of his / her voting right is punishable with the restriction of liberty order for up to three years or by two to six years of imprisonment, with restriction to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of five years (part two of Article 160); - providing voters, legal entities with illegal benefits, accompanied by promotional campaign while mentioning the name of a candidate, the name of a political party that nominated the candidate in the election, or using the image of the candidate, the symbols of the political party that nominated the candidate in the election is punishable with the restriction of liberty order for two to five years or imprisonment for two to six years with restriction to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of five years (part three of Article 160).

The Code of Administrative Offences of Ukraine regulates administrative liability for offences that infringe on the implementation of the people's will and stipulates its implementation (Articles 2127 - 21224 of this Code).

Law of Ukraine “On Civil-Military Administrations” Article 1. Status and appointment of military-civil administrations 1. For the local executive bodies and local self-government bodies to exercise their authority under the circumstances established by this Law, the civil-military administrations may be formed in the areas affected by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, particularly in the areas where the anti-terrorist operation is being conducted. Article 4. Authority of the civil-military administrations 1. Civil-military administrations of settlements shall exercise the following authority in the respective territory: […] 34) adopt decisions on the organization and holding elections of bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government as well as village, settlement, and city mayors within the respective administrative-territorial units in accordance with the Law; […] 2. Civil-military administrations of settlements shall exercise the delegated powers of executive bodies granted to local self-government bodies by the laws of Ukraine. 3. Raion, oblast civil-military administrations, along with exercising the powers of local state administrations in the respective territory, shall also: 1) be authorized in accordance with the law to organize the all-Ukrainian referendums and elections of state authorities and local self-government bodies within the relevant administrative-territorial unit; as well as provide conclusions to the Central Election Commission on the possibility of organizing and preparing for the respective elections in in certain territories in accordance with the law.

Change of administrative-territorial structure Resolution № 807-IX of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On the formation and liquidation of districts” issued on July 17, 2020 stipulates the liquidation of 490 districts (raions) and creation of 136 consolidated districts (raions) instead in all oblasts of Ukraine as well as in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Calling Local Elections The resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine № 795-IX as of July 15, 2020 “On calling regular local elections in 2020” called for ordinary elections of the deputies of local councils as well as village, settlement, city mayors (except for those specified in paragraphs 2 and 3of the Resolution) to be held on Sunday, October 25 2020.

Clause 2 of the Resolution stipulates that the elections of deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, deputies of local councils and village, settlement, city mayors in the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol and in certain raions, cities, settlements and villages of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts shall not be called and held. Clause 3 of the Resolution stipulates that due to the impossibility of representing the common interests of territorial communities of villages, settlements and cities of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, elections of deputies of Donetsk and Luhansk oblast councils shall not be called and held. Clause 4 of the Resolution stipulates that elections of deputies to local councils and village, settlement, city mayors, that were not called in accordance with clauses 2 and 3 of this Resolution, shall be called within certain terms and follow procedures established by separate laws on the condition that the temporary occupation and armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine ceases, as a result of the following: withdrawal of all illegal armed formations, controlled commanded and financed by the Russian Federation, Russian occupation troops, and their military equipment from the territory of Ukraine; restoration of Ukraine’s complete control over the state border of Ukraine; disarmament of all illegal armed groups and mercenaries operating in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; restoration of the constitutional rule of law and order in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; ensuring the safety of citizens of Ukraine living in the respective territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and the city of Sevastopol, following the completion of disarmament, demilitarization and reintegration procedures in accordance with the standards of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Case law Case law of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine also plays an important role with respect to the electoral legislation of Ukraine (Article 147 of the Constitution of Ukraine) Law of Ukraine on Judiciary and Status of Judges Article 37 (5) 3. In the Administrative Cassation Court separate court chambers must be established. These chambers shall adjudicate cases on electoral process and referendum and protection of political rights of citizens. Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine Article 9 (1) 6. The jurisdiction of administrative courts extends to cases in public-law disputes, in particular disputes concerning legal relations related to the electoral process or the referendum process; Article 20 (1) 2. The local general courts as administrative courts shall have jurisdiction in administrative cases related to the electoral process or the referendum process concerning: appeals against decisions, actions or inactivity of polling station election commissions, polling station commissions from the referendum, members of these commissions; clarification of the list of voters; appeals against acts or inactivity of mass media, news agencies, enterprises, institutions, organizations, their officials and officers, creative media workers and news agencies that violate election and referendum legislation.

Article 22 (2). The appellate administrative court in the district of appeal, which includes the city of Kyiv, as a court of first instance, has jurisdiction concerning appeals against decisions, actions and inactivity of the Central Election Commission (other than those specified in part four of this article), actions of candidates for the President of Ukraine, their trustees. Article 22 (4). The Supreme Court as a court of first instance has jurisdiction for the establishment of the election results or an all-Ukrainian referendum by the Central Election Commission, a case regarding the pre-term termination of the powers of a people's deputy of Ukraine, as well as cases concerning the appeal of acts or omissions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, the High Council of Justice, the High Qualifications Commission of Judges of Ukraine, the Qualification-Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors. Article 273 (6) Appeal statements regarding decisions, actions or inactivity of the election commission, referendum commission, members of these commissions may be filed with the administrative court within five days from the date of the decision, action or admission of inactivity. Article 273 (9). The court shall decide on administrative cases, specified by this article, within two days after receipt of the statement of claim. Administrative cases on claims filed before the day of voting shall be settled by the court within two days, but not later than two hours before the beginning of the voting. Administrative cases on claims filed on election day are decided by the court before the end of voting. Administrative cases on claims filed on the day of voting, but after the end of voting, are resolved by the court within two days after receipt of the statement of claim. Article 278. Features of court decisions on the consequences of the consideration of cases related to the electoral process or referendum and their appeal. Article 278 (2). Appeal complaints against court decisions following the consequences of considering cases as defined in Articles 273-277 of this Code may be filed within two days from the date of their proclamation, and for court decisions made prior to the day of voting, no later than four hours before the poll starts. Article 278 (4). The Court of Appeal considers the case within a two-day period after the expiration of the time limit for appeals against the notification of the participants of the case. An appeal against a court decision that was adopted before the day of voting shall be considered not later than two hours before the beginning of the vote.

International Law Ukraine has also made commitments to the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe and is bound by other international standards for the democratic expression of will, specifically: a) Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly: Article 21. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be conducted by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by other equivalent free voting procedures that guarantee freedom of the vote. b) Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe:

5. They [participating states] solemnly declare that among those elements of justice which are essential to the full expression of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all human beings are the following: 5.1. free elections that will be held at reasonable intervals by secret ballot or by equivalent free voting procedure, under conditions which ensure in practice the free expression of the opinion of the electors in the choice of their representatives. c) Law of Ukraine on Implementing decisions and applying practices of the European Court of Human Rights Article 17. Courts [of Ukraine] in hearing cases apply the Convention [Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms] and the practice of the Court [European Court of Human Rights] as the sources of law. d) Law of Ukraine on The Ratification of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950, First Protocol and protocols No. 2, 4, 7 and 11 of the Convention Article 1. Ukraine fully recognizes on its territory article 25 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 on the recognition of the competency of the European Commission for Human Rights to accept from any individual, non-governmental organization or group statements addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on violations by Ukraine of rights, as designated by the Convention, and article 46 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 on recognizing as mandatory and without the need for a special agreement the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights in all questions related to interpreting and applying the Convention.

VI. Local election threats and risks

External threats and risks The 2020 local elections in Ukraine took place at a time when the country continued to combat the hybrid military aggression waged by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory. In fact, Russia's hybrid warfare against Ukraine and its military occupation had the largest negative impact on the 2020 local elections in Ukraine, as it did not allow the Ukrainian people to elect local governments in Crimea and in the occupied territories of Donbas. The Missions noted that any direct interference in Ukraine's internal affairs by foreign states was absolutely unacceptable. This included campaigning for a political party during Hungarian State Secretary János Árpád Potápi’s visit to Zakarpattia region and the call of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó addressing Hungarians of Zakarpattia to support party KMKSZ – “Hungarian Party of Ukraine” in the local elections on 25 October 2020.

Internal threats and risks Radical changes in the election legislation took place in July 2020 and not all participants of the electoral process were aware of the peculiarities of the Electoral Code of Ukraine. Many rules were applied for the first time. A number of norms needed to be clarified, corrected or further regulated. However, on September 3, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine failed to adopt Bill №3971, which introduced the necessary changes. There were risks that unscrupulous participants of the electoral process would try to take advantage of them. The election commission members needed intensive trainings in order to master many aspects of the new electoral legislation in a short period of time. In addition, electoral legislation had to be explained to election participants, and compliance with election procedures had to be monitored. The most significant changes in the administrative-territorial structure since Ukraine’s independence took place during a short period of time due to Resolution № 807-IX of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On the formation and liquidation of districts” (the number of raions was reduced from 490 to 136) and were challenged in courts by individual local communities. The biggest challenge for the authorities was the need to carry out a lot of administrative work within a short period of time in all areas to consolidate the administrative-territorial units and to clarify whom the citizens can elect and what powers those elected in local elections would have. There were risks that the elections would be postponed in some administrative-territorial entities with the increase of the coronavirus pandemic and related quarantine restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictions have complicated the work of election commissions during the organization and conduct of local elections and have affected the electoral process and voter turnout. Another big challenge was the need for additional funding for epidemiological activities, including transparent protective masks for election commission members and observers for easier identification and other protective means. Another alarming factor was registering of a draft resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine №4234 as of 20.10.2020 by Tetyana Hryshchenko, people’s deputy from the pro-government political party "Servants of the People," that proposed to cancel the second round of local

54 elections (repeat voting) during the quarantine, which was introduced to prevent the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in Ukraine. During the election campaign, pro-Russian forces and Kremlin agents in Ukraine became more active. This includes the “Opposition Platform – for Life” political party and similar groups, whose objective was to gain significant representation in local governments by manipulating media that they owned, disseminating disinformation through social networks, and using protest moods and despair of citizens of eastern and southern Ukraine.

VII. Ukraine’s preparedness for local elections

Overcoming the challenges associated with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and illegal occupation of its territory. Ukrainian authorities have assured of their readiness to act accordingly and respond to potential threats. While preparing to counter potential threats to the electoral process, the Ukrainian authorities sought cooperation with international partners to learn from past experiences and best practices. Ukraine's authorities and law enforcement agencies have generally ensured the integrity and security of the electoral process, despite the continued hybrid military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and other challenges. This, together with Russia’s interference in the electoral process in other independent countries, has forced the Ukrainian authorities to closely monitor any potential threat of foreign interference in the electoral process. It was important to unite the efforts of the authorities and civil society to counter dubious news with elements of disinformation, to ensure the security and transparency of the electoral process, and to facilitate voting for internally displaced persons who relocated from Donbass and Crimea. Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Ukraine fully trusts the recently published results of the investigation by the US Department of Justice and the indictment of six employees of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate for their involvement in a number of cyberattacks around the world, namely in Ukraine, the United States, France, Georgia and South Korea. Ukraine fully supports the statement of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemning in the strongest possible terms the Russian Federation’s continuing disruptive, destructive, and destabilizing activities in cyberspace. These cyber activities demonstrate a complete disregard for public safety and international stability. Ukraine reconfirms its stance that the norms and principles of international law are fully applied to the behavior of states in cyberspace, and that those responsible for cyberattacks should be held accountable. Ukraine appeals to the international community to continue coordinated pressure on Russia to stop its systematic violations of norms and principles of international law, in particular, the use of cyber instruments for malicious purposes, threatening the security of global cyberspace.” Released at 22:31 on October 20, 2020.

Overcoming challenges related to external interference (Hungary)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has made an official statement on the political agitation of Hungarian officials in Zakarpattia “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly noted the signs of political campaigning by Hungarian civil servants during their visits to Zakarpattia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds to each such incident within the limits of its authority, through diplomatic channels warning the Hungarian side against violating the electoral legislation of Ukraine and attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of our state. Ignoring the official appeals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine only proves the existence of a hidden agenda on the part of Hungary, which is unacceptable in interstate relations. In this regard, the Foreign Ministry turned to proper law enforcement agencies to evaluate the actions of Hungarian officials. We hope that the officials of Hungary, as an EU country, understand the importance of the rule of law and will refrain from acting against the laws of Ukraine or any other sovereign state.” Released at 9:54 on October 20, 2020.

