Procedure for Establishing Territorial Election Commissions

1. Territorial election commissions shall be formed upon submission of the local party organizations registered in accordance with the procedure established by the Law, consisting of no less than nine and no more than eighteen persons.

2. The following entities may appoint nominees to territorial election commissions:

1) a local party organization, the establishment of a parliamentary faction of which was announced at the first regular session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the current convocation;

2) a local organization of a political party that has concluded an agreement on political cooperation in the relevant local elections with an MP group, the formation of which was announced at the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine no later than January 1 of the year in which the elections take place.

One MP group, the formation of which was announced at the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine no later than January 1 of the year in which the elections take place, may conclude only one agreement on political cooperation in the relevant local elections with only one political party.

The agreement shall be signed by the head (heads) of the MP group, the formation of which was announced at the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine not later than January 1 of the year in which the elections take place, and by the chairman of the political party with which it was concluded.

The head (heads) of the MP group, the formation of which was announced at the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine not later than January 1 of the year in which the elections take place, shall inform the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat on the conclusion of the relevant agreement, not later than ninety-five days before the voting day. It is done by sending a letter with which a copy of the political agreement.

The Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall notify the Central Election Commission of the conclusion of the relevant agreement no later than ninety-one days prior to the day of voting by letter together with which a copy of the political agreement is sent;

3) a local party organization registered pursuant to the Law in the respective administrative and territorial unit.

3. Nominating entities specified in clause one of Part two of this Article may nominate no more than two nominees to the respective territorial election commission. Nominating entities specified in clauses two and three of Part two of this Article may nominate no more than one nominee to the respective territorial election commission.

A territorial election commission shall necessarily include representatives (no more than two persons nominated to each territorial election commission) from each nominating entity specified in clause one of Part two of this Article.

A territorial election commission shall necessarily include representatives (no more than one person nominated to each territorial election commission) from each nominating entity specified in clause two of Part two of this Article.

Representatives from local party organizations, on the basis of no more than one representative from a local party organization of one political party, specified in clause three of Part two of this Article, shall be included into territorial election commissions in accordance with the results of drawing lots by an election commission, which shall form the composition of the respective territorial election commission, pursuant to the procedure established by Central Election Commission, prior to the formation of the commission.

Persons nominated to a territorial election commission may be rejected only on the grounds of their noncompliance with the requirements of Article 34 of this Code, violation of the requirements set forth in Parts two-eleven of this Article, or application of the mechanism of drawing lots specified by this Part.

A decision to reject nominees [on other grounds] shall not be adopted.

4. The Central Election Commission shall establish oblast, rayon (except for rayons of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), city (in cities of oblast subordination, cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol), and city rayon (in cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol) election commissions no later than seventy-five days prior to the day of voting. Candidates for membership in the relevant territorial election commissions may be submitted by oblast, rayon, city, rayon in the cities of Kyiv, Sevastopol (in case of their absence in the structure of the respective political party - Kyiv, Sevastopol) organizations of political parties specified in part two of this article, and in case of their absence in the structure of the respective political party - the oblast organization of this political party in accordance with the existing administrative-territorial system. Such submissions shall be filed no sooner than ninety days prior to the day of voting and no later than eighty days prior to the day of voting.

5. The Election Commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea shall establish rayon (in rayons of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) and city (in cities of republican subordination in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) election commissions, no later than seventy-five days prior to the day of voting. Nomination submissions to the respective territorial election commissions may be made by rayon (in rayons of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) and city (in cities of republican subordination in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) political party organizations specified in Part two of this Article. Such submissions shall be filed no later than eighty days prior to the day of voting.

6. Rayon election commissions shall establish village or settlement election commissions in a respective rayon no later than sixty days prior to the day of voting. Nomination submissions to the respective territorial election commissions may be made by rayon organizations of political parties specified in Part two of this Article and in case of their absence in the structure of the respective political party - the oblast organization of this political party in accordance with the existing administrative-territorial system. Such submissions shall be filed no later than sixty-five days prior to the day of voting.

