Kyiv, August 13, 2014 – “It is important to understand today what rules and principles the early elections will follow as these elections should give grounds to update and cleanse legislative government in Ukraine,” stated Vitaliy Kovalchuk, head of UDAR party faction, during a press briefing at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “The main goal of amending the Law “Electoral law” is the increase of society’s real influence on the formation of the Parliament,” he added.
According to Vitaliy Kovalchuk, the priority amendments to the law “Regarding elections” include:
– Openness and transparency of both party lists and the financial sources of electoral campaigns;
– Formation of a democratic pro-European majority in the future Parliament;
– Economical use of budget funds during the electoral campaign.
The head of the UDAR party faction stated that if tomorrow the Parliament fails to support the amendments to the electoral legislation, it is possible that an emergency session of the Parliament may be held as early as August.
Vitaliy Kovalchuk entertains another possibility that the electoral campaign may be carried out according to current legislation. “We can count on technical amendments already during the electoral campaign. They will not have a significant influence on the elections process itself, but will simply correct certain technical norms and standards during the electoral campaign,” explained Mr. Kovalchuk.
As to the date of the early parliamentary elections, Vitaliy Kovalchuk stated: “The date of the elections depends on two factors: when the President of Ukraine uses his right to appoint early parliamentary elections, and whether changes are made to shorten the electoral campaign.” According to Vitaliy Kovalchuk, as of today, several possible dates are being discussed, the closest being October 5. “Everyone feels that early elections should take place at least before the end of October this year,” he added.