On October 26, 2020, Ukraine banned the entry of two high-ranking Hungarian officials due to campaigning in the Zakarpattia region during the time of the elections in the country's last local elections. "Two high-ranking Hungarian officials who campaigned directly in the Zakarpattia region during this election campaign have already been banned from entering Ukraine. One of them is the Secretary of State of the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary," said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. The minister added that the introduction of a ban on entry was also initiated for several other Hungarians who actively interfered in the internal affairs of Ukraine during the election campaign. "Our partners will soon be informed in detail about the interference of Hungary in the elections, and we have already informed the OSCE observation mission." According to the Foreign Minister, in this situation there can be any misunderstandings, this was an explicit interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine. "There is no need to downplay the whole situation to a single Facebook post by my colleague (Hungarian Foreign Minister - IF) Péter Szijjártó. We are talking about Hungarian politics in general. Our position is pretty straightforward, we assessed these actions yesterday. The way Hungarian authorities behaved on the eve of the election and on election day was recognized as an interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine… . We have done a lot since last year to restore trust in the relationship and find solutions. But if someone thinks that because everyone is "positive", you can do anything, they are gravely mistaken. We are ready for a constructive and frank conversation with the Hungarians, but if they neglect our interests and our legislation, we will take strong and clear steps. In my opinion it is very clear: if someone hits you, you must hit back, " said Ukraine’s foreign minister. The missions hope that the proper response of public authorities and international observers will serve as a precaution against further direct interference of foreign states in Ukraine's internal affairs.

Overcoming the challenges of the COVID19 pandemic

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the Procedure for Implementing Anti- Pandemic Measures during the Elections. The decision, adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on September 14, 2020, stipulated additional requirements for anti-epidemic measures during the organization and conduct of elections for the period of quarantine because of the spread of COVID-19 in Ukraine. According to the document anyone entering a polling stations or the premises of the election commission had to be subjected to temperature screening and asked questions about the presence of symptoms or respiratory diseases. Hand sanitizers had to be made available at the entrance to the election commission premises and polling stations. There had to be facilities equipped for centralized collection and disposal of personal protective equipment. The premises had to be marked so as to maintain social distancing of at least 1 meter. Voters coming in should be separated from those going out. In addition, it was recommended that the number of voters staying in the room at any given time should not exceed three people per one table that issued ballot papers. Chairs, tables, furniture used by the election commission must be made of materials that can be effectively disinfected. The use of cloth on tables was not allowed. Members of the election commission had to follow social distancing rules – sitting at a distance of at least 1 meter from each other, or using physical barriers, such as transparent screens. Door handles, handrails, seats, etc. had to be disinfected at least once every two hours, while wet cleaning of the premises had to be conducted at least once every four hours. According to the guidelines it was also possible to apply disinfectant to individual parts of the ballot boxes, however it had to be prevented from getting inside the ballot box. Voters had to follow the anti-pandemic measures, treat their hands with disinfectants before entering the premises, and wear a respirator or protective mask. The members of the election commission, however, could request that voters temporarily remove their mask to confirm their identity. It was recommended to use personal pen and not to take children to polling stations. Voters who were in self-isolation could vote at their place of stay. To do this, they had to submit an application with a health certificate (stating that they were in self-isolation) no later than 8 pm on the last Friday before election day. On the day of voting, such voters had to present a document in person confirming their identity and citizenship of Ukraine to the members of the election commission without handing over the document. The members of the commission who facilitated the voting at the place of stay had to wear masks, gloves, and protective gear and after each visit dispose of this protective equipment. All members of the election commission, official observers, police officers, employees of bodies, institutions, establishments that housed polling stations and the election commissions had to possess means of personal protection.

In case a member of the election commission had been diagnosed with COVID-19 all other members of the election commission could continue to perform their functions in the absence of symptoms of respiratory diseases. In case of direct contact with a patient without using personal protective equipment, such members of the election commission were sent to self-isolation as stipulated by the Law. It was recommended that those members of the election commissions, official observers, police officers who were assigned to work at the special polling stations established in inpatient health care facilities, penitentiary institutions, and pre-trial detention centers, were tested for COVID- 19 using the PCR method no later than 72 hours before election day. After counting votes, transfer of protocols and ballot papers the premises of the election commission and the polling stations had to be subjected to a final disinfection procedure. In addition, the adopted document supplemented the list of persons allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine during the quarantine period: official observers from foreign states and international organizations who would observe the electoral process in the respective elections.

VIII. Training of the official election observers

On October 22, 2020, the International Election Observation Mission of the Ukrainian World Congress conducted training for 26 official observers participating in UWC and UCCA election observation missions. The training was moderated by Natalia Nemyliwska, Chief Observer of the UWC Mission.

Oleksandr Neberykut, a representative of the leading OPORA NGO that specializes in election observations, and Reno Domenico, UCCA's Chief Observer, provided useful information on theoretical aspects of the electoral process, including the recently adopted Electoral Code of Ukraine (ECU), and shared practical knowledge of the observation process on election day.

Announcement on UWC website [in Ukrainian]:

https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/novini/mizhnarodna-misiya-sku-sposterezhennya-za- viborami-provela-trening-dlya-sposterigachiv/?lang=uk

THE UWC INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION HOLDS TRAINING FOR OBSERVERS

On October 22, 2020, the Ukrainian World Congress International Observation Mission to Ukraine’s 2020 local elections conducted training for observers who will observe the local elections in Ukraine on October 25, 2020.

The objective of the training was to provide instructions for 26 election observers members of the UWC and the UCCA Election Observation Missions. The event addressed theoretical aspects of the electoral process, including Ukraine's recently adopted electoral law, and provided observers with practical knowledge of election day observation.

The training was moderated by Natalia Nemylivska, Chief Observer of the UWC Mission. Oleksandr Neberykut, a leading OPORA NGO that specializes in election observation, and Reno Domenico, the UCCA Mission's Chief Observer, provided useful information during the training.

"Since 1991, the people of Ukraine have embarked on a historic path to independence and democracy. Throughout this time the UWC and UCCA election observation missions have played an important role on this path. These missions would not have been possible without a deep sense of responsibility and volunteerism from our diaspora communities. Thank you! You are making a significant contribution to a people and country that have suffered immensely over the centuries," said Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Head of the UWC International Election Observation Mission while addressing the UWC and UCCA Mission Participants.

These elections are different from any other election in Ukraine’s history, not only because of the challenges posed by the pandemic and the fact that local governments now have a greater say in their local affairs. Despite the above-mentioned circumstances, UWC remains committed to supporting transparency and fairness of electoral process.

The Missions’ Analytical Group shared recommendations regarding the ‘days of silence’ on October 24-25, 2020, including clarification of the legislation on campaigning, as well as guidelines on how to assess the accessibility of the polling stations for the people with disabilities.

IX. Meetings of the UWC and UCCA Mission leadership

The official deployment of the UWC and UCCA International Observation Missions took place in Kyiv on September 29, 2020. During the electoral process, the UWC and UCCA observation missions met with representatives of key government bodies that were responsible for organizing various aspects of the elections: the leadership of the Central Elections Commission, the Ministry of Interior, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and with the some representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The UWC and UCCA observation missions also worked closely with international missions, including the OSCE, with expert NGOs such as the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, the OPORA Civic Network, and a number of other NGOs and think tanks. The Missions also met with the Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Churches. Discussions focused on ensuring fair, transparent and democratic elections, taking into account the new significant changes in legislation, the challenging epidemiological situation in Ukraine, media space challenges, shortages of funding locally, low public awareness of the new election rules. A substantial part of the meeting was dedicated to the discussion of cooperation in the analysis and implementation of the new election legislation, given that the elections will be held for the first time under the new law - the Electoral Code, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Meeting participants also discussed critical issues in the organization of the electoral process, namely, conducting elections in the face of military aggression, large numbers of internally displaced persons and the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19).

MEETINGS WITH UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CENTRAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION

• Didenko Oleh, Chairman of the Central Election Commission; • Plukar Vitaliy, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission; • Boyarchuk Oksana, Member of the Central Election Commission; • Kostiv Oksana, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Secretariat of the Central Election Commission;

During a meeting with the CEC leadership, the Head of the UWC International Observation Mission Borys Wrzesnewskyj expressed his gratitude for the accreditation and introduced the UWC, the UCCA and their observation missions in this 2020 local election.

One of the important issues that had been discussed was cooperation in the analysis and implementation of the new electoral legislation, as well as the peculiarities of these elections under the circumstances of military aggression, large numbers of internally displaced persons and pandemics, voting in the gray zone.

Announcement on the UWC website:

0 5 . 1 0 . 2 0 2 0 UWC and UCCA held a meeting with the Central Election Commission of Ukraine

Last week the officials of the Election Observation Mission of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) held a working meeting with the Chairman and members of the Central Election Commission (CEC).

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) have jointly established the international observation mission at the next local elections in Ukraine to reinforce the democracy and transparency of the elections process.

During that meeting the Co-chair of the International Election Observation Mission (EOM), Borys Wrzesnewskyj thanked the members of the CEC for official accreditation of the observers of the UWC and UCCA and outlined the major tasks for the EOM at the local elections in Ukraine scheduled for October 25, 2020.

“The holding of successful democratic elections based upon new legislation and in the challenging conditions of Russian military occupations and ongoing aggressions is another difficult stage in Ukraine’s formation; we believe that these elections will live up to international standards and will serve as further proof that Ukraine is a fully-fledged

64 member of the democratic European family of nations,” stated Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Co- Chair of the International Election Observation Mission.

A substantial part of the meeting was dedicated to the discussion of cooperation in the analysis and implementation of the new election legislation, given that the elections will be held for the first time under the new law – the Electoral Code adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Meeting participants also discussed critical issues in the organization of the electoral process, namely, conducting elections in the face of military aggression, large numbers of internally displaced persons and amid COVID-19 pandemic.

“Close cooperation with the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine, key authority for organizing, preparing and conducting elections in Ukraine, is an integral part of the work of the International Election Observation Mission. Discussing the areas for cooperation in these elections is the first important step in the work of the Election Observation Mission,” stated Andriy Futey, Co-Chair of the International Election Observation Mission.

THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE Committee on the Organization of State Authority, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Alina Zagoruyko, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Elections, Referendums and Other Forms of Direct Democracy; People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;

Dmytro Hurin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Local Self-Government and Bodies of Self- Organization of the Population of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Development, People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine;

Another important meeting took place between the UCU and UCCA International Election Observation Missions in Ukraine and representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, namely Ukrainian MPs, members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Administration, Local Self- Government, Regional Development and Urban Development who were responsible for the adoption of new electoral legislation in Ukraine.

The observations missions did an important work of analyzing the new electoral legislation and the legal basis overall for holding the 2020 local elections in Ukraine. During the meeting, the parties discussed the issues of improving the election legislation, threats and new challenges in the first local elections in Ukraine under the new legislation.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Police of Ukraine

Tetiana Kovalchuk, Deputy Minister of the Internal Affairs of Ukraine,

Oleksandr Fatsevych, Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine,

Meri Akopyan, Director of the International Cooperation and European Integration Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

An important milestone in the work of the UWC and UCCA International Monitoring Missions was a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine.

The work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is important in counteracting any attempts at falsifications and intentions to disrupt the electoral process in Ukraine. Also, employees of structural subdivisions of the National Police provide direct protection of polling stations and election commissions during the electoral process. Their activity is the key to ensuring that elections in Ukraine were in compliance with the law.

A separate issue was the discussion of the challenges of the electoral process in Donetsk and Luhansk regions because of their close vicinity to the frontline, as well as difficult sanitary and epidemiological situation in Ukraine.

The parties have also discussed the issues of violations that had already existed at the time, potential threats to holding elections in Ukraine and the readiness of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to adequately counteract them.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Vasyl Bodnar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Larysa Dir, Head of the Directorate General for Worldwide Ukrainians, Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

During the meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine the UWC and the UCCA International Election Observation Missions introduced themselves and presented their work. Borys Wrzesnewskyj shared the purpose and missions’ activities, types of activities and initial observations of the electoral process in Ukraine, as well as informed about the previous meetings with representatives of ministries and departments in Ukraine.

The main discussion topic of the meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the international aspect of the electoral process in Ukraine including the influence of foreign countries on the elections in Ukraine and the local election coverage abroad.

Viktor Lyashko, Deputy Health Minister of Ukraine, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine

Holding local elections in Ukraine during a pandemic was a challenge for the Ukrainian authorities, therefore it was important for the UWC and UCCA International Observation Missions to meet with Viktor Lyashko, Deputy Minister of Health and Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine, who was leading the Ukrainian government efforts in developing a strategy against and establishing control over COVID19 coronavirus pandemic. Viktor Lyashko has provided details about the legislative regulation of anti-epidemiological measures during the election procedures; he also shared the current status of material support for the polling stations, talked about the next steps and noted about the joint measures planned together with the National Police and National Guard of Ukraine. At the same time, Viktor Lyashko assured of the absence of political influence and pressure on the work of the Ministry of Health. Borys Wrzesnewskyj stressed the need to improve the rules and procedures to facilitate voting for patients with coronavirus, in order to give them the opportunity to use their vote. Borys Wrzesnewskyj has also expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Health for introducing measures to protect the population.

The Verkhovna Rada

Yurchyshyn Yaroslav Romanovych, First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, Member of the HOLOS [VOICE – Eng. Ed] Political Party in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Ninth Convocation, Deputy Member of the Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Klympush-Tsyntsadze Ivanna Orestivna, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on European Integration, member of the political party " European Solidarity," Member of the Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council, First Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian part of the Parliamentary Committee of the Ukraine-EU Association.