7. City election commissions (in cities with rayon division, except for cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol) shall establish rayon in the city election commissions no later than sixty days prior to the day of voting. Nomination submissions to the respective territorial election commissions may be made by city organizations of political parties specified in Part two of this Article and in case of their absence in the structure of the respective political party - the oblast or republican in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea organization of this political party in accordance with the existing administrative-territorial system. Such submissions shall be filed no later than sixty-five days prior to the day of voting.

8. The composition of the Election Commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea shall be approved by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, no later than eighty-five days prior to the day of voting, in accordance with the procedure specified by Parts one through three, nine through sixteen of this Article.

Nomination submissions to the Election Commission of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea shall be filed with the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea no later than eighty-five days prior to the day of voting.

9. Nomination submissions to the territorial election commission shall be filed in a form established by the Central Election Commission, in both paper and electronic form.

Submission of nominations to territorial election commission shall be filed with the respective election commission and shall be signed by ahead of a local party organization and affixed with the seal of a local party organization, or the seal of a higher-level party organization, or the seal of this political party.

Nominations for candidates to the territorial election commission may be submitted to the relevant election commission by means of electronic services in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission.

Nomination submissions shall be appended with: a photocopy of each nominee’s passport of a citizen of Ukraine (photocopies of the first and second pages of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of a passport book, or a photocopy of the front and reverse sides of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of the card), or a photocopy of the first and second pages of a person’s temporary certificate of a citizen of Ukraine (for persons who have recently been granted Ukrainian citizenship).

Statements of the persons nominated to a territorial election commission, expressing their consent to participate in the work of the election commission on behalf of the respective nominating entity; and if a person is nominated for the position of the head, deputy head, or secretary of the commission, their consent to perform the respective official responsibilities or statements expressing lack of consent to participate in the work of the election commission are submitted to the relevant nominating subjects until the submission of nominations to the relevant election commission to the territorial election commission.

If the relevant election commission identifies the simultaneous submission of one candidate to the territorial election commission from different subjects of nomination, the election commission shall apply to the relevant subjects of submission, the candidate proposed to the territorial election commission, to clarify information and submit an application for consent to participation in the work of the territorial election commission from the relevant subject of submission. If the consent of a person to participate in the work of the territorial election commission from the relevant subject of submission is not confirmed, the relevant election commission shall reject the candidacy of such person.

10. Nomination submissions to territorial election commissions shall include the following information on each nominee:

1) last name, first name (all first names), patronymic name (if any) of a person;

2) day, month and year of birth;

3) citizenship;

4) educational attainment;

5) confirmation of his or her command the state language;

6) place of employment (occupation) and occupied position;

7) place of residence (address of residence) as well as contact telephone numbers;

8) election commission experience;

9) information on whether the nominee has no criminal record for committing a grave or especially grave crime or a crime against citizens’ electoral rights or a corruption crime, or a crime against the foundations of the national security of Ukraine provided by Article 1111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which has not been cleared or canceled pursuant to the procedure established by law.

11. Technical errors or inaccuracies contained in a submission shall not constitute a reason for the rejection of nominees.

12. Citizens of Ukraine complying with the requirements of Article 34 of this Code may be members of a territorial election commission. Should circumstances appear or become known which shall deprive a person of the right to be a member of the election commission, office of such election commission members may be terminated early by an election commission, which established the respective territorial election commission.

13. Election commissions specified in Parts four-eight of this Article shall, simultaneously with the establishment of the territorial election commission, appoint the head, deputy head, and the secretary of such election commission.

14. The head, deputy head, and the secretary of the territorial election commission shall be representatives of different nominating entities, specified in Part two of this Article.

15. A decision establishing a territorial election commission shall be made public by an election commission that established it, in the manner prescribed by such election commission, no later than the next day following the day when such a decision was adopted. A decision on replacement of members in the composition of a territorial election commission shall be made public pursuant to the procedure and within the time period prescribed by this Part, but no later than on the last day prior to the day of voting.

16. In the event if no nomination submissions to territorial election commissions were filed within the time period prescribed by this Article, or if nomination submissions to territorial election commissions were filed containing less than nine persons, a composition of the territorial election commission shall be formed within the time period specified in Part four – eight of this Article, upon submission of the head of the respective election commission on the basis of proposals from the members of the respective commission.