Embassy of Ukraine Press Release: DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE “On the support of the realization of citizens` rights, democratic society, openness and transparency in the process of preparation and conduct of the 2002 elections”

1. People's deputies of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as deputies) shall be elected by the citizens of Ukraine on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

2. The numerical composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall be determined by the Constitution of Ukraine.

3. Elections of deputies shall be conducted on the basis of the mixed (majoritarian-proportional) system:

1) 225 deputies shall be elected in the multi-mandate all-state election constituency (hereinafter referred to as the multi-mandate constituency) on the basis of proportional representation according to electoral lists of candidates (hereinafter referred to as electoral lists) from political parties and electoral blocs of parties (hereinafter referred to as parties (blocs));

2) 225 deputies shall be elected on the basis of the majoritarian system of relative majority in single-mandate electoral constituencies (hereinafter referred to as single-mandate constituencies).

4. Participation of Ukrainian citizens in elections of deputies shall be voluntary. No one shall be forced to participate or not to participate in voting during elections.

Article 2. Universal Suffrage

1. Citizens of Ukraine who have attained the age of eighteen on the day of elections have the right to vote in elections of deputies (to elect deputies).

2. The document that confirms the Ukrainian citizenship of a voter shall be:

1) passport of a citizen of Ukraine;

2) passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travelling abroad;

3) temporary identity card of a citizen of Ukraine;

4) diplomatic passport;

5) service passport;

6) sailor’s identity card;

7) identity card of a crew member;

8) military-service identity card for servicemen of a fixed period.

3. Citizens of Ukraine who have the right to vote may participate in the activities of election commissions as their members, as well as in the conduct of election campaigns, monitoring of carrying out of elections of deputies and other actions in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and other laws of Ukraine.

4. Any direct or indirect privileges or restrictions of the voting rights of citizens of Ukraine on the basis of their race, colour of skin, political, religious and other convictions, gender, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, language or other characteristics shall be prohibited. Any restrictions as to participation of citizens in the election process shall not be allowed, except for the restrictions provided by the Constitution of Ukraine and this Law.

5. A citizen found incapable by a court shall not have the right to vote.

6. A citizen of Ukraine that legally resides or stays abroad during the period of preparation and conduct of elections shall have the right to vote in elections of deputies.

Article 3. Equal Suffrage

1. Elections of deputies shall be equal: citizens of Ukraine shall participate in elections on equal grounds.

2. In elections of deputies, each voter shall have one vote in the multi-mandate constituency and one vote in a single-mandate one. A voter may use his or her vote in one polling district only.

Article 4. Direct Suffrage

Elections of deputies shall be direct. Citizens of Ukraine shall elect deputies directly by voting for candidates for deputy included in an electoral list of a party (bloc) or for candidates for deputy in single-mandate constituencies.

Article 5. Free Elections

1. Elections of deputies shall be free. Conditions of free forming of their will and its free expression in elections shall be ensured for voters.

2. The use of violence, threats, fraud, bribery or any other actions that hinder free forming and free expression of voter’s will shall be prohibited.

Article 6. Secret Ballot

Voting in elections of deputies shall be secret: any control over the expression of electors’ will shall be prohibited.

Article 7. Personal Voting

Every voter shall vote in person during elections. Voting for other persons and transfer by a voter of his or her right to vote to another person shall be prohibited.

Article 8. The Right to Be Elected

1. A citizen of Ukraine who has attained the age of twenty one on the day of elections, has the right to vote and has resided in Ukraine for the last five years may be elected deputy.

2. Under the Law, residing in Ukraine shall mean residing on the territory that includes the following: the territory within the state border of Ukraine and vessels flying/sailing under the State Flag of Ukraine, and the stay of citizens of Ukraine in official journeys abroad under the procedure established by law, at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, international organizations and their bodies, polar stations of Ukraine, as well as the stay of citizens of Ukraine abroad under the effective international treaties of Ukraine.

3. A citizen who has been convicted for the commission of an intentional offence may not be elected deputy, unless the conviction has been discharged or overturned under the procedure established by law.

Article 9. The Right to Nominate Candidates for Deputy

The right to nominate candidates for deputy shall belong to the citizens of Ukraine who have attained the age of eighteen years on the day of elections and have the right to vote. This right shall be exercised by them through parties (blocs) or by self-nomination under the procedure established by this Law.

Article 10. Election Process

1. The election process is the carrying out of election procedures provided for by this Law by the subjects defined in Article 11 of this Law.

