Razumkov signs Electoral Code
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov has signed the Electoral Code with the president's proposals.
Razumkov sent a document for signature to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the parliament's website said on Friday.
As reported, on December 19, the Verkhovna Rada agreed with all 17 proposals of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the Electoral Code.
Some 330 deputies voted for relevant bill No. 0978 at the second reading at a meeting on Thursday.
In particular, a norm has been added that national elections, both presidential and parliamentary, can be held simultaneously with a local referendum, extraordinary, repeat, midterm, first, and additional local elections.
Article 7 of the Code on General Electoral Law introduces a norm according to which those who reside in the territory of the ARC have the right to vote in elections of deputies of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The right to vote in elections of deputies of local councils and mayors is vested in voters who belong to the corresponding territorial community.
Voters who belong to the territorial community who have joined the merged territorial community in the manner determined by the law of Ukraine "On the voluntary association of territorial communities" have the right to vote in the by-elections of deputies of local councils.
A norm has also been added that citizens of Ukraine residing abroad, as well as persons recognized by the court as legally incompetent, and citizens of Ukraine who, by decision of the court, are in places of deprivation of liberty, are considered as those not belonging to any territorial community and do not have voting rights at local elections.
A provision has also been added according to which any direct or indirect privileges or restrictions on the voting rights of citizens of Ukraine are prohibited on the grounds of race, color, political, religious and other beliefs, gender, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, disability and condition of health, on language or other grounds.
According to the bill, the CEC and territorial election commissions can, in order to verify the presence or absence of grounds for making a decision on registration or on canceling the registration of candidates, make requests to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Border Service, and the State Judicial Administration. "The subjects whom this request is addressed are required to urgently, but no more than within two days from the day of its receipt, provide the Electoral Commission with relevant information," the bill says.
It is emphasized that the lack of a response to the request is not the basis for making a decision on registration or on the cancellation of registration of a candidate in the relevant elections. However, if a response to the request of the CEC/territorial election commission was received after the decision on registration and the answer confirms the existence of circumstances in which the candidate does not have the right to be elected, this is the reason for canceling the registration of the corresponding candidate.
"All decisions of the Central Election Commission are immediately published on its official website." The decisions of the district election commissions are also published on the CEC's website," the bill says.
A norm has also been introduced that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption exercises control over reports on the receipt and use of the means of election funds at national and local elections.