Tsymbalyuk Mykhailo Mykhailovych, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, Member of the All-Ukrainian Union “Batkivshchyna” parliamentary faction in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the ninth convocation.

Dmytro Lubinets - Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights, De-occupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories in Donetsk, Luhansk Oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, National Minorities and International Relations in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the ninth convocation, Member of the “Party’ For the Future’” deputy group, Member of the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Formation and Implementation of State Policy on Restoration of Territorial Integrity and Ensuring the Sovereignty of Ukraine, Member of the Permanent Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

During teleconferences with the people's deputies of Ukraine, the missions discussed the difficulties of holding the 2020 local elections including application of the new electoral legislation in Ukraine, non-voting in some territorial communities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, challenges and threats of the coronavirus pandemic during election campaigns, threats of foreign interference in the electoral process in Ukraine.

The key issue was the discussion of how to improve the electoral legislation in Ukraine, since it is within the direct sphere of competence of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Meetings with the OSCE Election Observation Mission officials International Monitoring Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR);

Krause Stefan, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Monitoring Mission

During the course of their work, the UCU and the UCCA International Election Observation Missions met with the leadership of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights' Election Observation Mission in Ukraine. During the meeting, the parties discussed the activities of international observation missions to ensure transparent, fair and democratic elections in Ukraine. The also agreed to coordinate the scope of activities and cooperation between the UWC and UCCA missions and the OSCE observers.

Meetings with the Church Hierarchs His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

During the meeting with His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Missions discussed the general fears of the population related to the war and the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the challenges and threats of the new electoral legislation.

Yevstratiy (Zorya), Bishop of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Archbishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, spokesperson for the Holy Synod of the UOC

During the meeting with Bishop Evstratiy Zorya, Bishop of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Archbishops of Chernihiv and Nizhyn, parties discussed a wide range of issues related to the political and social sphere of life of Ukrainians and critical issues related to holding local elections in Ukraine.

The issue of holding fair, transparent and fair elections in Ukraine often came throughout the meetings with Church leaders. The Church's support of the citizens of Ukraine is an important element in preserving democratic freedoms and rights especially during the difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic, general disappointment and world shocks.

An important part of the discussion was the issue of preserving unity in society and that this was a leading role in the activity of the Ukrainian Churches. Political intrigue and manipulation will not be able to split Ukrainian society if it is united and responsible.

At the request of the Mission, the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv-Halych Supreme Archdiocese of the UGCC, signed by Father and Head of the UGCC His Beatitude Sviatoslav, approved an Address

76 to the faithful and all citizens of Ukraine on the occasion of the local elections scheduled for October 25, 2020. This address was read in all churches of the UGCC in Ukraine on Sunday, October 18. Bishops of the UGCC: "We appeal to every citizen of Ukraine to make their own choice consciously and prudently, after careful prayerful recognition, and under no circumstances to trade their own voice and conscience." "We urge all voters on election day to comply with the Government's requirements to prevent the spread of infection and under no circumstances to compromise the health and lives of themselves and their neighbors. When going to the polls, wear protective masks, keep a safe social distance, wash your hands and use sanitizer, bring your own stationery to fill out the ballot. Representatives of vulnerable social groups are asked to come on election day at a time when a polling stations is least crowded, to avoid additional threats to their own health," reads the address.

Meetings with NGO representatives

Olha Aivazovska, “OPORA” Head of the Board, Political Programs Coordinator

Hanna Hopko, Chairman of the Board of ““ANTS” Network for the Protection of National Interests” NGO, Head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the eighth convocation

Koshel Oleksiy, General Director of Committee of Voters of Ukraine

Serhiy Vasylchenko, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Center for Public Data

The leadership of the UWC and the UCCA election observation missions held a series of meetings with leading civil society experts on the electoral process and election legislation in Ukraine. The key meetings were with Olga Aivazovska, Chair of Civil Network OPORA NGO, Oleksiy Koshel, Chair of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, Hanna Hopko, National Interests Advocacy Network ANTS and Serhiy Vasylchenko, Chair of the Ukrainian Center for Social Data as well as ““OPORA” Civil Network” experts. Discussions focused on ensuring fair, transparent and democratic elections, taking into account the new significant changes in legislation, the challenging epidemiological situation in Ukraine, media space clutter, shortages of funding locally, low public awareness of the new election rules. An important part of the meetings was the discussion of cooperation in the analysis and practical application of the new electoral legislation, given that this election will be held for the first time under a new law - the Electoral Code, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The parties also discussed critical issues in the organization of the electoral process, namely, holding elections in the face of military aggression, large numbers of internally displaced persons and the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). We thank the experts and representatives of the leading NGOs for the opportunity to effectively cooperate in support of fair and democratic 2020 local elections.

X. Address of the UWC and the UCCA Missions to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Following the discussion of problematic issues at the meetings with the CEC senior leadership, a number of leading NGOs that deal with the elections, after active monitoring of all events and news related to the local elections, the Heads of the UWC and UCCA Election Observation Missions Borys Wrzesnewskyj and Andriy Futey respectively sent a letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky regarding the importance of holding transparent, democratic and fair elections in Ukraine and the need to ensure a range of anti-epidemic measures during the elections: “This electoral process will take place in very difficult conditions of the new election legislation, a large number of internally displaced persons and military aggression in eastern Ukraine. One of the main problems of this election campaign was the wide spreading of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) in Ukraine. It is obvious that Ukrainian legislation cannot foresee these challenges that strongly influence the electoral process and in particular the participation of voters themselves, the work of election commissions and observers… The successful resolution of this issue depends on the combined efforts of the authorities at all levels and the provision of resources at all stages of the electoral process. We hope for a successful combination of efforts to ensure transparent, democratic and fair elections in Ukraine, and the appropriate recognition of these elections by the international community as a confirmation of the development of democratic processes in Ukraine."

XI. Address of the UWC and the UCCA Mission to the Chairman of the Verhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov

The missions hope for a constructive legislative solution to the issue of ensuring the rights of citizens to choose local government bodies.

XII. Election monitoring by the official observers at the polling stations

VOTING ON OCTOBER 25, 2020

On election day, the electoral process was monitored by official observers from six countries of the world, namely, Canada, USA, Denmark, Switzerland, Great Britain and France. The UWC and UCCA missions observed the electoral process in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv oblasts, and in the city of Kyiv.

Official observers noted minor irregularities and difficulties at selected polling stations, including: ▪ difficulties with access of elderly people and people with disabilities to some polling stations, that were located on the second and third floors, lack of elevators, necessity to walk up the stairs to get to the polling station, lack of ramps; ▪ non-compliance with anti-epidemiological measures, particularly, regarding social distancing and wearing masks; some members of precinct election commissions and voters didn’t wear masks, gloves; ▪ delays in opening some polling stations; ▪ lack of ballot boxes, in one case one of the two mobile ballot boxes could not be sealed; ▪ improper sealing and placement of ballot boxes, including mobile ballot boxes, at the polling station; ▪ attempts to take a picture with a ballot paper and attempts to take a ballot paper outside, to which the police adequately reacted and stopped the violations; ▪ lack of voting booths, including special voting booths for people with disabilities; ▪ voting of people with disabilities in wheelchairs outside the booths; ▪ the curtains in the booths were transparent because of the light from an inside, which posed a risk of anyone outside the booth witnessing who people voted for; ▪ some voters who came to vote had plastic bags bearing symbols of a political party, which could be interpreted as prohibited campaigning; - absence of names in the voter lists of persons who were discharged from hospitals on the eve of the voting day; ▪ extremely time-consuming process of making handwritten copies of the protocol. The "5 questions from the President of Ukraine" polling was conducted at the exit from polling stations. There were polling stations where no such polling was conducted. Observers have also reviewed the delay in the vote count in Kyiv oblast.

REPEAT VOTING ON NOVEMBER 15, 22, 29 AND DECEMBER 6, 2020

The government has introduced a “weekend quarantine”, initiating anti-epidemic restrictions for all regions of the country. The repeat voting on November 15, 22, and 29 was held under the conditions of a weekend quarantine”, which affected voter turnout, On the day of the repeat voting on December 6, 2020, the weekend quarantine was not in effect. On the days of repeat voting on November 15, 22, 29 and December 6, 2020, the electoral process was monitored by official observers from Canada, USA, Denmark, Switzerland and France. During the vote counting and repeat election days (November 15, 22, 29, and December 6, 2020) the UWC and UCCA missions observed the electoral process in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi oblasts. Official observers noted minor irregularities and complications at selected polling stations, including:

▪ non-admission of official observers to the observation process at polling stations; ▪ difficulties with access of elderly people and people with disabilities to some polling stations, that were located on the second and third floors, lack of elevators, necessity to walk up the stairs to get to the polling station, lack of ramps; ▪ non-compliance with anti-epidemiological measures, particularly, regarding social distancing and wearing masks; some members of precinct election commissions and voters didn’t wear masks, gloves; ▪ delays in opening some polling stations; ▪ lack of ballot boxes, in one case one of the two mobile ballot boxes could not be sealed; ▪ improper sealing and placement of ballot boxes, including mobile ballot boxes, at the polling station; ▪ lack of voting booths, including special voting booths for people with disabilities; ▪ voting of people with disabilities in wheelchairs outside the booths; ▪ the curtains in the booths were transparent because of the light from an inside, which posed a risk of anyone outside the booth witnessing who people voted for; ▪ some voters who came to vote had plastic bags bearing symbols of a political party, which could be interpreted as prohibited campaigning; ▪ absence of names in the voter lists of persons who were discharged from hospitals on the eve of the voting day; ▪ extremely time-consuming process of making handwritten copies of the protocol.

The UWC and UCCA Missions express their gratitude to the official observers who monitored elections and to the Ukrainian people for their hospitality during their work, particularly on the day of monitoring of the local elections in Ukraine on October 25, as well as during the repeat voting days on November 15, 22, 29 and December 6, 2020.

XIII. Local elections observation conclusions The recorded violations were not systemic and generally did not affect the voting results.

The conclusions of the UWC and UCCA missions are based upon direct observations by the official observers and meetings with senior government officials, Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Churches, representatives of NGOs and the international community.

Based on the results of the UWC and UCCA Missions’ observation, the 2020 local elections in Ukraine took place in accordance with Ukrainian law with random violations and generally meet the standards for democratic elections. Chief Observer of the UWC Mission Natalia Nemylivska noted: "It was a great honor for me to be the Chief Observer of the UWC International Monitoring Mission, a role I took on with a great sense of responsibility. The local elections in Ukraine were perhaps the most difficult in decades. These elections were conducted under entirely new rules stipulated by the Electoral Code of Ukraine, against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and on-going military aggression of the Russian Federation in eastern Ukraine. This was a test of the fundamental stability of democracy and the electoral process in Ukraine. On behalf of the UCCA Chief Observer Reno Domenico and myself, we would like to note Ukraine's efforts to overcome these unprecedented difficulties and congratulate the people of Ukraine for their strong commitment to the democratic process."

XIV. Conclusions of analytical observations of the electoral process

Positive legislative changes

The Missions note a number of positive legislative changes compared to the 2015 local elections. This is the first time when the suffrage by internally displaced persons (IDPs) and internal labor migrants has been adjusted for the purpose of local elections as well as the innovative electronic services to change the electoral address have been introduced. Almost 92,000 voters (10 percent of the total amount of IDPs) used this service and changed their voting address to participate in the local elections. More people could have exercised their right to vote in these local elections if it wasn’t for the lack of time to explain innovative mechanisms for changing the electoral address. Another positive factor is the approach toward gender representation introduced in the Electoral Code of Ukraine during the formation of single and territorial electoral lists, provisioning the inclusion of at least two candidates of each gender in every consecutive set of five candidates (at least two male/female candidates among the first five candidates numbered first through fifth on a list, then the next set of five and so on.) It’s been the first time that Ukraine has adopted the legislative norms to fully ensure the voting rights of people with disabilities. The transitional provisions of the Electoral Code of Ukraine obligated the local governments to ensure that persons with disabilities and other groups of

91 citizens with limited capacity to move independently have access to the polling stations provided for the regular precinct election commissions to facilitate their activities and hold elections. Thus, the issue of polling stations accessibility requires the attention of the general public and observers, including international official observer missions. The penalty for electoral fraud has been increased. Persons guilty of violating the Electoral Code, rights of voters, candidates, local organizations of political parties - the subjects of the electoral process, may become subject to criminal, administrative or other types of prosecution in accordance with the Law.