2. The election process shall be carried out on the basis of the following:

1) legality and prohibition of illegal interference of anyone into the process;

2) political pluralism (multi-party system);

3) transparency and openness of the election process;

4) equality of rights of parties (blocs) that are subjects of the election process;

5) equality of all candidates for deputy;

6) freedom of election campaigns, equal opportunities of access to mass media;

7) impartial treatment of parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy by bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, their officials and officers, and heads of enterprises, institutions and organisations.

3. The beginning of the election process shall be declared by the Central Election Commission within the period established by the Constitution of Ukraine and this Law.

4. The election process shall consist of the following stages:

1) compilation of voters’ lists;

2) formation of single-mandate constituencies;

3) formation of election constituency;

4) formation of election commissions;

5) nomination and registration of candidates for deputy included in electoral lists of parties (blocs) in the multi-mandate constituency and candidates for deputy in single-mandate constituencies;

6) conduct of election campaigns;

7) voting;

8) calculation of votes and establishing outcomes of voting and results of elections of deputies;

9) registration of elected deputies.

5. The election process shall come to an end with the official promulgation of results of elections of deputies by the Central Election Commission.

Article 11. Subjects of Election Process

Subjects of the election process shall include:

1) citizens of Ukraine that have the right to vote (hereinafter referred to as electors);

2) election commissions established in accordance with this Law and the Law of Ukraine "On the Central Election Commission";

3) candidates for deputy registered under the procedure established by this Law;

4) parties (blocs) that nominated candidates for deputy in multi-mandate constituency;

5) bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government in cases provided for by this Law;

6) official observers from the parties (blocs) that are subjects of election process, from candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies.

Article 12. Transparency and Openness of Election Process

1. Preparation and conduct of election of deputies shall be carried out in a transparent and open manner.

2. Election commissions shall inform citizens about their composition, location and work schedule, establishment of single-mandate constituencies and polling districts, and the basic rights of electors, including the right to appeal against illegal decisions, actions or inaction of election commissions, bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, officials or officers of these bodies that restrain their voting rights; ensure the possibility of their familiarization with voters’ lists, electoral lists of parties (blocs), election programmes of parties (blocs), information about candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies and their election programmes, and the procedure of completing ballots, inform the population about results of voting and results of elections of deputies, and provide any other information in the cases stipulated by this Law.

3. Decisions of bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government concerning elections of deputies, as well as decisions of election commissions, shall be brought to notice of citizens by means of printed mass media or, if impossible, promulgated in other way.

4. Mass media shall be obliged to objectively cover the process of preparation and conduct of elections. Their representatives shall be provided with free access to all public actions related to elections, to meetings of election commissions and to polling districts on the day of elections under conditions established in Article 25, paragraph nine of this Law, except for the cases provided by the laws of Ukraine. Election commissions, bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, officials and officers of these bodies shall be required to provide them, within their authority and competence, with the information on preparation and conduct of elections.

Article 13. Legislation on Elections of Deputies

The preparation and conduct of elections of deputies shall be regulated by the Constitution of Ukraine, this Law, the Law of Ukraine "On the Central Election Commission" and other laws of Ukraine.

CHAPTER II. TYPES OF ELECTION OF DEPUTIES,
PROCEDURE AND TERMS OF THEIR APPOINTMENT

Article 14. Types of Elections of Deputies and Procedure of Their Appointment

1. Elections of deputies may be regular, extraordinary, repeat and interim.

2. Regular elections shall be held in connection with the expiration of the constitutional term of authorities of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and shall not require a separate decision concerning their appointment.

3. Extraordinary elections shall be appointed by the President of Ukraine under the procedure established by the Constitution of Ukraine.

4. Repeat elections of a deputy shall be appointed in a single-mandate constituency by the Central Election Commission under the procedure established by this Law where election of deputies in the constituency have been declared invalid or as such that did not take place, or where a person has been declared as such that renounced his or her deputy’s mandate.

5. Interim elections of a deputy shall be appointed in a single-mandate constituency by the Central Election Commission under the procedure established by this Law in case of withdrawal of the deputy that has been elected in the constituency.

Article 15. Terms of Conducting Elections

1. Regular elections shall take place on the last Sunday of March of the fourth year of the authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

2. The Central Election Commission shall announce the commencement of the election process of regular elections of deputies 90 days prior to the day of the elections.

