School heads and teachers representing „Anarchist Union” in electoral commissions

The Donetsk branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] reports that school heads and teachers are supposedly representing the “Union of Anarchists of Ukraine” in Donetsk oblast district electoral commissions.  Such cases are found in the commissions of electoral districts No. 42, 45, 54 and 56.

The Union of Anarchists of Ukraine has put forward only two candidates in single-mandate electoral districts throughout the country. These candidates in their election programmes call for denationalization and anarchization of society through handing authority from bodies of power to civic organizations.

As reported, the Crimean branch of CVU has already warned that the makeup of district electoral commissions [DEC] may become one of the main threats to the holding of transparent and democratic elections.  It notes that the DEC are largely made up of members of political parties who are not politically active, don’t have a party structure in the region, lack clearly identifiable ideology and any noticeable number of supporters. The scale of this is such as to suggest that the majority of district electoral commissions are formed from technical satellites creating the appearance of diversity. CVU believes that the only task which members of these chimera-like parties will have is to ensure a majority of votes in taking decisions on key issues.

On 24 August the Central Election Commission [CEC] held a draw for inclusion of candidates for the 225 district electoral commissions [DEC].  Political parties who have put forward at least one candidate for the parliamentary elections are entitled to take part in the draw. According to the results of the draw, only 19 political parties have gained places on DEC.  Four parties received members in all 225 DEC without exception: Youth to Power; Rus is one; the National-Labour Union of Ukraine “Brotherhood” and the Ukrainian Party “Green Planet” [all obscure – translator]

Only 5 out of the 19 political parties have put forward their candidate lists. All the other parties have confined themselves to putting forward candidates in single-mandate electoral districts.

Among the parties which will be represented on all DEC, only two have put forward more than 3 candidates for the parliamentary elections.