Failure to hold local elections in 18 territorial communities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions The missions were alarmed by the fact that despite Verkhovna Rada’s July announcement about the local elections taking place all over Ukraine except for the temporarily occupied territories the Central Election Commission, acting on the appeal from the heads of civil-military administrations of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, found it impossible to hold the first local elections of the deputies of the village, settlement and city councils and respective village, settlement and city mayors in accordance with the ECU on October 25, 2020. The list includes 10 village, settlement, and city territorial communities of Bakhmut raion (Svitlodar and Toretsk city territorial communities), Volnovakha raion (Myrne, and Ol’hynka settlement territorial communities, Volnovakha and Vuhledar city territorial communities), Mariupol raion (Sartana settlement territorial community) and Pokrovsk raion (Ocheretyne settlement territorial community, Avdiivka and Mar’inka city territorial communities) of Donetsk oblast and eight communities from Sievierodonetsk raion (Hirske, Lysychansk, Popasna and Sievierodonetsk city territorial communities) and Shchastya raion (Nyzhnioteple village territorial community, Stanytsia Luhanska and Shyrokyi settlement territorial communities and Shchastya city territorial community) of Luhansk oblast. The Law of Ukraine “On Civil-Military Administrations” outside the scope of the Electoral Code of Ukraine gives the civil-military administrations of settlements in the respective areas the authority to make decisions on organizing elections of state and local government bodies, village, settlement, and city mayors within a respective administrative-territorial unit. The civil-military administrations of settlements exercise the delegated executive powers granted to local self- government bodies by the laws of Ukraine. The raion and oblast civil-military administrations, along with exercising the powers of local state administrations in certain areas, also have the authority to organize all-Ukrainian referendums and elections of state bodies and local self- government bodies within respective administrative-territorial units as well as provide conclusions to the Central Election Commission on the possibility of organizing and preparing in accordance with the law for the relevant elections in the respective territories. In 2019, these 18 communities held both presidential and parliamentary elections. Now that a ceasefire had been declared the conditions for holding elections are likely to be more favorable than a year ago. The election of deputies to six district councils took place in the following territories: Bakhmut, Volnovakha, Mariupol, Pokrovsk district councils of Donetsk oblast and Sievierodonetsk, Shchastya raion councils of Luhansk oblast.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Of implementation of citizens' suffrage in reference to elections of deputies of raion councils, deputies of city, settlement, village councils and village, settlement, city mayors of territorial communities in some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts on October 25, 2020 (source: cvk.gov.ua) Name of raion, oblast Number of voters who Number of voters who Number of voters who are will elect deputies of will elect deputies of deprived of the right to elect raion councils city, settlement, village deputies of city, settlement, councils and city, village councils, city, settlement, village settlement, village mayors mayors Bakhmut raion of 167,631 98,950 68,681 Donetsk oblast

Volnovakha raion of 116,198 40,774 75,424 Donetsk oblast

Mariupol raion of 353,123 338,498 14,625 Donetsk oblast

Pokrovsk raion of 315,467 238,199 77,268 Donetsk oblast

Sievierodonetsk raion of 287,593 65,483 222,110 Luhansk oblast Shchastya raion of 61,703 15,356 46,347 Luhansk oblast

Total 1,301,715 797,260 504,455

More than 500,000 voters were effectively robbed of their constitutional right to elect the government of local self-government bodies.

"5 QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY" SURVEY

On October 20, 2020 during the presentation of the president’s address on the internal and external situation to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, it contained the following: “the parliament is working on a package of direct democracy laws, and a key one - on the all- Ukrainian referendum - is on its way to people’s deputies. Referendum is not the only thing that can be used as a means of direct influence of citizens on the content of public policy. Polling is another tool. Each tool has its own meaning and legal significance. The nationwide poll proposed by the President will give every citizen the opportunity to express what is really important for our society. ” The representative of the President of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called this public opinion poll a referendum “sampler.” A statement posted on the website of the President of Ukraine stressed that the poll, which was proposed to be held on October 25, unlike referendum, as defined by the Constitution, would not have direct legal consequences. On October 21, 2020, the media reported that the poll received support from the pro- government “Servant of the People” party and would be funded by the “Servant of the People” political party, according to a decision made at a party meeting on October 20. Reportedly, there would be no political campaigning. "Party symbols would not be used during the poll, there would be no call to vote for the" Servant of the People "or for individual candidates in the elections. Party members, candidates for local councils from the party and their representatives will not be involved in conducting polls and communicating directly with citizens on election day. " The poll, initiated by the President of Ukraine on October 13, 2020, was held right next to the polling stations on election day of October 25, 2020. It didn’t take place all over Ukraine and did not have a declared national character. Not every citizen had the opportunity to express his/her opinion, the poll could not be conducted at special polling stations. Voters with health issues (due to disability, temporary health disorder, age) who were unable to move independently but who were given the opportunity to vote in elections at their place of stay in accordance with the Electoral Code, also did not have the opportunity to share their opinion. The polling station organizers did not have access to voter lists from the State Register of Voters, they did not have the legal right to request documents that prove the identity and citizenship of a polling participant and didn’t have means to protect personal data of voters. The missions were alarmed by the unexpected idea of conducting a nationwide poll, which was initiated by the President of Ukraine during an active period of the electoral process less than two weeks before election day in the October 25, 2020, local elections. It is also disturbing that the procedures, format and essence of such an all-Ukrainian survey have not been foreseen by

96 the legislation of Ukraine. The survey was not based on current legislation and there are no legal answers on the status of such a survey, prevention of falsification of survey results by organizers or the participants including prevention of minors, foreign nationals and stateless persons, multiple participation in the survey of the same person at different polling stations at different times. All these factors give reason to doubt the legitimacy of such a poll held at the same time as the election. The organization and conduct of this nationwide poll on election day in local elections is a matter of serious concern in ensuring a transparent, free electoral process of citizens, the international community's confidence in democratic principles and legislative procedures, and we hope to address this issue in accordance with Ukrainian law. The rule of law in Ukraine is based on the principles according to which no one can be constrained to do that which the law does not order. Public authorities and local governments, their officials are obliged to act only on the basis, within the powers and in the manner prescribed by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. The President of Ukraine is the guarantor of observance of the Constitution of Ukraine, human and civil rights and freedoms. According to Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine has the authority to call an all-Ukrainian referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine in accordance with Article 156 of the Constitution, and to call an all- Ukrainian referendum on the people's initiative. Article 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that only the laws of Ukraine determine the organization and procedure for holding elections and referendums. According to Article 74 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a referendum on bills on taxes, budget and amnesty is not allowed. Bills identified by the President of Ukraine as urgent are reviewed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on an extraordinary basis. The missions believe that the President of Ukraine has all the opportunities provided by the Constitution of Ukraine to formulate effective legislation for conducting polls in the form of all- Ukrainian referendums.

Regarding the pressure upon the CEC from the Office of the President of Ukraine before the elections According to the Law, the CEC activities are based on the principles of the rule of law, legality, independence, objectivity, competence, professionalism, collegiality of consideration and resolution of issues, validity of decisions, openness and publicity. The CEC Chairman Oleh Didenko stated that “I received a recommendation from the people close to the President's Office to resign voluntarily and dismiss four other members of the Commission. With hints of possible negative consequences in case of refusal.” Media quote: CEC Chairman: People close to the OP [Office of the President] wanted the Commission members to resign "CEC Chairman Oleh Didenko states that people close to the President's Office have made a "recommendation" for him and the CEC members to resign voluntarily and hints at the possible consequences in case of refusal.

Verbatim: "The media has previously reported that the Head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, was dissatisfied with my tenure as CEC chairman. I can neither confirm nor deny that since I did not have a personal meeting with him. As for the information about the meeting of the CEC members in the President's Office, this is somewhat true. I can confirm that I have received recommendations from people close to the Office of the President to resign voluntarily and to dismiss four other members of the Commission. With hints of possible negative consequences in case of refusal. Maybe I'm wrong and misunderstood something. But if soon there are attempts to initiate some baseless criminal proceedings, or other forms of persecution are used or information campaigns are organized, then everything will fall into place." Details: Didenko noted that he had no meetings regarding this issue at the highest level. He also added that he was not afraid of resignation. Verbatim: "On the one hand, there should be maximum trust in the CEC, because trust in the election ultimately depends on trust in the body. Therefore, if there are serious complaints about my work or the work of the CEC, they need to be addressed." On the other hand, unjustified dismissal of the entire CEC or its individual members, especially on the eve of elections, even voluntary resignation is a serious threat to the independence of the body, to the image of our state, to the reputation of the government. I hope everyone understands that. " Details: According to Ukrayinska Pravda, it’s about 5 CEC members: Oleh Didenko, the chairman, Olena Gataullina, the secretary, Vitaliy Plukar, the deputy, Oksana Boyarchuk and the Volodymyr Perepelyuk. Saturday, August 15, 2020, 11:06 https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/08/15/7263023/

ON THE INTERFERENCE OF SENIOR HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS

On October 8-9, 2020, State Secretary for National Policy of Hungary János Árpád Potápi during his visit to Zakarpattia oblast, specifically to Uzhhorod, Uzhhorod and Berehove districts, campaigned in favor of the political party "KMKSZ" Party of Hungarians of Ukraine ".

János Árpád Potápi's violation of Ukrainian law is evidenced by numerous publications, including the ones on the official website and Facebook page of the KMKSZ political party, the Party of Hungarians of Ukraine, on the karpat.in.ua website, which is close to “KMKSZ Party of Hungarians of Ukraine ”and on the website “Carpathian Lens”, which belongs to the Society of Hungarian Culture of Zakarpattia. On October 7, a post appeared on the Facebook page of Hungarian Secretary of State János Árpád Potápi calling for support for the KMKSZ – Party of Hungarians of Ukraine in the local elections on 25 October 2020.

https://www.facebook.com/potapiarpad/posts/3966939966654046

Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Article 57 of the Electoral Code prohibits foreigners and stateless persons from participating in election campaigning, including through journalism or in the form of participation in concerts, performances, sports competitions, and other public events held in support of or with the support of candidate (candidates) or their nominee.

Formation of constituencies for the 2020 local elections source: cvk.gov.ua) ED on election of TED on election of deputies

deputies

Region of Ukraine

TOTAL

settlement settlement

mayors

councils councils

Citymayors

Citycouncils

Raion councils Raion

VR ARC, oblast ARC, VR

Village, settlement Village, City district councils Citydistrict AR Crimea Vinnytsia oblast 10 72 31 248 18 45 424 Volyn oblast 8 50 22 11 43 409 Dnipropetrovsk oblast 14 87 42 26 420 20 66 675 Donetsk oblast 83 27 114 19 17 260 Zhytomyr oblast 8 48 20 357 12 54 499 Zakarpattia oblast 6 45 29 318 11 53 462 Zaporizhzhia oblast 8 61 30 348 14 53 514 Ivano-Frankivsk oblast 10 62 30 278 15 47 442 Kyiv oblast 9 97 37 248 24 45 460 Kirovohrad oblast 8 56 22 9 236 12 37 380 Luhansk oblast 16 22 78 4 14 134 Lviv oblast 9 153 36 195 39 34 466 Mykolaiv oblast 7 37 21 275 9 43 392 Odesa oblast 10 81 38 438 19 72 658 Poltava oblast 8 71 21 13 283 16 44 456 Rivne oblast 8 44 19 371 11 53 506 Sumy oblast 7 69 23 255 15 36 405 Ternopil oblast 6 64 18 236 18 37 379 Kharkiv oblast 14 74 41 201 17 39 386 Kherson oblast 8 36 24 13 255 9 40 385 Khmelnytsky oblast 8 51 16 305 13 47 440 Cherkasy oblast 7 61 18 328 16 50 480 Chernivtsi oblast 8 51 16 268 11 41 395 Chernihiv oblast 7 71 28 271 16 41 434 Kyiv city 13 1 14 Sevastopol Total 188 1553 631 61 6601 370 1051 10455

To hold local elections 1,660 territorial election commissions have been formed. Nominations for candidates to the territorial election commissions were submitted by 261 political parties through their local organizations.

100

Formation of territorial election commissions for local elections

(source: cvk.gov.ua)

Region of Ukraine

city

City

Raion

Oblast TOTAL

Village

Settlement District in a a in District AR Crimea Vinnytsia oblast 1 6 18 22 23 70 Volyn oblast 1 4 11 18 25 59 Dnipropetrovsk oblast 1 7 18 20 25 41 112 Donetsk oblast 5 4 25 12 9 55 Zhytomyr oblast 1 4 2 12 22 32 73 Zakarpattia oblast 1 6 11 18 35 71 Zaporizhzhia oblast 1 5 7 14 17 36 80 Ivano-Frankivsk oblast 1 6 15 23 24 69 Kyiv oblast 1 7 24 23 22 77 Kirovohrad oblast 1 4 2 12 16 21 56 Luhansk oblast 4 9 12 5 30 Lviv oblast 1 7 6 39 16 18 87 Mykolaiv oblast 1 4 4 9 14 29 61 Odesa oblast 1 7 4 19 25 47 103 Poltava oblast 1 4 5 16 20 24 70 Rivne oblast 1 4 11 13 40 69 Sumy oblast 1 5 2 15 15 21 59 Ternopil oblast 1 3 18 16 21 59 Kharkiv oblast 1 7 9 17 26 13 73 Kherson oblast 1 5 3 9 17 23 58 Khmelnytsky oblast 1 3 13 22 25 64 Cherkasy oblast 1 4 2 16 10 40 73 Chernivtsi oblast 1 3 11 7 34 56 Chernihiv oblast 1 5 2 16 24 17 65 Kyiv city 10 1 11 Sevastopol Total 22 119 80 381 433 625 1660

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Candidates for deputies of local councils and mayors of local communities

194 political parties decided on the participation of their local organizations in the local elections on October 25, 2020. 2,929 candidates competed for 370 mayor positions in the local elections on October 25, 2020. During the elections under the proportional electoral system 229,301 candidates were registered in the electoral lists in 792 local councils to run for 25,852 seats.