3. Extraordinary elections of deputies shall take place on the last Sunday of the sixty days period from the day of publication of the Decree of the President of Ukraine on the pre-term termination of the authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

4. Repeat elections of a deputy shall take place in a single-mandate constituency on the last Sunday of sixty days period from the day of publication of a decision on their appointment by the Central Election Commission. A decision on the appointment of repeat elections of deputies shall be adopted by the Central Election Commission not later than within thirty days from the day of the adoption of a decision:

on declaration of elections in the constituency invalid;

on declaration of elections in the constituency as such that did not take place;

on declaration of a person as such that renounced his or her deputy’s mandate.

5. Interim elections of a deputy in a single-mandate constituency shall take place on the last Sunday of the sixty days period from the day of publication of a decision on their appointment. A decision on the appointment of interim elections of deputies shall be adopted by the Central Election Commission not later than within thirty days from the day of the pre-term termination of the authority of the deputy elected in the constituency.

6. The Central Election Commission shall announce the commencement of election process of repeat and interim elections of a deputy in a single-mandate constituency not later than on the day following the publication of the decision on their appointment.

7. Repeat and interim elections of a deputy in a single-mandate constituency shall not take place within the year proceeding the day of conduct of regular elections.

CHAPTER III. CONSTITUENCIES AND POLLING DISTRICTS

Article 16. Constituencies

1. Elections of deputies shall take place in the multi-mandate constituency and 225 single-mandate constituencies.

2. The multi-mandate constituency shall include the entire territory of Ukraine.

3. The single-mandate constituencies shall be formed by the Central Election Commission not later than 90 days prior to the day of regular elections with an approximately equal number of voters in each constituency. An estimated average number of voters in constituencies shall be determined by the Central Election Commission on the basis of data presented by a central body of executive power in charge of statistics. Deviation of the number of voters in a single-mandate constituency from the estimated average number of voters in single-mandate constituencies may not, as a rule, exceed ten percent.

4. A single-mandate constituency may include one or more rayons, cities (of the oblast or, in the case of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, republic level), districts within cities or parts thereof. Constituencies may not be formed on territories, which do not have a common border.

5. The Central Election Commission shall promulgate information regarding the formation of single-mandate constituencies, indicating their number, boundaries, centers and an estimated number of voters per each constituency, in state-governed mass media within three days from passing a relevant decision.

Article 17. Polling Districts

1. In order to conduct the voting and to count votes, the territory of constituencies shall be divided into polling districts.

2. Polling districts shall be formed, with an exception of instances envisaged under the paragraphs four, five and seven of this Article, by constituency election commissions on the basis of applications submitted by executive committees of village, township and city councils (in cities which do not have district councils), city district councils, or, in the event of absence of such bodies, on applications of heads of village, township and city councils respectively, heads of city district councils or officials charged with the authority to perform the said functions in compliance with applicable legislation. A constituency election commission shall define by its decision the boundaries of a polling district, designate location of a polling district election commission, and establish a unified numbering system for polling districts within a single-mandate constituency.

3. Constituency election commissions shall form polling districts at in-patient medical establishments, vessels flying the State Flag of Ukraine on the day of elections, Ukrainian polar stations and in other locations of temporary residence of voters with restricted capacity of movement directly at the location of the respective establishments or organizations or at ports/points of registration of vessels and polar stations.

4. Military servicemen shall vote in polling districts located outside military units (formations). The Central Election Commission may form polling districts on the territory of a military unit (formation) in exceptional cases, on application of a respective constituency election commission.

5. Polling districts at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine shall be formed, on application of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, by the Central Election Commission which shall designate the single-mandate constituency to which the said polling district is assigned.

6. The number of voters in a polling district shall be between twenty and three thousand. If the number of voters in a given territory is greater or fewer than the stipulated number and assigning the voters (or the remainder of voters) to another polling district or forming an additional polling district on the same territory is impossible, the polling district may be formed with a fewer or greater number of the aforementioned limit number of voters.

7. Polling districts shall be formed no later than 50 days prior to the election day. In exceptional cases, a polling district may be formed by the Central Election Commission no later than five days prior to the election day, on application of a respective constituency election commission or of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

8. The decision of the election commission to form polling districts, indicating their number, boundaries and location of respective election commissions, shall be publicized in printed mass media or, if impossible, by other means no later than on the fifth day from the day the decision was passed, and, in the event of forming a polling district as an exception in accordance with the paragraph seven of this Article, no later than two days prior to election day.

CHAPTER IV. ELECTION COMMISSIONS

Article 18. Election Commission System

1. The system of election commissions in charge of organizing and conducting elections shall be comprised of:

1) the Central Election Commission,

2) constituency election commissions,

3) polling district election commissions.

