NEW YORK – Following the announcement in his inaugural speech that he was dissolving Parliament, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a presidential decree on May 21, dissolving the VIII Convocation of the Verkhovna Rada and calling for snap parliamentary elections. The decree was published on May 23, in the Uriadoviy Kurier (Government Courier) newspaper, which under Ukrainian law means the decree has entered into force. Accordingly, Ukraine’s electorate will head to the polls on July 21.
President Zelensky also proposed changes to Ukraine’s electoral law, calling for electing the next Rada entirely on party lists and a reduction in the voting threshold. However, members of Parliament rejected these proposed changes by a vote of 226-92. Hence, the July 21 parliamentary elections will be held under the current election law – a mix of first-past-the-post, single-member constituencies and party lists with a 5 percent election threshold for parties to enter Parliament.
In response to this development, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, is once again seeking volunteers to join its official election observation mission (EOM) to monitor the snap parliamentary elections in Ukraine. As one of the few non-governmental organizations and the only Ukrainian American community organization registered with Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC), the UCCA has organized and sent EOMs to Ukraine for every election since 1991.
The UCCA’s EOM will coordinate official CEC accreditation, organize in-country travel and lodging, and conduct a training briefing for its observers on how best to serve as international election monitors.
The goal of the UCCA’s EOM is to support an open and transparent electoral process during the run-off elections, specifically to monitor adherence to the law, prevent violations and provocations at polling stations during the voting, and provide an assessment of the electoral process. The UCCA does not support any one candidate or political party; it supports Ukraine’s commitment to OSCE standards for free and fair elections that accurately reflect the will of the electorate.
The UCCA’s mission comprises volunteers, with registered international election observers responsible for all costs related to their participation in the EOM, including, but not limited to, travel and lodging.
For further information about the UCCA’s international election observer program, or to submit an application, readers may e-mail UCCA’s EOM coordinator, Tamara Olexy, at [email protected].