There were 51,396 candidates registered who competed for 17,270 deputy seats in the elections to 785 local councils (territorial communities with up to 10,000 voters).

Cash deposit requirement On August 26, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian parliament) set the minimum wage in the amount of UAH 5,000 effective September 1, 2020. This decision led to a 5.9% increase in cash deposits required for all candidates running in local elections. For the election of deputies to village, settlement, raion, raion in a city, as well as city (communities with less than 10,000 voters) councils - 20% of the minimum wage; (UAH 1,000) For the election of village, settlement, city mayors (less than 75,000 voters) - one minimum wage; (UAH 5,000)

102

For the election of deputies to the city (communities with 10,000 and more voters), and oblast councils, candidates for city mayors (communities with 75,000 or more voters) - four minimum monthly wages in the amount established on the day of the election, for every 90,000 voters. Overall, there were 1,780 deputies elected to oblast councils and Kyiv city councils, 5,366 deputies of raion councils, 11,124 deputies of city councils, 562 deputies of raions in city councils (where cities are subdivided into raions), 10,284 deputies of settlement councils, 14,006 deputies of village councils, 370 city mayors, 428 settlement mayors, 623 village mayors. Residents of such cities as Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava, Kherson and Kryvyi Rih received the largest number of ballots - 5 each (oblast council, raion council, city mayor, city council, district in a city council). Residents of the capital received the smallest number of ballots - only two (Kyiv mayor, Kyiv city council).

Voter turnout

According to the CEC, voter turnout on election day, October 25, 2020, was 36.88%. It is almost 10% lower than the turnout in the 2015 local elections, which was 46.6%.

On the day of the repeat voting on December 6, 2020, the weekend quarantine was not in effect.

Voter turnout during the repeat voting on November 15, 2020, was 24%.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS of voter turnout during the repeat election on November 15, and on October 25, 2020 (cvk.gov.ua) Region Name of the local mayor % of voter % of voter turnout on turnout on October 25 November 15 Volyn oblast Lutsk city mayor 33.86 25.96 Donetsk oblast Kramatorsk city mayor 29.41 23.14

Kyiv oblast Ukrainka city mayor 41.60 31.46 Odesa oblast Odesa city mayor 29.93 25.14 Sumy oblast Sumy city mayor 28.49 19.02 Kherson oblast Kherson city mayor 29.31 20.89 Khmelnytskyi oblast Kamianets-Podilskyi city mayor 32.66 34.29

Total 36.88 24.00

Voter turnout during the repeat voting on November 22, 2020, was 29.53%.

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS of voter turnout during the repeat election on November 22, and on October 25, 2020 (cvk.gov.ua) Region Name of the local mayor % of voter % of voter turnout on turnout on October 25 November 22

Dnipropetrovsk oblast Dnipro city mayor 30.52 23.93 Nikopol city mayor 33.49 24.20 Donetsk oblast Sloviansk city mayor 32.35 32.40 Zakarpattia oblast Uzhhorod city mayor 40.37 27.94 Zaporizhzhia oblast Berdyansk city mayor 41.45 39.23 Lviv oblast Lviv city mayor 38.88 38.94 Drohobych city mayor 36.69 30.21 Mykolaiv oblast Mykolaiv city mayor 28.38 28.40 Poltava oblast Poltava city mayor 29.38 25.52 Rivne oblast Rivne city mayor 34.41 30.35 Cherkasy oblast Cherkasy city mayor 30.20 26.02 Total all over Ukraine 36.88 29.53

Voter turnout during the repeat voting on November 29, 2020, in the Chernivtsi city mayor's election was 22.65 percent. Whereas on election day of October 25, 2020, voter turnout in the Chernivtsi city mayor's election amounted to 29.5 percent. Voter turnout during the repeat voting on December 6, 2020, in the election of the Kryvyi Rih city mayor (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) was 35.14 percent. Whereas on election day of October 25, voter turnout in the Kryvyi Rih city mayor’s election amounted to 36.72 percent.

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Voter turnout in local elections on voting and repeat voting days in 2015 and 2020 (%) (source cvk.gov.ua) 46.60%

36.88% 34.08% 35.14%

29.53%

24.00% 22.65%

_2 5 .1 0.20 15 _1 5 .1 1.20 15 _2 5.1 0.2020 _1 5 .1 1.20 20 _2 2 .1 1.20 20 _2 9 .1 1.20 20 _0 6 .1 2.20 20 Column 1 46.6 0% 34.08% 36.8 8% 24.0 0% 29.53% 22.6 5% 35.1 4%

Elected deputies of local councils and mayors of local communities

Overall, 42,494 deputies were elected to 1,577 local councils in the 2020 local elections. Out of the total number of 43,122 seats in local councils, the composition of which is selected during the local elections, 628 seats remained vacant. The total of 1,393 people was elected to the positions of city, settlement and village mayors. Out of the total number of 1,421 positions of village, settlement and city mayors 28 remained vacant. Self-nominated deputies (16% of all seats) and candidates nominated by 114 political parties became deputies of local councils.

105

Self-nominated candidates (48% of all mayors) and candidates nominated by 48 political parties were elected to the positions of city, settlement and village mayors.

106

Legislative changes in the local government powers after the elections.

Only after the elections, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine as of November 17, 2020 №1009-IX "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Regulation of Certain Issues of Organization and Activity of Local Self-Government Bodies and Raion State Administrations", which regulates the succession of municipal and government property, budget resources, rights and obligations to the newly elected local governments of communities and raions.

Changes in the formation of the local budgets

Below is the comparative infographics that shows the financial capacity of local budgets and the dynamics of changes in intergovernmental relations of different levels of local budgets with the state budget in 2014-2021. It also reveals the problems that need to be addressed to provide financial resources to most local governments.

Dynamics of state budget subsidies to local budgets (UAH billion) (source mof.gov.ua)

350.0

300.0 Additiona l grants 250.0

180.8 157.5 170.8 200.0 Medical grants

150.0 106.2 43.5 84.9 49.0 0.0 Eductiona 55.7 66.4 57.4 14.6 l grants 100.0 56.2 46.2 44.4 0.0 102.5 79.1 50.0 61.7 69.6 60.5 43.4 44.8 52.6 Basic grants 5.4 4.8 5.9 8.2 10.4 13.3 15.7 0.0

4 5 6 7 8 9 0 н 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 а 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 л 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 / п 1 2 0 2

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Dynamics of direct inter-budgetary relations of local budgets with the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

1600 0 1400 Raion 448 1200 449 624 450 Village 1000

800 459 485 452 Se ttlemen 366 434 ts 600 461 198 474 474 237 City 400 210 228 92 118 0 0 46 381 200 238 251 259 169 171 170 199 Oblast 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 0

4 5 6 7 8 9 / н 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 а 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 л 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 / п 2 1 2 0 2

Interbudgetary relations of regional budgets with the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 4 6 6 4 5 6 5

19 19 20 18 18 17 17

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Neutral 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 State Budget donors 0 6 6 6 5 4 5 4 Subsidized 24 18 18 17 17 19 19 20

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Interbudgetary relations of district budgets with the state budget

(source mof.gov.ua)

0 2 28 40 46 25 42 53 53 35 38 45 43 37

472 421 386 375 363 353 358

0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Neutral 0 28 40 46 42 53 53 0 State Budget Donors 2 25 35 38 45 43 37 0 Subsidized 472 421 386 375 363 353 358 0

Interbudgetary relations of city budgets with the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

45 45 47 38 0 86 84 23 40 36 82 73 238 71 68 146 130 109 120 88 60 66

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Neutral 0 40 36 38 47 45 45 61 SB Donors 23 71 68 73 82 86 84 82 Subsidized 146 60 66 88 109 120 130 238

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Interbudgetary relations of settlement budgets with the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

23 30 20 34 33 25 340

9 14 165 171 174

46 95 36 0 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Neutral 0 0 4 9 20 23 30 49 SB Donors 0 0 6 14 25 34 33 45 Su bsidized 0 0 36 95 165 171 174 340

Interbudgetary relations of village budgets with the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

51 40 78 24 79 66 497 10 25 333 356 276 124 163 76 0 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Neutral 0 0 4 10 24 40 51 48 SB Donors 0 0 12 25 66 79 78 79 Su bsidized 0 0 76 163 276 333 356 497

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Dynamics of inter-budgetary relations of all local budgets with the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

158 162 179 135 210 246 237 223 104 156 84 250 68 127 102 1037 1095 930 996 738 642 582 499

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020/ 2021/ Neutral 0 68 84 104 135 162 179 158 SB Donors 25 102 127 156 223 246 237 210 Subsidized 642 499 582 738 930 996 1037 1095

Dynamics of financial dependence of local budgets on the state budget (source mof.gov.ua)

0.3.0%7% 10.2% 10.6% 10.4% 10.5% 11.5% 12.3% 10.8%

15.2% 14.4% 16.0% 15.6% 17.3% 17.5% 16.…

96.3%

74.6% 73.4% 73.9% 72.2% 70.9% 71.4% 74.8%

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020/ 2021/ Neutral 0.0% 10.2 % 10.6 % 10.4 % 10.5 % 11.5 % 12.3 % 10.8 % SB Donors 3.7% 15.2 % 16.0 % 15.6 % 17.3 % 17.5 % 16.3 % 14.4 % Subsidized 96.3 % 74.6 % 73.4 % 73.9 % 72.2 % 70.9 % 71.4 % 74.8 %

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XV. Media monitoring conclusionsedia monitoring conclusions

Monitoring of the foreign media about local elections in Ukraine (election day, October 25, 2020) On October 25, 2020, Ukraine has appeared in more than 30 English language news and media publications. There is a considerable amount of news pieces related to Ukraine’s involvement in a scandal associated with Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s second son, in view of the upcoming US presidential elections. The rest of the articles containing positive, neutral, negative, or criticizing information about Ukraine or Ukraine’s elections or that cover the issues affecting the elections are highlighted below.

1. France 24: Ukraine's Zelensky suffers setback in local elections (https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201025-ukraine-s-zelensky-suffers- setback-in-local-elections) 2. Sputnik News: FEMEN Activist Gets Naked in Front of Ukraine’s President Zelensky Near Polling Station – Video (https://sputniknews.com/europe/202010251080874048-femen-activist-gets-naked-in- front-of-ukraines-president-zelensky-at-polling-station---video/) 3. TASS: Voter turnout at Sunday’s local elections in Ukraine stands at about 37% - CEC (https://tass.com/world/1216175) 4. Irish Sun: Ukrainians Go To The Polls In Historic Local Elections (https://www.irishsun.com/news/266783494/ukrainians-go-to-the-polls-in-historic- local-elections) 5. [Same as above] Voice of America: Ukrainians Go to the Polls in Historic Local Elections (https://www.voanews.com/europe/ukrainians-go-polls-historic-local-elections 6. Reuters: Ukraine protests against Hungarian actions in local elections (https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-election-hungary/ukraine-protests-against- hungarian-actions-in-local-elections-idUKKBN27B1NV) 7. Times Colonist/Associated Press: Ukraine’s local elections test leader and his young party (https://www.timescolonist.com/ukraine-s-local-elections-test-leader-and-his-young- party-1.24226862) 8. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty: Early Results Show Blow To Zelensky, Servant Of The People Party In Ukraine's Local Elections (https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiy-stresses-free-nature-of-elections-in-ukraine-after- historic-vote/30912509.html)

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9. Atlantic Council: Ukrainian local elections: Zelenskyy fairy-tale is over (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukrainian-local-elections- zelenskyy-fairytale-is-over/)

Announcement: “Based on results from the polling stations, released after the election, there are four major outcomes. First, this was a vote in favor of local strongmen. It looks like incumbent mayors won virtually everywhere, regardless of whether they are considered corrupt or not. Second, participation was very low, with an estimated turnout of only 37 percent. This was almost 10% fewer than the 46.5% who voted in Ukraine’s last round of local elections in 2015 and suggests a demobilized electorate. Third, all of the national parties received a big vote of no confidence from the Ukrainian electorate. The pro-Kremlin Opposition Platform–For Life party did comparatively well, while President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party performed particularly poorly. However, none of the country’s national parties proved themselves capable of overcoming the local parties of individual city mayors. The fourth key conclusion from Ukraine’s local elections is that Ukrainian democracy remains vibrant. At this stage, it appears that only the mayors of Kharkiv and Vinnytsia gained absolute majorities in the first round and will avoid head-to-head runoffs. All the other major cities will witness a second round of voting between the two leading candidates in three weeks. In virtually every single city, the incumbents remain heavily favored to win.”