2. The jurisdiction of election commissions regarding the preparation and conduct of elections of deputies shall extend as follows:

1) the Central Election Commission shall have jurisdiction over the entire territory of Ukraine;

2) constituency election commissions shall have jurisdiction over the territory of a single-mandate constituency;

3) polling district election commissions shall have jurisdiction over the territory of a polling district.

Article 19. Status of Election Commissions

1. The status of the Central Election Commission shall be determined by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine "On the Central Election Commission", by this Law and other laws. The Central Election Commission shall be a commission of supreme level regarding all constituency and polling district election commissions envisaged in this Law.

2. The status of constituency and polling district election commissions shall be determined by this Law.

3. A constituency election commission shall be a legal entity. A constituency election commission shall be a commission of supreme level regarding all polling district election commissions in the territory of relevant single-mandate constituency on the issues of election of people’s deputies of Ukraine.

4. A polling district election commission shall not be a legal entity. A polling district election commission shall have a seal approved by the Central Election Commission.

Article 20. Procedure of Forming a Constituency Election Commission

1. A constituency election commission, consisting of the head, deputy head, secretary and other members of the commission, not less than twelve and not more than twenty persons in number, shall be formed by the Central Election Commission at least 80 days prior to the day of elections upon submissions (not more than for one person) of central governing bodies of parties (blocs), provided that the parties (parties constituting the bloc) have been registered under the procedure established by law and have (or at least one of the parties constituting the bloc has) organizations registered under the procedure established by law in the region stipulated in paragraph two of Article 133 of the Constitution of Ukraine, on the territory of which the respective single-mandate constituency was formed. The indicated submissions with enclosed applications of the persons nominated to the respective constituency election commission regarding their agreement to participate in its activities shall be made not later than 85 days prior to the day of elections.

2. Representatives of the parties (blocs) that overcame the four percent barrier at the preceding elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine and of the parties that have their party groups (bloc groups) in the current composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall be included in the composition of constituency election commissions without fail, where these parties meet the conditions provided for by the first paragraph of this Article. Representatives of other parties (blocs) shall be included in the composition of constituency election commissions by means of casting lots, which shall be conducted by the Central Election Commission not later than on the third day from expiration of the period of making submissions indicated in the first paragraph of this Article.

3. In case of changes taking place in the interval between elections in the composition of an electoral bloc of political parties which obtained four and more percent of votes of electors that participated in the voting in the preceding elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine, the successor of the electoral bloc, the representatives of which shall be included in the composition of constituency election commissions without fail pursuant to the paragraph two of this Article, shall be determined in accordance with provisions of paragraphs two and three of Article 48 of this Law.

4. In the event of failure to submit proposals as to composition of a constituency election commission within the terms stipulated in paragraph one of this Article, or if the number of persons nominated to serve on the commission is under twelve, a constituency election commission shall be formed by the Central Election Commission on application of the head of the Central Election Commission and shall consist of twelve members, with mandatory consideration of the candidacies nominated by parties (blocs), as envisaged in paragraph one of this Article.

5. Citizens of Ukraine who have the right to vote and who reside within the boundaries of a respective single-mandate constituency or in the city on the territory of which the constituency is located shall have the right to serve on constituency election commissions as members.

6. Candidates for deputy, authorized persons of parties (blocs) which are subjects of the election process, authorized persons of candidates for deputy, officials and civil servants employed by bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, and citizens who are detained in establishments of the penitentiary system or have been convicted for the commission of an intentional offence, unless the conviction has been discharged or overturned under the procedure established by law, may not serve on constituency election commissions.

7. The head, deputy head and secretary of a constituency election commission may not be members of the same party (bloc).

8. The decision on formation of constituency election commissions and on inclusion in it of the persons referred to in paragraph three of this Article shall be made public in mass media in a respective region no later than on the fifth day from passing the said decision.

Article 21. Procedure of Forming a Polling District Election Commission

1. A polling district election commission, composed of the head, deputy head, secretary and other members of the commission, shall be formed by the relevant constituency election commission not later than 35 days prior to the election day, on application of registered in the order, prescribed by the laws, rayon, city (city district) or higher level party cell (organization) or cells (organizations) of parties constituting a bloc which are subjects of the election process, candidates for deputy registered in a respective single-mandate constituency, with an exception of cases provided for between the ninth and twelfth paragraphs of this Article.

2. The number of members of a polling district election commission shall not be less than eight. In polling districts with a total number of voters under fifty, a polling district election commission may consist of the head, deputy head, secretary and between two and four other members of the commission .

