Since the beginning of the year, expert and analytical circles in the field of electoral law and other interested persons, in particular politicians, have been summing up the results of the 2004 election campaign, discussing its "pluses" and "minuses," and actively debating the next elections in Ukraine – elections to representative bodies of power and village, settlement, and city heads.
The Ukrainian tradition differs from the pan-European one; according to experts of the Center, introducing changes to electoral legislation on the eve of the start of an election campaign will most likely be applied now as well, when a little more than six months remain before the next elections in Ukraine begin. The reason for this is that the newly adopted normative-legal acts regulating the conduct of the 2006 campaign need improvement.
As is known, according to current legislation, in 2006 in Ukraine for the first time deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, deputies of city, district-in-city, and district councils are to be elected under a system of closed party lists in a single multi-mandate constituency. It is precisely the "closedness" of the lists that raises the most questions: the narrowing of citizens' electoral rights, in particular, the lack of influence of non-members of political parties on the process of forming lists, the impossibility for non-party citizens to nominate candidates for deputies, the increased dependence of politicians not on the community but on party leaders, such a system of forming lists will lead to a break between the deputy and the voters, etc.
In the elections to parliament, in order to avoid a situation where the average voter is removed from active political life, in our opinion, one could apply a proportional system of open lists, as our neighbors the Poles do. In such a case, the voter, casting a vote for one or another political force, also has the opportunity to vote for a specific candidate included in the list. One could also apply a system of regional open lists.
In local elections of representative bodies of power at the oblast, district, and city level, it is also expedient to introduce a proportional system; however, the lists of candidates should be open in nature. In order to represent in the councils those people who are supported by the majority of the community, it would be necessary to grant voters the right to nominate independent candidates.
As for the election of city, settlement, and village heads, deputies of village and settlement councils, the currently proposed majoritarian system of relative majority is probably the most realistic and most practical for application in our state. However, in the future, in order for the heads of cities, villages, and settlements to represent the preferences of the majority of residents of the respective territories, in the opinion of our experts, it would be optimal to introduce a system similar to the one in effect for elections of the President of Ukraine, that is, elections in two rounds.
Be that as it may, even now one can forecast that the 2006 election campaign will undoubtedly become a new step in the development of Ukrainian society – we hope, a step forward.