Human rights activists assure that the new law on local elections contradicts the Constitution and laws of Ukraine. A ban for IDPs to vote hampers integration of internally displaced persons into Ukrainian society and will become effective tool against manipulations on elections. A briefing of volunteer organizations, devoted to new rules on local authorities’ formation, took place in Kiev on July 16.

Verhovna Rada of Ukraine with 257 votes adopted a new law on local elections on July 14. According to new legislation, people can vote for deputies of local councils only after showing a passport with a registration stamp (residency permit). IDPs have such stamp not in passport, but in IDP’s certificate, the new law actually deprives IDPs of ability to form local administration bodies.

“We were against putting a stamp (residency permit) to the passport, — co-coordinator of the volunteer initiative “Crym-SOS” Tamila Tasheva tells. – Lvov or Kiev stamp of residency could have menace an IDP in case, if he/she would have decided to go to occupied territory. We didn’t think that this decision would have such implications”.

Earlier deputies argued that IDPs and residents of occupied territories could have been drawn into manipulation of elections’ results. But volunteers don’t agree with such methods to resolve this problem.

“Yesterday I met IDPs, who live near Kiev and asked them whether they need an ability to vote. They answered: “Of course, it is important, we want to elect new authorities. We will not return to Crimea or to the East and want to become full-fledged members of local society”. Fears that IDPs will vote in some wrong ways are groundless, because people, who will participate in elections, are active representatives of community, for whom Ukraine was a conscious choice. Yes, one million four hundred thousand IDPs is a very big number, which can be used in some schemes during elections, but it is not a way to fight manipulations by depriving people of electoral right”, — Tamila Tasheva supposes.

Other “IDPs’” organizations also agree with Tamila.

“One can manipulate by dismissing buck-wheat among local electorate, as it is happening in Chernigov. With current access system and minimum fine equals 1700 hrivna for illegal crossing of the border, it is easy to bribe local residents in regions, where people don’t have big income. It is easier than bring people from occupied territories by buses. Talking about IDPs from Crimea – those are people, who made conscious choice in favor of Ukraine. Those, who wanted to live in Russia – left there. People, who moved to Ukraine believe in this country, want to live here and teach their children”, — co-coordinator of the Charity Foundation “Vostok-SOS” Aleksandra Dvoretskaya supposes.

She affirms that all representatives of territorial community have to participate in elections.

“The first thing we should know about IDPs – is that the most part of those people will not return to places, they had left, for several years for sure. It means that they became a part of territorial communities on territories, where they live now. But the new law means that there is a person, but there is no community for him/her. An IDP lives in the city, uses medical services, pays for public services, sends children to kindergartens or schools, but has no right to impact the way it works. Comparing to situation when, for instance, resident of Lvov moves to Kiev and cannot vote for Kiev authorities, IDPs left their cities not searching for a better life, but forcedly, rescuing their lives, and they cannot return to participate in elections”, — Aleksandra states.

Volunteer and citizen of Estonia Veronika Svish told about electoral legislation in her country.

“In Estonia – even if you are not a citizen of a country, you have right to participate in lical elections in a settlement, where you live and are registered. Also you have a right to run for representative bodies of your city or village. Famous in Estonia journalist and citizen of the Great Britain Abdul Turay became a deputy of Tallinn City Council in 2013. Now he is the only black deputy in Estonia, as I think”, — Veronika Svish tells.

Abdul Turay

Human rights activists tell that they proposed amendments to this bill, which gave IDPs the right to vote, those amendments were read in Committees, but none was approved.

“New Law contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine, international standards in the sphere of ensuring of IDPs’ rights. The Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Administration in Ukraine” prohibits any restriction of rights of Ukrainian citizens to participate in local self-administration, including period of residence on relevant territory.

According to the UN guiding principles on internally displaced people within a country, IDPs cannot be discriminated because of displacement, when realizing their rights, including a right to participate in life of community and electoral right”, — legal analytic of the Charity Foundation “Right to Protection” Suleyman Mamutov explains.

According to his words the problem of expression of IDPs’ will is tied to the fact, that Ukraine didn’t get rid of the Institute of residence permit as all civilized countries did.

“Residence permit was called registration in Ukraine, but the most part of possibilities, such as employment, housing or participation in elections, stayed tightly associated with this stamp in passport”.

Denis Matsola for the Informator.lg.ua