3. Citizens of Ukraine who have the right to vote and who reside within the boundaries of a respective single-mandate constituency or city on the territory of which the constituency is located shall have the right to serve on polling district election commissions as members.

4. Persons indicated in paragraph six of Article 20 of this Law may not serve as members on a polling district election commission.

5. Rayon, city (city district) or higher level cells (organizations) of a party (cells or organizations of the parties that constitute a bloc) which are subjects of the election process shall submit a list of persons who are members of the given party (parties constituting the bloc) or who have no party affiliation, nominated by the given party (bloc) to serve as head, deputy head and secretary of the commission, no later than 43 days prior to the election day to a respective constituency election commission. The said list shall be signed by the leader of the respective party cell (organization), or leaders of the cells or organizations of the parties constituting the bloc, and sealed with the seal of relevant organization of the party (seals of the relevant organizations of the parties constituting the bloc). Written statements of consent received from the persons nominated to serve on a respective polling district election commission shall be attached to the list.

6. A candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall, within a period of time stipulated in paragraph five of this Article, submit to a respective constituency election commission a list of persons to be appointed members of the polling district election commission, with an indication of the surnames of persons nominated to serve as head, deputy head and secretary of the commission, which shall be personally signed by the said candidate and legalized by the head of the constituency election commission or in accordance with the procedure established by law. Written statements of consent received from persons nominated to serve on a respective polling district election commission shall be attached to the list.

7. Not more than one representative of a party (bloc)-subject of election process and also from a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be included in the composition of a polling district election commission, provided that an application in respect thereof was submitted.

8. Every party (bloc) and every candidate for deputy registered in a respective single-mandate constituency shall have the right to a proportional share of leadership positions in polling district election commissions. The share of leadership positions for every party (bloc) and candidate for deputy registered in a respective single-mandate constituency shall be determined according to the number of persons nominated by a party (bloc) and a candidate for deputy registered in the respective single-mandate constituency, to the composition of polling district election commissions in proportion to the total number of persons nominated by all parties (blocs) within the single-mandate constituency and all candidates registered in the respective single-mandate constituency.

9. In the event of failure to submit proposals regarding nomination of persons to serve on the polling district election commission within a period of time stipulated in paragraph five of this Article, or if the number of nominees to serve as members on polling district election commissions fails to reach eight, the polling district election commission shall be formed by a constituency election commission, on application of the head of the constituency election commission, and shall consist of eight members, with consideration of nominees from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in the respective single-mandate constituency.

10. A polling district election commission on a vessel flying the State Flag of Ukraine on the election day or at a polar station of Ukraine shall be formed by a constituency election commission at a port or location where such vessel or station is registered, on application of the vessel’s captain or director of the polar station, which can be sent by technical means of communication within the time period stipulated in paragraph one of this Article.

11. A polling district election commission at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, in military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine shall be formed by the Central Election Commission, on application of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine within the time period stipulated in paragraph one of this Article.

12. In the event that a polling district is formed as an exception, as envisaged in the paragraph seven of Article 17 of this Law, the Central Election Commission shall form polling district election commissions at the same time as the polling districts.

13. The decision to form a polling district election commission shall be made public in printed mass media or, if impossible, by other means no later than three days from the day the commission was formed.

Article 22. Authority of the Central Election Commission

1. The authority of the Central Election Commission regarding elections of deputies shall be defined under this Law, the Law of Ukraine "On the Central Election Commission" and other laws of Ukraine.

2. In addition to the functions defined under the Law of Ukraine "On the Central Election Commission", the Central Election Commission shall:

1) adopt explanations on application of the present Law, which are legally binding for election commissions, provide methodological and logistical support for the activity of election commissions;

2) if needed, call meetings of a lower election commission on its own initiative;

3) exercise control over the election commission’s use of funds from the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections and engage representatives of agencies within the system of the State Control and Revision Service to conduct audits;

4) prescribe standards and lists of equipment and supplies to be used in premises occupied by an election commission and in premises used for voting, and specify the types of services and works which may be provided to election commissions;

5) suspend the movement of funds on accounts of constituency election commissions at banking institutions upon termination of the authority of the commission or in the event of failure of the latter to comply with budget regulations; adopt a decision to transfer the remainder of funds to the account of the Central Election Commission;

6) establish the procedure for using mass media in conducting election campaigns in accordance with this Law and other laws of Ukraine;

7) ensure production of information posters for parties (blocs) the candidates for deputies of which are registered in the multi-mandate constituency;

