How will voting take place at special polling stations in Chernihiv region?

On October 14, 2014, a discussion took place in Chernihiv on practical aspects of preparing for and holding parliamentary elections on October 26, 2014 at special polling stations in Chernihiv region, as well as promoting the free and transparent expression of will of socially and informationally isolated voters, including those who will vote in penitentiary, medical and socio-medical institutions in Chernihiv region.

The event was attended by representatives of relevant authorities, administrations of institutions where special polling stations were established, election commissions, the Canadian Election Observation Mission CANEOM, etc.

The round table was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, the Chernihiv Regional Branch of the NGO “Committee of Voters of Ukraine”, and the Regional Coordinator for Public Relations of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the Chernihiv Region.

As noted by Viktor Tarasov, Head of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, the main purpose of monitoring is institutions that, under international law, fall under the definition of “places of deprivation of liberty”. The specifics of these places and the persons who are there are determined by three criteria: persons are there by decision of a judicial or administrative body, they are under partial or full guardianship of the state, deprived of liberty or restricted in freedom of movement. These are penitentiary institutions, in particular institutions for the execution of sentences, pre-trial detention centers, as well as medical institutions, in particular psychoneurological hospitals, at which special polling stations are created. This category also includes social and medical institutions, such as geriatric boarding houses, which are not special polling stations, but voters are in quite vulnerable conditions.

The electoral process itself and the voting procedure in such places have their own characteristics. The results of previous elections in such institutions have raised many doubts and questions, which is explained by the limited means of communication with the outside world, the inability to effectively protect one’s electoral rights in the event of their violation.

Volodymyr Andriychenko, coordinator of the CVU in Chernihiv region, reported that often in such institutions 100% of people vote for one of the political parties, usually the ruling one. This always surprises observers and raises questions for the heads of these institutions.

In Chernihiv region, there are more than 2 thousand convicts in 6 correctional institutions, informed Alla Lepekha, regional coordinator for public relations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Commissioner for Human Rights in Chernihiv region. Each institution has its own specifics, and therefore the approach to organizing the voting process differs, and the greatest attention is paid to those who vote for the first time, the expert noted.

Olena Kyseleva, former head of Chernihiv Women’s Correctional Colony No. 44, believes that during the pre-election period in such institutions, special attention should be paid not to campaigning, but to educational work: how to vote, because it is precisely because of the ignorance of the voting procedure by convicts, and sometimes by members of election commissions, that a large number of violations are recorded during the elections. The need for the heads and members of the commissions to study the electoral legislation was also insisted on by the member of the district election commission No. 205, Serhiy Solomakha.

Mykola Romanov, head of the Chernihiv Center for Social Adaptation of the Homeless and Displaced, introduced those present to the peculiarities of voting for persons registered in this institution, including internally displaced persons from the east of the country. About 400 people are currently registered at the Center’s address and have the right to vote, although only according to party lists, but there are difficulties in encouraging them to express their will.

During the elections, the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and the Chernihiv Regional Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine will monitor the voting process at special polling stations in the Chernihiv region, and therefore reports of violations recorded by observers will be promptly considered and made public.

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The project “Active Protection of the Rights of “Special” Voters in Chernihiv Oblast 2014” is implemented within the framework of the “Unifying for Reform” (UNITER) project, implemented by Pact in Ukraine with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).