Monitoring of domestic media about local elections in Ukraine

Disinformation and manipulation: the influence of Russia and pro-Russian forces on the election Disinformation narratives are not just fakes. They are a mixture of true and semi-true, distorted and tendentious facts, biases, some of which are disguised as facts, quotes taken out of context and other manipulations. It is not that often that the outright bizarre stories and false messages in the streams of pro-Russian propaganda make it to Ukrainian media. In most cases, they are voiced either by politicians (usually the “Opposition Platform - For Life” (OPZZh), the main generator of pro-Russian political narrative in Ukraine) or by political commentators, although there are also fakes created by journalists. Top 10 myths the pro-Russian media during the 2020 election campaign. • Foreign nuclear bombers fly over Ukraine for the first time • The authorities are guilty of killing oppositionists • The coronavirus was created in an American biolab in Ukraine • Americans in an agonizing attempt to hide the truth blocked Medvedchuk's YouTube channel • The British submarine in the steppes of Ukraine • The US Embassy has banned the purchase of Russian vaccines • Medvedchuk will launch the Lysychansk refinery

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• The authorities called on the Jewish community to pray for Bandera and Shukhevych • The golden age of Medvedchuk's rule • There is a plan to ban schoolchildren from speaking Russian during class breaks. To identify messages that are in tune with the Kremlin propaganda, the experts of “Detector Media” [Ukrainian media watchdog] put together a matrix of 12 most popular narratives in the media environment: • External management • The threat of a coup • Zelensky deceived voters • Zelensky is Poroshenko-2.0 • The Maidan was a mistake • Civil War • The loss of Crimea is Ukraine's fault • Medvedchuk is Ukraine’s hope • Ukraine is a non-state • Ukraine is a Nazi state • Ukraine will be saved through friendship with Russia • Schismatics of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church The study identified three additional narratives, especially common in the media prior to the election: • Disruption of elections (allegations that the authorities intend to cancel or falsify local elections); • Persecution of the opposition (real and fictional stories of criminal cases, assaults against campaign officers, refusal to register candidates from the "Opposition Platform - For Life" and the "Party of Shariy " political parties); • Fostering anti-Western sentiments (anti-Western narratives familiar to Kremlin propaganda). Over the course of seven weeks, the nationwide monitoring revealed 1,641 episodes of pro- Russian disinformation used in Ukrainian media. About 22% of them were aired on the TV channel “112 Ukraine" or published on its website, 20% - on the TV channel ZIK or its website, 19% - published on "Strana.ua" website, 14% - aired on TV channel NewsOne or published on its website, 9% - on “Vesti” website, 8% - on the TV channel "Inter" or published on podrobnosti.ua website, 6% - on MigNews website that belongs to Vadim Rabinovich. The rest of the sources, including Kyiv’s Echo, GolosUA, Klymenko Time, etc., account for only 2% of the materials. Close to 70% of the detected messages were released through the media owned by MPs from the "Opposition Platform - For Life": Taras Kozak (de facto - Viktor Medvedchuk), Serhiy Lyovochkin and Vadym Rabinovich. 29% came through the media, directly or indirectly linked to the entourage of former President Viktor Yanukovych and may have Russian sources of funding. Publications in other media that do not belong to these two conditional groups account for about 1%. This one percent includes, for example, statements by opposition politicians that are critical toward the government and are in tune with the Russian propaganda. OPZZh media is the main hub of pro-Russian propaganda. Many of the messages, which, according to the authors of the study, fuel pro-Russian propaganda narratives in the media of

114 both groups mention the "Opposition Platform - For Life." They maintain positive coverage of the party, its representatives, their statements and more. At the same time, the content moves in the opposite direction as well: the press service of the OPZZ uses Medvedchuk's TV channels and (less often) other media to release their statements. However, we do not equate pro-Russian propaganda narratives with OPZZ PR – a lot of materials aimed at advertising the party or promoting its interests do not contain statements that can be considered as pro-Russian. This may explain the modest result of the TV channel “Inter,” which, according to the TV news monitoring, actively promoted the OPZZh, but not all of the channel's stories and publications of the “Podrobnosti” [“Details” – Eng. Ed.] website contained pro-Russian propaganda. It is typical for Medvedchuk's media (112, NewsOne, ZIK, and MigNews) to coordinate their work as the most important messages, especially those from the OPZZ press service or its keynote speakers, were usually distributed by more than one, and often by all four news outlets. At the same time, we cannot confirm that the media group "Inter" (channel "Inter", "Podrobnosti", "Ukrainian News" agency) and the so-called “Yanukovych” group ("Strana.ua", "Vesti", "Echo of Kyiv", etc. ) coordinate their actions with Medvedchuk’s group to disseminate pro-Russian disinformation, as they synchronized their efforts much less often. In the regional media space, where de facto campaigning took place before the local elections, the situation was less consistent. Just like in the national media, most of the materials containing pro-Russian propaganda were published in the interests of the OPZZ or referenced the party. The situation in the regions, however, is different since it depends on the rhetoric of pro-Russian politicians (OPZZ, rarely the Party of Shariy and the Opposition Bloc) or the presence of the openly pro-Russian media. In Odesa oblast, most of the open pro-Russian propaganda was recorded in the publications of the “Timer” website, in Kherson oblast - Kherson.life, in Kharkiv oblast - the “Kharkiv” News Agency. At the same time, most of the content published by these publications were reprints from the national pro-Russian media. Otar Dovzhenko singled out the following tendencies of spreading (pro) Russian disinformation narratives in regional media: • pro-Russian propaganda is not ubiquitous; • separate publications in the regions are propaganda hubs; • the main source - "Opposition Platform - For Life"; • OPZZh media cooperate and synchronize their activities; • facts are replaced by comments - the audience does not understand the difference; • "hospodarnyky1" avoid negativity (including the Kremlin); • coronavirus conspiracy. The Kremlin’s anti-Western narratives are combined with the growth of anti-Western sentiments of Ukrainian oligarchs who control the Ukrainian media space, said Natalia Ligacheva, head of the NGO “Detector Media”. “The growth of the Kremlin's anti-Western rhetoric about "sorosyata2", "hand of the West", the coronavirus, that was allegedly developed in the United

1 “Hospodarnyk” – directly translated as a person who manages economic activity in any branch of industry, agriculture or the one who manages the economy of an enterprise, institution or an organization. However, the term became very popular after it was used in political campaigning of the “Party of Regions” and now has a negative connotation.

2 “Sorosyata” – demeaning term for the people who was funded by the programs or received grants/scholarships/fellowships from George Soros organizations and according to conspiracy theories they act in

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States - all this lie is superimposed on the fact that as a result of the pandemic and quarantine there is an increase of anti-Western sentiments among Ukrainian oligarchs who increasingly speak of the need for protectionism for our economy. We see a combination of the interests of the Kremlin and those of Ukrainian oligarchs, who are the main owners of the media and telegram channels. The role of social networks and telegram channels was different in spreading pro-Russian propaganda in different regions of southern and eastern Ukraine, but nowhere has pro-Kremlin propaganda been mainstream or massive.

Links to news articles and analytics that showcase interference and manipulation in the media space during the 2020 local elections: Who will run out of diapers in this election? The main trends of the infospace on August 24-30, 2020. Detector Media https://vybory.detector.media/2020/08/31/komu-zabrakne-pampersiv-na-tsyh-vyborah- holovni-tendentsiji-infoprostoru-24-30-serpnya-2020-roku-detektor-vyboriv/ Elections Detector The main trends of the week, August 31 — September 6, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/09/08/election-detector-the-main-trends-of-the-week- august-31-september-6-2020/ Elections Detector. The main trends in the information space during September 7-13, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/09/15/election-detector-the-main-trends-in-the- information-space-during-september-7-13-2020/ Reznikov seeks a “wise” decision from the Council on the election, which will offer "room for maneuver” with the Russian Federation https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/09/18/7266821/ Danilov: Before the local elections, some religious establishments became more active as instruments of anti-Ukrainian activity 13:41 18.09.2020 https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/general/688920.html SBU exposed Russian “botfarms” that distributed fakes before the local elections The perpetrators organized “bot farms” in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia with equipment worth over UAH 1 million https://zaxid.net/sbu_vikrila_rosiyski_botofermi_yaki_poshiryuvali_feyki_pered_mistsevimi _viborami_n1507944 Methodology for monitoring disinformation narratives in All-Ukrainian and regional media and social networks

the interests of other countries and destroy Ukrainian economy, distribute and sell out strategic enterprises and Ukrainian land.

116 https://detector.media/infospace/article/180827/2020-09-21-metodologiya-monitoryngu- dezinformatsiynykh-naratyviv-u-zagalnoukrainskykh-i-regionalnykh-media-ta-sotsialnykh- merezhakh/ This is neither a place for carrots [sticks and carrots analogy – Ed.]. Nor it is for peace. Review of the penetration of the Russian propaganda into the Ukrainian media space in September 2019-September 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/180857/2020-09-22-pryanykam-tut-ne- mistse-myru-tezh-oglyad-pronyknennya-rosiyskoi-propagandy-v-ukrainskyy-mediaprostir-u- veresni-2019-veresni-2020-roku/ Elections Detector. Everyone wants Klychko. The main trends in the information space during September 14-20, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/09/22/election-detector-everyone-wants-klychko-the- main-trends-in-the-information-space-during-september-14-20-2020/ The Kremlin’s agents get elected to local authorities to revive “Novorossiya” project - Poroshenko https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/election/690259.html Boyko and Medvedchuk are gathering outright thugs under their wing with money from the Kremlin https://glavcom.ua/columns/denyskazanskiy/boyko-z-medvedchukom-na-kremlivski-groshi- zbirayut-pid-svoje-krilo-vidvertih-banditiv-707363.html Monitoring of (pro)Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on September 7-13, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/180947/2020-09-24-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-713-veresnya-2020-roku/ Monitoring of (pro)Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on September 7-13, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181010/2020-09-26-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-713-veresnya-2020-roku/ Pro-Russian disinformation narratives, what they are and why do we monitor them https://ms.detector.media/propaganda-ta-vplivi/post/25588/2020-09-27-prorosiiski- dezinformatsiini-narativi-shcho-tse-take-i-navishcho-mi-ikh-monitorimo/ Trends in the information space at the start of the 2020 local election campaign based on the results of monitoring by Detector Media NGO https://detector.media/in-english/article/180966/2020-09-25-trends-in-the-information-space- at-the-start-of-the-2020-local-election-campaign-based-on-the-results-of-monitoring-by- detector-media-ngo/ Election Detector. Shots in the foot. The main trends in the information space during September 21-27, 2020

117 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/09/29/election-detector-shots-in-the-leg-the-main- trends-in-the-information-space-during-september-21-27-2020/ /The broadcasting of restricted TV channels in the Pokrovska Hotel – The broadcast of the so-called “DNR” and Russian channels was discovered and stopped in the Donetsk oblast 30.09.2020 https://www.nrada.gov.ua/u-goteli-pokrovska-prypyneno-translyatsiyu-telekanaliv-shhodo- yakyh-isnuyut-obmezhennya/ War and “russkiy mir.” The review of the penetration of the Russian propaganda into the Ukrainian media in September 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181131/2020-09-30-viina-i-russkii-mir- oglyad-proniknennya-rosiiskoi-propagandi-v-ukrainskii-mediaprostir-u-veresni-2020-go/ Medvedchuk goes against the video games. Monitoring of information channels on September 7-13, 2020 https://detector.media/informatsiini-kanali/article/181121/2020-09-30-medvedchuk-proti- videoigor-monitoring-informatsiinikh-kanaliv-713-veresnya-2020-roku/ SBU uncovered the pro-Russian bot farm that distributed propaganda messages from the Russian Federation and the so-called “DNR,” finding 8,000 SIM cards https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/09/30/7268320/ The harassment of Russian-speaking schoolchildren is a new hot topic of Russian propaganda https://ms.detector.media/manipulyatsii/post/25628/2020-10-01-utiski-rosiiskomovnikh- shkolyariv-nova-ulyublena-tema-rosiiskoi-propagandi/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on September 14-20, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181162/2020-10-01-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-1420-veresnya-2020-roku/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media between 28 September – 4 October, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181604/2020-10-16-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-28-veresnya-4-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Election Detector. Another “dirtiest election”. The main trends in the information space during September 28 – October 4, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/10/05/election-detector-another-dirtiest-election-the- main-trends-in-the-information-space-during-september-28-october-4-2020/ The U.S. explained the consequences of sanctions against Derkach, calling him an agent of the Russian Federation https://ua.usembassy.gov/uk/statement-on-implications-of-u-s-election-related-sanctions/ Part of the “troll farm” of pro-Russian provocateurs was blocked in Dnipropetrovsk oblast