8) exercise control over the receipt and use of resources from the electoral funds of parties (blocs); engage the banking establishment in which respective electoral accounts were opened in conducting random audits;

9) ensure centralized production of absentee ballot forms for the right to participate in elections (hereinafter referred to as absentee ballots);

10) ensure centralized production of a required number of ballots and forward them to constituency election commissions;

11) invalidate elections in instances stipulated by this Law;

12) call repeat and interim elections in instances stipulated by this Law;

13) forward a report on the use of funds from the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections to the Clearing House within three months from the day of an official publication of the election results;

14) perform other functions in compliance with this Law and other laws of Ukraine.

Article 23. Authority of a Constituency Election Commission

1. The authority of a constituency election commission shall begin on the day a decision was passed to form the said commission and shall expire 10 days after an official promulgation of election results by the Central Election Commission.

2. The constituency election commission shall:

1) provide preparation and conduct of elections of deputies in a single-mandate constituency and also in the multi-mandate constituency within the boundaries of a single-mandate constituency;

2) exercise control, within the limits of the territory of the respective single-mandate constituency, over the observance and uniform application of the legislation on election of deputies by voters, constituency election commissions, bodies of state authority and bodies of local self-government, public officers and officials of those bodies, enterprises, institutions, organizations and their officials, parties (blocs of parties), and nominated candidates for deputy;

3) provide legal, organizational and procedural as well as technical assistance to the constituency election commissions, and arrange for training of the members of those commissions on the issues related to the organization of the election process;

4) register candidates for deputy in the single-mandate constituency and issue them certificates in accordance with the form set by the Central Election Commission;

5) register authorized persons of the candidates for deputy who are registered in the single-mandate constituency and issue them certificates in accordance with the form set by the Central Election Commission;

6) create polling districts, except for the cases stipulated in paragraphs four, five and seven of Article 17 of this Law, and establish their boundaries and unified numbering within the single-mandate constituency;

7) form polling district election commissions in compliance with this Law;

8) convene, on its own initiative and whenever necessary, meetings of a polling district election commission;

9) settle the matters related to the use of funds of the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections, in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission;

10) exercise control over the activities of bodies of executive power and local self-government bodies as to the provision of premises for voting, transportation, means of communication and other equipment and facilities; also consider and resolve, within its competence, other issues associated with the logistic support of elections within the territory of the given constituency;

11) ensure printing of the information posters about candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency, and deliver them to polling district election commissions;

12) assist, together with the appropriate bodies of executive power and local self-government bodies, in conducting meetings of candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, and the authorized persons of parties (blocs of parties) with voters at enterprises, institutions and organizations of all forms of ownership, and, in the cases stipulated by this Law, also organize such meetings;

13) approve the text of the ballot used for voting in the single-mandate constituency;

14) supply polling district election commissions with forms of absentee ballots and ballots for voting;

15) ensure production of seals and stamps and their delivery to polling district election commissions;

16) establish results of voting in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of the single-mandate constituency;

17) establish and promulgate results of elections of deputies in the single-mandate constituency, and pass the decision on the election of a deputy in this constituency;

18) declare the vote conducted in a polling district void and call a repeat voting in the cases provided for by this Law;

19) submit a request to the Central Election Commission for declaring elections of a deputy in the single-mandate constituency void in the cases provided for by this Law and in accordance with the procedure established hereby;

20) hear the information provided by polling district election commissions, local bodies of executive power and local self-government bodies as to the preparation and conduct of elections;

21) keep records of official observers registered in the single-mandate constituency;

22) consider applications, petitions and complaints regarding the preparation and conduct of the elections of deputies within the territory of the single-mandate constituency and make relevant decisions;

23) ensure the deposit of the election and other documents with the respective state archive institution in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission;

24) exercise other authority in accordance with this Law and other laws of Ukraine.

Article 24. Authority of a Polling District Election Commission

1. The authority of a polling district election commission shall start from the date of passing the decision on its formation and terminate 10 days after the official promulgation of election results by the Central Election Commission.

