Home > 4.1 Parliamentary elections > UKRAINE - Opinion on the Amendments to the Law on Elections Regarding the Exclusion of Candidates from Party Lists
 
 
 
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Paragraph 24
 

While Article 81 was criticised by the Venice Commission in its 2005 opinion on the constitution, the law goes far beyond what Article 81 allows. A party can even remove from its lists candidates who want to remain in the party. While note should be taken of the Venice Commission’s report on the nomination of candidates where it stated that "political parties should be free to establish their own organisation and the rules for selecting party leaders and candidates, since this is regarded as integral to the concept of associational autonomy", this Law introduces a type of imperative mandate for potential members of parliament which is unacceptable in a modern democracy.