On September 26 after presenting a new fundamental opus, Elections and Referendums in Ukraine: Problems of Theory and Practice, published by the Central Elections Commission (CEC), the head of the latter, Mykhailo Riabets, said that the election process could suffer a legal collapse on October 12, because a number of the provisions in the apparently applicable law on the election of peoples’ deputies (including one on the date of the election campaign launching) have been found unconstitutional.
Specifying this, the CEC chairman reminded his audience that more than twenty provisions of the current parliamentary election law adopted in 1997 have been found to contradict the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine. Among these provisions is a regulation on the dates of nominating political party list candidates. According to Mr. Riabets, the current law allows nominating candidates from October 12, 170 days before the elections. “However, this regulation has been found unconstitutional. So now nobody in Ukraine can say when the election campaign will start for the simple reason that there is no legal provision other than the unconstitutional one.”
Thus the CEC will be in no position to bring the election campaign into motion without a relevant legal provision. “If the President decides to veto the new law and expresses his remarks and proposals, he is likely to do so in early October. Whether the deputies be able in this case to debate, vote for or against the law and the President’s proposals, or override the veto is in fact anyone’s guess. I wouldn’t venture to make a 100% forecast of any final outcome, but I am thoroughly convinced that, if the election law incorporates the president’s observations, the updated version of this law will not be passed before October 12,” Mr. Riabets said.
Earlier, when presenting the aforesaid publication, he noted that 50:50 is now the most suitable proportion for Ukraine at this stage. The CEC head also pointed out that Ukraine must settle a long series of issues, including “limitation of the so-called administrative resource,” establish a four-tier system of electoral commissions, and procedure for dismissing their members.