2. A polling district election commission shall:

1) exercise control, within the limits of the territory of the respective polling district, over the observance and uniform application of the legislation on elections of deputies;

2) further specify the lists of voters, submit them for general familiarization, and, in the cases stipulated by this Law, introduce changes to them;

3) provide a possibility for voters to familiarize themselves with electoral lists of candidates for deputy from the parties (blocs), election programs of those parties (blocs), with the information about all candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency and their election programs, as well as with the decisions made public by the Central Election Commission, the respective constituency election commission and its own decisions and announcements;

4) deliver or mail in good time individual invitations to each voter with the indication of the date of holding the elections, the address of voting premises, and the time when the voting starts and terminates;

5) ensure the preparation of the premises for voting and provide ballot boxes;

6) introduce changes to ballots in the cases stipulated by this Law, based on the decision made by the Central Election Commission or the respective constituency election commission;

7) organize voting in the polling district;

8) count the votes cast in the polling district;

9) declare the voting in the polling district void in the case provided for by Article 70 of this Law;

10) consider applications, petitions and complaints regarding the preparation of elections and organization of voting in the polling district, and make relevant decisions within the limits of its authority;

11) exercise other authority in accordance with this Law and other laws of Ukraine.

Article 25. Organization of Work of Election Commissions

1. Meetings shall be the principal form of the activity of an election commission. Meetings shall be convened by the head of the commission, or, in case of his/her absence, by the deputy head of the commission, and in case of the absence of the head and his/her deputy, by the secretary of the commission.

2. If necessary, a meeting of the election commission may be convened based on the decision taken by the higher election commission.

3. The first meeting of the election commission shall be convened no later than on the third working day after the date of its establishment, and the subsequent ones shall be convened upon the necessity; in case of the establishment of the election commission concurrently with the creation of the polling district, in accordance with Article 17, paragraph seven of this Law, the first meeting of the commission shall be convened no later than on the next working day following the date of its establishment.

4. An election commission’s meeting shall be valid provided that not less than two-thirds of the commission members are present.

5. An election commission’s meeting shall be convened with the mandatory notification of all members of the commission about the time and place of holding the meeting and its agenda.

6. Members of election commission shall receive draft decisions of the commission and the required materials, as a rule, no later than one day before the date of holding the meeting of the commission.

7. The head of commission or his/her deputy shall preside over the meetings of the commission; should they be unable to fulfill this function, the commission shall appoint the chairman of the meeting from among its members.

8. At the request of one-third of the members of the commission as well as following the decision passed by the higher election commission, the given election commission shall be obliged to consider, at its meeting, the issues falling within its competence within the period of three days but no later than on the day of elections, while on the day of elections it shall consider such issues without delay (except for the polling district election commission). The polling district election commission shall be obliged to consider, at its meeting, the issues falling within its competence on the day of elections – at the request of the above members of the commission, or, following the decision of a higher election commission passed during the day of elections – without delay upon completion of the voting.

9. The right to be present at meetings of election commission, in the polling district on the day of elections and on the voting premises, without the invitations issued by the commission, shall be granted only to members of election commission of supreme level, candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, authorized persons and official observers from parties (blocs) which are subjects of the election process and from a candidate for deputy registered in the respective single-mandate constituency (all in all, not more than two persons from one party/bloc or from the candidate for deputy), as well as official observers from foreign states and international organizations, and representatives of mass media (not more than two persons from an organ of mass media).

10. An election commission may make a motivated decision on denying the right to be present at its meeting to the persons specified in paragraph nine of this Article, if they interfere with holding of this meeting. Such decision shall be passed by two-thirds of the commission’s members. The commission may not deny this right to the above persons for taking actions aimed at exercising their rights stipulated by this Law.

11. At a meeting of an election commission, minutes shall be taken, which shall be signed by the chairman of the meeting and the secretary of the commission (or acting secretary who is appointed during the meeting).

12. Decisions of the election commission shall be passed by open voting, by a majority of votes of the members of the commission, except for the cases provided for by this Law. In case of equal number of votes among the members of the election commission who participated in voting, the decisive vote shall belong to the chairman of the meeting.

13. A decision of an election commission on the issue under consideration shall be documented in the form of a resolution that must contain the following information: title of the commission; title of the decision; date and place of decision-making and serial number of the decision; motivational part with reference to the circumstances that called forth consideration of the issue at the meeting of the commission; reference to specific provisions of the regulatory enactment or decisions of a higher election commission or court judgments; resolution part. The decision shall be signed by the chairman of the meeting.

14. A member of an election commission who takes part in its meeting and disagrees with the decision made by the commission shall have the right to express his/her dissenting opinion in writing, and this document shall be attached to the respective minutes of the election commission’s meeting.

15. Decisions of an election commission taken within its authority shall be binding on all subjects and other participants of the election process. No one shall have the right to interfere in the activities of the election commissions, except for the cases stipulated by law.