118 https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/10/6/7268973/ Medvedchuk came to Putin again to pay his respects https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/10/6/7268999/ The EU will continue to help Ukraine fight Russian fakes – statement following the EU- Ukraine summit in Brussels https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/10/6/7269037/ Experts named the Kremlin’s key tasks in the local elections in Ukraine. Russian special forces use the “smart influence management” scheme in Ukraine https://zn.ua/ukr/POLITICS/eksperti-nazvali-kljuchove-zavdannja-kremlja-na-mistsevikh- viborakh-v-ukrajini.html Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on 21-27 September, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181324/2020-10-07-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-2127-veresnya-2020-roku/ Ukrainian media disseminate Kremlin’s narratives about Ukraine as a “non-state”, “Nazi state” and being run by “external management” - monitoring https://detector.media/infospace/article/181371/2020-10-08-ukrainski-media-poshyryuyut- kremlivski-naratyvy-pro-ukrainu-yak-nedoderzhavu-natsystsku-derzhavu-ta-zovnishnie- upravlinnya-neyu-monitoryng/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the regional media on 21-27 September 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181376/2020-10-08-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-2127-veresnya-2020-roku/ Election Detector. Shot of Russian Vaccine. The main trends in the information space during October 5–11, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/10/13/election-detector-shot-of-russian-vaccine-the- main-trends-in-the-information-space-during-october-5-11-2020/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media between 28 September – 4 October, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181551/2020-10-15-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-28-veresnya-4-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the regional media between 28 September – 04 October, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181604/2020-10-16-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-28-veresnya-4-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Medvedchuk’s joker move. Monitoring of TV news on October 5-11, 2020 https://detector.media/shchodenni-telenovini/article/181631/2020-10-17-medvedchukivskyy- khid-konem-monitoryng-telenovyn-511-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Is Russia interfering in the Ukrainian elections

119 https://www.oporaua.org/news/vybory/mistsevi- vybory/mistsevi_2020/rus_election_provocation Election Detector. «I only want to ask.» The main trends in the information space during October 12–18, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/10/20/election-detector-i-want-only-to-ask-the-main- trends-in-the-information-space-during-october-12-18-2020/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on October 5-11, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181740/2020-10-21-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-511-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the regional media on October 5-11, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181771/2020-10-22-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-511-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ The main source of pro-Russian propaganda in the Ukrainian media is the “Opposition Platform-For Life” – monitoring https://detector.media/infospace/article/181790/2020-10-22-golovnym-dzherelom- prorosiyskoi-propagandy-v-ukrainskykh-media-vystupaie-opozytsiyna-platforma-za-zhyttya- monitoryng/ SBU detained “titushkys” [mercenary agents] controlled by Medvedchuk - sources https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/10/23/7270971/ SBU has blocked the work of three bot farms in Mykolaiv and Odesa, that disseminated destructive [antigovernment] information before the local elections https://ua.interfax.com.ua/news/election/697418.html Election Detector. How to stop loving Palchevskyi. The main trends in the information space during October 19–24, 2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/10/27/election-detector-how-to-stop-loving-palchevskyi- the-main-trends-in-the-information-space-during-october-19-24-2020/ Despite the growing influence of social networks on public opinion, their activities are still not regulated - experts https://detector.media/community/article/181943/2020-10-27-popri-zrostannya-vplivu- sotsmerezh-na-suspilnu-dumku-ikh-diyalnist-dosi-ne-regulyuetsya-eksperti/ Election campaign 2020: the government is not able to counter the dominance of the pro-Russian forces in the media space in Ukraine. Survey of experts and politicians. Part I https://detector.media/infospace/article/181940/2020-10-27-vyborcha-kampaniya-2020- derzhava-ne-zdatna-protydiyaty-dominuvannyu-prorosiyskykh-syl-u-mediaprostori-ukrainy- opytuvannya-ekspertiv-i-politykiv-chastyna-i/ Election campaign 2020: in 2019, all the media hit one spot, now we are back to oligarchic pluralism. Survey of experts and politicians. Part II

120 https://detector.media/infospace/article/181962/2020-10-28-vyborcha-kampaniya-2020-u- 2019-mu-vsi-media-byly-v-odnu-tochku-zaraz-my-povernulysya-do-oligarkhichnogo- plyuralizmu-opytuvannya-ekspertiv-i-politykiv-chastyna-ii/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on 12-18 October 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/181961/2020-10-28-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-1218-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the regional media on 12-18 October 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/182015/2020-10-29-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-1218-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Election campaign 2020: the anonymity of influencing the voter’s consciousness is becoming a trend. Survey of experts and politicians. Part III https://detector.media/infospace/article/182045/2020-10-30-vyborcha-kampaniya-2020- trendom-staie-anonimnist-vplyvu-na-svidomist-vybortsya-opytuvannya-ekspertiv-i-politykiv- chastyna-iii/ Pro-Russian disinformation narratives posed a serious threat to local election, according to experts from the National Democratic Institute following the October 25, 2020 local elections https://detector.media/infospace/article/182102/2020-11-01-prorosiiski-dezinformatsiini- narativi-buli-serioznoyu-zagrozoyu-mistsevim-viboram-eksperti/ Election campaign 2020: the information context of mass schizophrenia has been formed and it seriously influences the electoral choice. Expert survey. Part IV https://detector.media/infospace/article/182117/2020-11-02-vyborcha-kampaniya-2020- sformovano-informatsiynyy-kontekst-masovoi-shyzofrenii-yakyy-seryozno-vplyvaie-na- elektoralnyy-vybir-opytuvannya-ekspertiv-chastyna-iv/ Election Detector. Shtepa, Palchevskyi, Liashko, Popov, death and other troubles. The main trends in the coverage of the 2020 election campaign https://vybory.detector.media/2020/11/04/election-detector-shtepa-palchevskyi-liashko- popov-death-and-other-troubles-the-main-trends-in-the-coverage-of-the-2020-election- campaign/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the Ukrainian media on 19-25 October, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/182203/2020-11-04-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-ukrainskykh-media-za-1925-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Everything is so anti-colonial. Disinformation monitoring #60 Timeframe: October 26 - November 1, 2020 2020-11-05 https://texty.org.ua/articles/102237/disinfomonitoring-60/ “Detector Media” Monitoring of the pro-Russian disinformation in the regional media on 19-25 October, 2020

121 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/182235/2020-11-05-monitoring- prorosiiskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnikh-media-za-1925-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Cloudy with sunny spells. Summary from experts on media participation in local elections 16:47, 6.11.2020 NGO “Detector Media” https://detector.media/infospace/article/182275/2020-11-06-cloudy-with-sunny-spells- summary-from-experts-on-media-participation-in-local-elections/ Monitoring of pro-Russian disinformation in the regional media on 19-25 October, 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/182235/2020-11-05-monitoryng- prorosiyskoi-dezinformatsii-v-regionalnykh-media-za-1925-zhovtnya-2020-roku/ Top 10 of pro-Russian fakes in the Ukrainian media during the elections 2020 https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/182308/2020-11-09-topdesyatka- prorosiyskykh-feykiv-v-ukrainskykh-media-pid-chas-vyboriv-2020/ SBU opened proceedings against Shariy for the map without Crimea and the temporarily occupied territories https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/11/7/7272747/ Sauron and Saruman of pro-Russian propaganda. Results of the monitoring and disinformation narratives during the 2020 local elections https://detector.media/propahanda_vplyvy/article/182872/2020-11-27-sauron-i-saruman- prorosiyskoi-propagandy-pidsumky-monitoryngu-dezinformatsiynykh-naratyviv-pid-chas- mistsevykh-vyboriv-2020/ “If one is to cut electricity to three channels – propaganda would be reduced many times over” – Otar Dovzhenko https://detector.media/infospace/article/182898/2020-11-27-yakby-vyrubyty-svitlo-trom- kanalam-propagandy-pomenshalo-by-v-razy-otar-dovzhenko/ “Civil war” in the infospace https://detector.media/withoutsection/article/183112/2020-12-06-gromadyanska-viyna-v- informatsiynomu-prostori/

Samples of the typical news articles

The “Opposition Platform – For Life” (OPZZh) has been struggling in the Verkhovna Rada to hold elections in the frontline territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, where it has guaranteed support. The media related to the “Opposition Platform – For Life” draw public attention to this issue, while demonstrating that only Medvedchuk and his party care about the interests of the Donbas voters. Meanwhile, “Inter” has taken up the old habit of releasing ratings from dubious sociological organizations which demonstrate no less dubious lead of the OPZZh political party. “The Opposition Platform – For Life became the leader of electoral sympathies in the upcoming local

122 elections in Donetsk oblast. The majority of Donetsk oblast residents – more than 55% – are ready to vote for them. These are the results of a survey conducted by the “Sociomodus” analytical center,” the material said. The manipulative nature of this announcement is that there will be no elections in the Donetsk oblast, that had been divided into occupied and un-occupied parts – elections are held only in certain communities, and the oblast council will not be elected. “Sociomodus” has been listed pseudo-sociologists in the database created by “Texty.” Next comes the most fascinating part: “Candidates from the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party also hold leadership positions in the elections of the heads of the largest united territorial communities in Donetsk oblast. For example, in Kostiantynivka, 47.5% of people are ready to vote for Oleh Azarov. His rival Oleksandr Kulyk is supported by only 9%. And in Mariupol, the incumbent mayor Vadym Boichenko who has almost 49% of support is followed closely by Volodymyr Klymenko, the candidate from the OPZZh party with 28% of support from the voters.” Not only does the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party channel avoid naming the competition parties; the ratio of the Mariupol candidates’ support speaks for itself, therefore a claim that the OPZZh candidate “closely follows” Akhmetov’s candidate Boichenko is a blatant manipulation. The “Opposition Platform - For Life” party remains in the top based on the number of mentions in television news and the number of materials with signs of advertorial (paid content). The party's popularity is ensured mostly by TV channels owned by its members – “Inter” and “112” channels (other TV channels from Medvedchuk's holding “News” have not been included in this monitoring of daily news by Detector Media, although their news also have plenty of mentions of OPZZh as well as their talk shows, also monitored by “Detector-Media”). At the same time, Akhmetov's and Pinchuk's media groups have been, in fact, boycotting the “Opposition Platform - For Life” party, not mentioning it and not giving a word to its representatives, even in situations where this would be appropriate in terms of professional standards. The exception is the “Svoboda Slova Savika Shustera” [Savik Shuster's Freedom of Speech – En. Ed] program where Yuri Boyko is invited once in a while. The leader of the “Opposition Platform - For Life” party Yuriy Boyko, is the most frequently mentioned MP in the news throughout the first year of the ninth convocation of the Verkhovna Rada. The “Opposition Platform - For Life” party has been using several perennial issues for self- promotion: "the rights of the Russian-speaking", the demand to hold elections in the frontline area, criticism of the government for the unwillingness to end the war on the terms of the Kremlin and calls to reduce utility tariffs. Among the parliamentary parties, the “Opposition Platform - For Life” party was the first one to openly manipulate the results of opinion polls by publishing pseudo-ratings. For example, the results of a study by a quasi-sociological “Sociomodus” company: "The Opposition Platform - For Life” became the leader of electoral sympathies in the upcoming local elections in the Donetsk region. The majority of Donetsk region residents - more than 55% - are ready to vote for them. These are the results of a survey conducted by the “Sociomodus” analytical center." The manipulative nature of this announcement is that there will be no elections in the Donetsk oblast - elections are held only in certain communities, and the regional council will not be elected. Inter claims that the “Opposition Platform - For Life party” representative Volodymyr Klymenko is catching up with Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, although the gap is over 20% points. Viktor Medvedchuk's channels criticize the government for allegedly failing to implement the Minsk agreements, refusing to participate in a "dialog" with the militants and to supply water to the Crimea, etc. Scandals are being fueled due to careless statements by the People's Servants

123 party (for example – Halyna Yanchenko's statement about "unwashed and uncombed children" of the front zone, taken out of context, became almost central topics for NewsOne, ZIK and 112 channels). Medvedchuk's channels also provide media support to Anatoliy Shariy and Andriy Palchevsky. Hate speech is a norm here too: for example, People's Deputy from the “Opposition Platform - For Life” party Renat Kuzmin3 suggesed on Channel “112” to kill several "wandering activists" in order to reduce their number. Channels of this group distribute the most outright fakes: for example, NewsOne rebroadcasts statements by the same Kuzmin that the government allegedly promotes illegal trade of body organs of Ukrainians. The same channel cut out the most scandalous moments from the recording of the talk show, apparently to escape the claims by the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting. The intensity of Russian disinformation, the promotion of its catastrophic predictions and assessments since the beginning of the year and especially on the threshold of the Ukrainian local elections was equal in scale to the efforts of Russian propaganda in 2014-2015. Russia took a break only in April-May, when it focused on overcoming internal problems caused by the coronavirus. We witnessed how synchronized were the attacks of Russian and pro-Russian media of Ukraine when they attacked Zelensky using the same messages: • “legalization of the gambling business and sale of prisons are irresponsible decisions that Zelensky makes out of hopelessness and helplessness fighting the economic crisis; • the decay of the machine building industry and large industrial plants such as "Motor Sich" is the evidence of external management and the destruction of the national economy in favor of "[George] Soros and Co"; • there is no truce in Donbass. Period; • Zelensky does not want peace in the Donbas because he does not accept Russian terms under the Minsk agreements; • Zelensky is scared of nationalists and radicals and at the same time he commands their rallies against the “Party of Shariy” and the “Opposition Platform for Life” party. And of course, the Wagner militants. During the first seven days after their detention and Lukashenko's accusations against the Kremlin of an attempt to organize a coup, the Russian side could not give a clear alternative version of events and limited itself to official denials and information blockades of this topic”. The Russians are also armed with "hybrid" political decisions and propaganda, when a certain topic includes different and sometimes opposite messages aimed at different Ukrainian audiences. A recent example of such "hybrid" influence was the news coverage of the truce in Donbas, announced on July 27, 2020. The Russians, on the one hand, spread messages about the "unreliability" and "fragility" of the truce due to the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to make political concessions, and on the other - pointed to Zelensky's weakness and his tendency to make concessions under pressure from Russia. The success of the simultaneous broadcast of such incompatible messages was based on the use by Russian authors of the already existing contradictions in Ukrainian politics. In particular, due to the desire of Zelensky's team to combine patriotic and pro-Russian motives in their communication. On the issue of Donbas, they (Russians) would, probably, be satisfied with both

3 Renat Kuzmin was the Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine in 2006-2010 and First Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine in 2010-2013.

