Restrictions on Conducting Election Campaigning

1. Participation in election campaigning shall be prohibited to:

1) foreigners and persons without citizenship, in particular through journalistic activities or in

the form of participation in concerts, performances, sport competitions, and other public events conducted in support of a candidate (candidates) or a subject of their nomination;

2) executive bodies, state bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and bodies of local selfgovernment, law enforcement agencies and courts; civil servants and officials, during their working hours (unless the public servant or official is a candidate in the respective election);

3) members of election commissions during their term of powers in the respective election commissions.

It shall be prohibited to conduct campaign events, to disseminate the election campaign materials, to demonstrate campaigning films or video clips, to disseminate election campaign leaflets, posters, other campaign materials or printed publications, which contain election campaign materials, appeals to vote or not to vote for parties that are electoral subjects, or candidates in the respective election, or public assessment of activities of such parties or candidates during the conduct of events organized by state executive bodies, state bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and bodies of local selfgovernment, state-owned and municipal enterprises, institutions and organizations.

2. Election campaigning in military units (commands), penitentiary institutions, and pretrial detention centers shall be restricted. Visiting the military units (commands), penitentiary institutions, and pretrial detention centers by individual candidates or their agents, representatives or authorized persons of parties (party organizations) shall be prohibited. Meetings of these persons with voters shall be organized by the respective district election commissions jointly with the military unit (command) commanders or with the heads of the penitentiary institution or pretrial detention center, with mandatory notification of all agents of the candidates, authorized persons of parties (party organizations) in the respective territorial election district, no later than three days prior to the meeting.


3. It shall be prohibited to disseminate in any form any materials containing appeals to terminate the independence of Ukraine, change its constitutional order by violence, infringe upon the sovereignty or territorial integrity of the state, undermine its security, illegally seize state power; advocating war and violence; inciting inter-ethnic, racial, national, or religious hostility; or encroaching on human rights and freedoms or on the health of the population.


4. During the election process, media organizations, functionaries and officials and creative employees thereof shall be prohibited from appealing, in their materials and programs other than those based on agreements concluded in compliance with the requirements of Part three of Article 55 or Part two of Article 56 of this Code, to vote or not to vote for candidates or parties (party organizations); evaluating their election programs or giving preference to them in any other form.


5. It shall be prohibited to spread deliberately false information about the candidate or party (party organization) that are electoral subjects. The mass media outlet that made public the information, which the candidate or party (party organization) considers to be false, shall, no later than three days after publishing such materials, but no later than two days prior to the day of voting, provide the candidate or party (party organization) affected by the disseminated false information with an opportunity, upon receiving their demand for response, to make public a response in one of the following ways: by providing the same amount of air time, respectively, on television or radio, or by publishing in the print mass media the material provided by the candidate or party (party organization), which must be printed in the same font and be placed in the column “Response” in the same place of the periodical and be at least as large as the report being refuted. The response shall contain reference to the publication in the print mass media or to the program on television or radio and to the information being refuted. The response shall be made public without any appendices, commentaries, or abridgments, at the expense of mass media.


6. It shall be prohibited to conduct election campaigning alongside with handing out to voters, institutions, establishments, organizations, regardless of their subordination and form of ownership, of money, gift certificates, food and alcoholic beverages, goods (except for election campaign materials containing visualization of party symbols and branding of the election campaign, mentioning the name or image of a candidate running in the election, such as such as posters, leaflets, calendars, notebooks, pens, lighters, matches, badges, badges, USB sticks, pennants, flags, books, packages, T-shirts, caps, scarves, umbrellas and other campaign materials, the value of which does not exceed 6 percent of the tax-free minimum income, and which are made at the expense of election campaign fund), benefits, advantages, services, works, securities, loans, lottery tickets, other tangible and intangible assets, including on behalf of charitable organizations, the founders or members of which are the candidate (candidates), party (local party organization), and other charitable organizations, which are accompanied by calls or proposals to vote or not to vote for a particular candidate (candidates), party (local party organization) or mentioning the name of the candidate, the name of the party (local party organization), party symbols.

