Ukrainians will be asked to do two things on 25 October: to vote in local elections and to take part in a highly dubious ‘questionnaire’ initiated by President Zelensky with five unrelated questions

A new low was set on 3 August 2020 for Poland’s democracy, one with ramifications for the European Union if it fails to react

Poland’s ruling party has voted to allow the presidential elections, which were scheduled for 10 May, to be held by postal vote, despite the pandemic and the obvious violation of fundamental principles of democratic elections

Andriy Klyuev and Anatoly Shariy had been registered as candidates for the coming parliamentary elections despite near certainty that neither man has, as required, lived in Ukraine for the last five years

President-Elect Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have received a record number of votes, although what almost three quarters of the population voted for remains largely unclear

Several prominent Ukrainians have expressed concern that ‘form is replacing content’, with at least one of the candidates finding it convenient to remain an ‘enigma’ – a “colouring book” for voters to colour as they prefer.

While the issue of Russia’s occupation of Crimea may not be a vote-winner, and Volodymyr Zelensky is not alone in having no idea how to return Crimea, there are questions which the two likely presidential candidates in the second round must be willing to confront.

In the country which knew that Vladimir Putin would ‘win’ the 2018 presidential elections back in 2012 (or earlier), concern is high about election fraud - in Ukraine. A major focus of Russia’s TV talk shows is pushing the idea that the imminent presidential elections will be rigged

Concern about the proposed involvement of the far-right ‘National Militia’ paramilitaries as Ukrainian election observers has intensified following both their threats to use physical force “to prevent violations” and the involvement of the party they are linked with [National Corps] in violent scuffles at the weekend

Ukraine’s ‘Communist Party# has announced that it is putting forward its leader Petro Symonenko as presidential candidate in the coming elections.  The announcement has aroused bemusement, since it comes over three years after a much publicized ruling banning this very same party.  

On June 15, Yulia Tymoshenko launched the start of Ukraine’s presidential election season with a two-and-half hour speech in Kyiv, Ukraine. With twenty-nine percent of voters telling pollsters they haven’t made their minds up for the race slated for March 31, the field is wide open. But it’s not too soon to start worrying about the many ways in which the Kremlin may meddle in the election.

Photographs from Crimean polling stations on 18 March do not tally with official reports, and certainly the vast majority of Crimean Tatars seem to have boycotted the event. This is despite four years bitter experience of the repressive measures they are likely to face for their courageous resistance.

What will the OSCE say at their 19 March press conference in Moscow after agreeing to observe a ‘presidential election’ in which the main opposition candidate had been prevented from running, and which was being illegally held in occupied Crimea?.

As expected, Russia has invited unwavering supporters from different countries to act as supposed ‘observers’ of the presidential elections which it is illegally holding in occupied Crimea.

Nobody seriously doubts the outcome of Russia’s presidential ‘elections’ on 18 March, but Vladimir Putin does not want a pitiful turnout to mar the beginning of his fourth official term in office.  Just like in Soviet times, all efforts are underway to persuade or force people to give the right veneer to this electoral farce, especially in occupied Crimea where Russia is holding the elections illegally.

Election reform in Ukraine is finally gaining some momentum. In December, parliament passed in the first reading draft law #3112-1, which creates an open list proportional election system and makes it easier for small parties to win seats in parliament. In addition, the president’s long-awaited list of candidates for the Central Election Commission has finally been submitted.

There are several reasons why the event on March 18 which will give Vladimir Putin his fourth official term as Russian President can only loosely be termed ‘elections’. There is one, however, that surely invalidates any outcome since Russia is insisting on holding the elections in illegally occupied Ukrainian Crimea.

Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has revoked a highly controversial law passed in early 2016 which enabled political parties to strip MPs of their mandate . The Court confirmed what election watchdogs had said from the outset, namely that the law is in breach of Ukraine’s Constitution and flouted the principle that it is the people who vote for their representatives, not the party hierarchy.

A law recently passed and signed by the President in blitzkrieg fashion strips the heads and deputy heads of local state administrations of their civil servant status, with this removing any requirements for their appointment on a competitive basis, and restrictions on political party affiliation.

Ukraine’s parliament has a busy agenda this autumn. Not only is a sweeping healthcare reform package needed to fix the country’s broken system, judicial reform, the creation of a special anticorruption court, and land reform are also pending. In spite of these burning priorities, now is also the best time for parliament to pass electoral reform.