124 the concessions of the Ukrainian authorities on the Donbas issue and the mass anti-government riots caused by these concessions or even talks about them. At the same time, two events that took place in August make it difficult for the Kremlin to gain trust to its disinformation: Mass protests in Belarus against election fraud bring back into information circulation the value of freedom and the urgency of the threats posed by Russia's policy of bonding and concessions; Navalny's poisoning and condemnation of the Kremlin's involvement in this crime give a chance to remind the whole world of the Kremlin's aggression, including the military aggression in Donbas. The “Opposition Platform – For Life” party continues to manipulate using the results of dubious opinion polls on its television channels. On 28 September, TV channel “Inter”, reported about OPZZh leading in the un-occupied territories Donetsk oblast referencing the “Ukrainian Sociological Group”: “According to the results of the poll, in the controlled part of the Donetsk region, the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party has the best chance to get into the local bodies of authority – the party has almost 58.5% support. The second-best chance has Vadym Boychenko’s Bloc with almost 11 percent.” The head of the “Ukrainian Sociological Group” is Oleksandr Levtsun, who also works at the Serhiy Lyovochkin’s “New Ukraine” Institute. The co- founders of the company are Sviatoslav Denysenko, Deputy Head of the “New Ukraine” Institute, and Yuriy Nadtoka, advisor to the Lyovochkin’s Institute. Thus, it can be stated that the “Ukrainian Sociological Group” is a smoke screen company used by staff members of the Institute that belongs to the People’s Deputy Serhiy Lyovochkin from the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party. Even if it were a real study, its results would raise big questions, because different political forces take part in elections to councils of different levels. The mentioned Vadym Boychenko’s Bloc is a purely Mariupol project, and it is pointless to spread its results to the whole region. We would like to remind that elections to the Donetsk regional council will not be held this year. The OPZZh media passionately cover Medvedchuk’s trip to the Kremlin, the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party focused on the PR around Viktor Medvedchuk’s trip to the Kremlin for pseudo- talks, using the Russian coronavirus vaccine as one of the PR topics. Inter does not stop manipulations using the ratings of the so-called “Ukrainian Sociological Group”. The agency affiliated with the OPZZh predictably adjusts favorable ratings for the party – this time in Odesa oblast: “Candidates from the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party have the best chances to get into the regional council.” The manipulation is that the figures given in the message do not mean “chances to get into the regional council”, but the percentage of voters who are allegedly ready to vote for the party. And so that you do not have any doubts, in addition to the ratings of the Ukrainian Sociological Group, a comment by the director of the “New Ukraine” Institute, which belongs to one of the leaders of the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party was included in the story. A similar material appeared in “Inter” news about Kherson oblast, where, of course, Lyovochkin’s sociologists noted OPZZh’s leading position in elections to local councils. Anatoliy Shariy sometimes gets invited to Medvedchuk’s channels. The party cells are desperately trying to attract attention with the “Shariy in the City” campaign, but even the mysterious mass cancellation of the registration of Shariy’s party candidates is covered only by “Suspilne” channel[National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine – Ed.]. Notably, “Palchevsky’s Victory” party, despite its leader’s round-the-clock access to Medvedchuk’s

125 channels, was caught using a bot farm and spending tens of thousands of dollars to spread pseudo-ratings. Elections in Slovyansk where exit polls predicted the second round for Nelia Shtepa, the former mayor, who welcomed Girkin’s terrorists with open arms and spent several years behind bars, also attracted attention of the media. However, as a result, two other pro-Russian candidates will compete in the second round instead of Shtepa. That is despite the fact that reports of “Shtepa in the second round” circulated on social networks for a long time. The media noticed the victory in the first round of Hennadiy Kernes, who has not been seen by anyone for two months, which led to rumors on social networks and in kitchen conversations that the re-elected mayor was no longer alive. The deaths of re-elected heads of Boryspil, Novhorod-Siverskyi and Murovane territorial community caused by the coronavirus infection were also reported. But, of course, Oleksandr Popov’s supposed participation in the second round of the Kyiv elections together with Vitaliy Klitchko made a lot of noise. However, the sensation ended with nothing – the counting of votes showed that Klitschko wins in the first round. Although Popov was almost declared a winner in the OPZZh media; Popov himself said on the air of “Inter” that he was “celebrating the victory.” The system of spreading pro-Russian propaganda in the Ukrainian media space has finally been formed, and the main role in it is played by the media resource of the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party. At the same time, the television channels of Medvedchuk’s group play a three times more important role in this process: they distribute pro-Russian messages themselves, provide “raw materials” for the party’s press service, and produce content for distribution in regional media and social networks. These media were united not just by a common agenda, but by literally the same rhetoric. Less important in this process is the “Inter” television channel; there is also a set of media outlets associated with Yanukovych’s circles in exile – Strana, Vesti, Echo of Kyiv, Klimenko Time and other resources. Their information activity and the content of their messages are somewhat different from the ones of the “Opposition Platform – For Life” party, but with the approach of the elections, they became more active in the promotion of OPZZh party and especially Viktor Medvedchuk. Experts named the strengthening of the influence of the social networks to be the main change compared to the local elections in 2015. The candidates usually focused on outdoor advertising and television before, but now more and more politicians maintain pages on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok. In addition, the ability to target advertising on social networks is more useful than ever during local elections. In addition, commentators saw a threat from social networks: bot farms, fakes, anonymous channels and pseudo-leaders of public opinion. Viktor Taran warned that the latter are able to localize supporters around them and use them for various aggressive actions: from cyberattacks to physical confrontation in the streets. The situation is made worse by the fact that against the backdrop of the growing influence of uncontrolled and often dubious "new media", according to experts, there is also a decline in the quality of traditional media. As the respondents noted, there are more catchy headlines and informational "white noise" in Ukraine, but fewer well-trained journalists. This is also complicated by the weak position of the authorities, the incompetence of individual officials and the problem of media regulation (due to the inconspicuous line between regulation and censorship).

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The polled opinion leaders called for new laws that would fight the undoubtedly aggressor’s media, as well as investigate the sources and methods of funding of these media. Although commentators noted that Russian propagandists were very successful in hiding behind liberal laws and freedom of speech, Otar Dovzhenko proposed two solutions to the problem. First, to look for ways to fight not with the media, but with politicians and businessmen who finance Russian propaganda in Ukraine. Second, to agree with regional elites to abandon pro-Kremlin rhetoric and the corresponding policy of their media. This seems to lead to the informational ghettoization of the “Opposition Platform - For Life” party and - in the long run - to the marginalization of its rhetoric. In addition, several commentators suggested that we stop tolerating propagandists and when it comes to them, not to pretend that they are ordinary media outlets that deserve the same treatment as real journalists or media. Media experts came up with the following conclusions: The Kremlin and its allies in Ukrainian politics have built an effective, well-coordinated, and centralized system for disseminating pro-Russian disinformation narratives. It produces high- quality and diverse content, which, in addition to traditional media channels, is distributed through social networks and borrowed from other media far beyond the area of direct influence of pro-Russian political forces. The pro-Kremlin agenda does not dominate the information space at all - on the contrary, it is localized in a limited number of media, which occupy a relatively small share of the media market - although, according to a study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology commissioned by Detector Media, trust to them is growing. To spread and strengthen its messages, the propaganda media system uses a large arsenal of manipulative means and puts pressure on the "pain points" of Ukrainian society - uncertainty in the future, fear of the coronavirus pandemic, "fatigue" from war, dissatisfaction with living standards, ethnic tensions, language and religion .

Regarding the National Council of Television and Radiobroadcasting going after the Media for Violating the Electoral Law

On November 26, 2020, the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting decided to send to court protocols on administrative violations of the Electoral Code, which were revealed during unscheduled inspections of nine TV channels: “ZIK”, “Nash”, “NewsOne”, “112” “Ukraine”, and “Vidikon” "(Sumy), “Z” (Zaporizhzhya)," “Ternopil 1” "(Ternopil), “Rivne 1” "(Rivne), “KMT” (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast). https://vybory.detector.media/2020/11/26/natsrada-sklala-adminprotokoly-pro-porushennya- vyborchoho-kodeksu-dev-yatma-telekanalamy/

Based on the conclusions of the working group operating under the National Council for Supervision of Observance of Election Legislation in the Media, on December 10 the National Council appointed unscheduled inspections to national TV channels “112 UKRAINE”, “NEWSONE” and regional TV channels “YUG”,”TVA”, “Chernivetskiy promin” [“Chernivtsi ray”] "because of existing signs of covert campaigning before the second round of mayoral elections

127 https://www.nrada.gov.ua/na-p-yatoh-movnykiv-chekayut-perevirky-pov-yazani-z-drugym- turom-vyboriv/

The Kherson court fined broadcaster for the first time for violation of electoral law - Kherson TV Company, “VTV Plus.” 10.12.2020 https://vybory.detector.media/2020/12/10/u-hersoni-sud-upershe-oshtrafuvav-movnyka-za- porushennya-vyborchoho-zakonodavstva/

The National Council issued a warning to channels associated with Medvedchuk 11.12.2020 https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2020/12/11/7276588/

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XVI. Acknowledgment

The UWC and the UCCA International Election Observation Missions to Ukraine’s 2020 local elections express their sincere gratitude to individuals, government officials, and NGO representatives, who have generously provided expertise, services, technical and logistical support, including accommodation and transportation. The UWC and UCCA Missions also express their gratitude to the Central Election Commission, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine for taking proper legal measures to ensure that the voters could exercise their right to vote. The UWC and UCCA Missions also express their gratitude to all short-term and long-term official observers of the UWC and UCCA missions, experts and employees of the Office of the Ukrainian World Congress in Ukraine. The UWC and UCCA Missions express their gratitude to the Ukrainian people for their hospitality during their mission, particularly on October 25, 2020, as well as during the repeat voting days on November 15, 22, 29 and December 6, 2020.

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XVII. Information sources (online)

https://www.president.gov.ua/ PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE

https://www.rada.gov.ua/ The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine/ Official website of the Ukrainian parliament

https://www.kmu.gov.ua/ Executive Government

https://mvs.gov.ua/ Ministry of Internal Affairs

https://www.cvk.gov.ua/ Central Elections Commission

https://decentralization.gov.ua/ The Decentralization website is the key online information resource on the reform of local self-government and territorial structure of power (decentralization), created in March 2014 through technical support of the Swiss-Ukrainian project "Support to Decentralization in Ukraine" (DESPRO).

https://atu.decentralization.gov.ua/ ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF UKRAINE/INTERACIVE MAP

https://www.osce.org/Офіційний / OSCE

https://www.oporaua.org/ the OPORA Civic Network

http://www.cvu.org.ua/ NGO “COMMITTEE OF VOTERS OF UKRAINE”

https://detector.media/ MEDIA / “DETECTOR MEDIA”

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/ MEDIA / “UKRAINSKA PRAVDA”

https://ua.interfax.com.ua/ MEDIA / Information Agency “Interfax Ukraine”

https://texty.org.ua/ MEDIA / TEXTY

XVIII. Contact information:

Ukrainian World Congress Head Office 145 Evans Ave., Suite 207 Toronto, ON M8Z 5X8 Canada Tel: +1.416.323.3020 Fax: +1. 416.323.3250 Email: [email protected]

Contact information in Ukraine: Ukrainian World Congress Ukraine Office 3 Provulok Lypskyi, Suite 6 Kyiv, Ukraine 01021 Tel: +38.044.253.3347 Tel: +38.044.253.4228 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]