Findings from CVU on the Parliamentary elections

Main findings of CVU's observation:

1. According to the CVU, E-day was generally conducted in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation and international standards of democratic elections. In comparison to the previous elections of the President of Ukraine in 2019 and the extraordinary Parliamentary elections in 2014, the number and nature of violations of the electoral law has not fundamentally changed.

2. The official observers of the CVU identified a number of problems and violations during the organization of the voting process and in the preparation of its conduct, however, these violations were not of a systemic nature and were not such as to have a significant impact on the results of the will of the citizens.

3. Among the most typical violations: mistakes in the work of polling station election commissions and in the running of campaigns, which went against the terms defined by the Law "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine".

4.The presence of illegal campaign materials on the eve of the E-day has become one of the key issues. According to CVU observers, the largest amount of illegal campaigning materials was distributed on behalf of the political parties "Servant of the People", "Opposition Platform for Life", "Opposition block". This was also present amongst the 5 political forces (Agrarian Party of Ukraine, Svoboda, Holos, European Solidarity, Batkivshchyna), as well as a number of candidates in single-mandate districts.

5. A significant number of violations were caused by the incorrect interpretation or the disregard by members of election commissions of the current legislation. The replacement of members of election commissions and lacking time to familiarize new members of commissions with aspects of the electoral law partly contributed to this situation. On the election day, several commissions took the unlawful decision to put the stamp "out" beside the name of certain candidates, which resulted in the spoiling of the ballots and delays in the start of voting. A further problem related to the filling in of election documentation by officials at the end of the voting process.

6. In some cases, the CVU recorded the use of unlawful methods such as the transporting of citizens to polling stations, the use of indirect voter bribes, and attempts to take ballots outside the polling stations. These facts were of a single nature.

7. CVU generally welcomes the activities of the Central Election Commission and the National Police in preventing violations on the day of voting. On the election day, the CEC exercised its activities in compliance with the provisions of the electoral law. Law-enforcement agencies properly ensured the rule of law at polling stations and responded to violations of electoral law.

8. In general, voters had the opportunity to make an informed choice on the election day. Only in some cases there were no posters of candidates at the polling stations. In other situations, the commissions met the requirements of the law and provided citizens with all the necessary information.