Election campaigning alongside with handing out to voters, institutions, establishments, organizations, regardless of their subordination and form of ownership, of money, gift certificates, food and alcoholic beverages, goods (except for election campaign materials containing visualization of party symbols and branding of the election campaign, mentioning the name or image of a candidate running in the election, such as such as posters, leaflets, calendars, notebooks, pens, lighters, matches, badges, badges, USB sticks, pennants, flags, books, packages, T-shirts, caps, scarves, umbrellas and other campaign materials, the value of which does not exceed 6 percent of the tax-free minimum income, and which are made at the expense of election campaign fund), benefits, advantages, services, works, securities, loans, lottery tickets, other tangible and intangible assets, which are accompanied by calls or proposals to vote or not to vote for a particular candidate (candidates), or mentioning the name of the candidate (candidates), party symbols shall be considered voter bribery.

7. The Central Election Commission shall, no later than on the tenth day following the commencement of the election process in nationwide elections or ordinary local election, place on its official website clarifications regarding the ban on handing out money or distributing for free or on a preferential basis commodities, services, works, securities, loans or lottery tickets, other tangible assets (indirect bribery).


8. It shall be prohibited to include election campaigning materials of candidates or parties (party organizations) or political advertisements in informational television and radio programs. Political advertisements shall be separated from other broadcasts and identified as such.


9. It shall be prohibited to interrupt programs covering election programs of candidates, parties (party organizations) with commercials advertising commodities, works, services, or with other reports. It shall be prohibited to place political advertisements in the same bloc with commercials advertising commodities, or public service announcement, or to use commercial advertising or public service announcements for election campaigning in any form.


10. It shall be prohibited to conduct election campaigning in foreign mass media operating in the territory of Ukraine.


11. It shall be prohibited to place printed election campaigning materials, political advertisements, including reports on the course of the election process, on architectural heritage objects as well as in places in which such materials may interfere with the road traffic safety.


12. Candidates in the respective election, which occupy positions, including part time, in the state executive bodies, state bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and bodies of local selfgovernment, state-owned and municipal enterprises, establishments, institutions, organizations and military units (commands) shall not engage their subordinates in his or her election campaign activity or use them for any kind of activity associated with election campaigning, or use corporate vehicles, means of communication, equipment, premises, other objects or resources at the place of his or her work, or to use staff or production meetings, or corporate meetings for election campaigning.


13. It shall be prohibited to publish and distribute printed election campaigning materials containing no information on the enterprise that published them, their circulation, the information on the individuals in charge of the issue, and the person requesting the publication of such materials.


14. From the time of the termination of the election campaign, no one shall publish election campaign materials in mass media, distribute election leaflets, posters, make public appeals to vote or not to vote for candidates, parties (party organizations), distribute political advertising. Circulation of election campaigning materials shall be stopped as of 24:00 on the last Friday prior to the day of voting or the day of repeat voting by the respective units of the local executive bodies, bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and local self-government bodies.


15. The use of premises of state executive bodies, state bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and bodies of local self-government for conducting election campaigning shall be prohibited.


16. Placing election campaigning materials and political advertisements on the buildings and in the premises of state executive bodies, state bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and bodies of local self-government, state-owned and municipal enterprises, institutions and organizations shall be prohibited.


17. It shall be prohibited to place election campaigning materials inside public transportation vehicles and on their external surface, including taxis; to place political advertisements in the premises and on the buildings of subway stations, bus and railway stations, ports and airports; and also to distribute election campaigning materials through television and radio broadcasting networks or other passenger information networks or information panels in the premises of subway stations and inside subway wagons, bus and railway stations, ports and airports, at public transport stops, as well as on one-time, monthly or other travel tickets.


18. If the Central Election Commission, district or territorial election commission receives an application or other report concerning violations that suggest that a crime or an administrative offense may have been committed, the respective election commission shall immediately forward the said application or report to the respective law enforcement bodies.