We want lawful Ukrainian elections!

Press Release by Andrea Bocskor

In her plenary speech yesterday, Fidesz MEP Andrea Bocskor called the European Parliament’s attention to the upcoming Ukrainian elections. The 2019 parliamentary and presidential election campaign is already underway with European and Euro-Atlantic integration, European values and reforms all playing important roles. Yet, the Ukrainian Parliament still didn’t adopt the new, unified electoral code or renew the mandate of the Central Election Commission, which already expired in 2014, and has not established clear and equal representation for national minorities living in the country.

The MEP also called the European Parliament’s attention to the violations of law previously seen during the 2014 elections. At that time, the Ukrainian Central Election Commission changed the constituencies in Transcarpathia while disregarding the law in force. According to the relevant legislation, while redrawing the individual electoral districts, the Commission should have taken into consideration the borders of the administrative units, the interests of local communities, and the national minorities living in the region.

Andrea Bocskor expressed her hope that the European Union will not only monitor the elections in Ukraine but also raise its voice against such discriminatory and illegal actions as those in 2014 when they prevented the Transcarpathian Hungarian community from delegating individual representation to the Verkhovna Rada. “Ukraine cannot violate the existing rights of national minorities. They should guarantee the access of minority representatives to all legislative, advocacy and municipal bodies, which is one of the main criteria of the democratic rule of law,” she emphasized.