16. Decisions of an election commission which are in conflict with the legislation of Ukraine or which were passed by the commission with the excess of its authority may be cancelled by a higher election commission or by a court. In this case, the higher election commission shall have the right to take a decision to the point of the matter.

17. Applications, petitions and complaints received by the election commission shall be registered in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission.

18. To ensure organizational, legal and technical support for exercising its authority provided for by this Law, the election commission may enlist the services of appropriate specialists and technical assistants.

Article 26. Status of a Member of an Election Commission

1. The status of a member of the Central Election Commission shall be established by the Law of Ukraine "On the Central Election Commission".

2. The status of a member of a constituency election commission and a polling district election commission shall be established by this Law.

3. A citizen may be a member of only one election commission that is involved in the preparation and conduct of elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine, elections of the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, deputies of local councils and heads of village, township and city councils, if those elections are held simultaneously.

4. Based on the decision of the election commission, which shall be approved by a higher election commission, the head, deputy head, secretary or other members of a constituency election commission (all in all, not more than five persons) and those of a polling district election commission (all in all, not more than two persons), for the whole period of the authority of the election commission or during a part of this period, may exercise their authority in the election commission with the remuneration of their labor in the commission according to Article 28 of this Law. The above persons shall be dispensed from their production or official duties at their principal place of employment.

5. A member of an election commission shall have the right to:

1) take part in the preparation of the issues submitted for consideration by the election commission;

2) speak at meetings of the election commission, ask questions of other participants in the meeting regarding the agenda, make proposals on the issues related to the commission authority;

3) examine, on the instructions of the respective election commission, the activities of lower election commissions;

4) familiarize himself/herself with documents of the election commission, a member of which he/she is, and also with those of the lower election commissions within the limits of the respective territory;

5) compensation for the harm done or damage inflicted to his/her life, health or property in connection with fulfillment of his/her duties as a member of the election commission, in accordance with the procedure and the amount established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

6. A member of an election commission shall have the following obligations:

1) to observe the Constitution of Ukraine, this and other laws of Ukraine related to the preparation and conduct of elections;

2) take part in meetings of the election commission;

3) to abide by the decisions passed by the election commission and fulfill the functions he/she was entrusted with as a result of the division of duties in the election commission.

7. A member of the election commission shall have other rights and obligations in accordance with this Law and other laws of Ukraine.

8. It is prohibited for a member of the election commission, while fulfilling his/her duties, to campaign for/against the parties (blocs) that are subjects of the election process, and candidates for deputy.

Article 27. Termination of the Authority of an Election Commission and a Member of an Election Commission

1. The authority of a constituency election commission and of a polling district election commission shall be terminated 10 days after the official publication of the results of deputies election in the respective single-mandate constituency. The authority of a constituency election commission and of a polling district election commission may be terminated ahead of time by the election commission which formed the above commission, on its own initiative, on the submission of the prosecutor’s office or a court decision in case the commission violated the Constitution of Ukraine, this Law or other laws of Ukraine.

2. The authority of a member of a constituency election commission or a polling district election commission shall be terminated concurrently with the termination of the authority of the election commission.

3. The authority of a member of a constituency election commission or a polling district election commission shall be terminated ahead of time by the election commission, which formed the above commission in connection with:

1) a personal notice from a member of the commission about his/her resignation;

2) his/her recall by the party (bloc) or the candidate for deputy registered in the respective single-mandate constituency;

3) termination/loss of his/her Ukrainian citizenship;

4) loss by the party (bloc) on the submission of which this person was included in the election commission, of the status of a subject of the election process, or overruling of the decision on the registration of the candidate for deputy in the single-mandate constituency, on whose presentation this person was included in the election commission;

5) his/her departure, for the period till the date of elections, beyond the borders of the single-mandate constituency or populated locality, which entails impossibility to fulfill the duties of a member of the election commission;

6) systematic failure to fulfill his/her duties;

7) his/her registration as a candidate for people’s deputy of Ukraine, a candidate for deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, or a candidate for deputy of a local council or head of a village, township or city council;

8) his/her registration as a representative of a party (bloc) at the Central Election Commission, an authorized person of a party (bloc), or as an authorized person of a candidate for people’s deputy of Ukraine, or a candidate for deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, or a candidate for deputy of a local council or head of a village, township or city council;

9) his/her violation of the election legislation of Ukraine;

10) coming into legal force of the court’s verdict of guilty of an intentional crime committed by him/her;

11) his/her inclusion into another election commission of any level which is involved in the preparation and conduct of elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, or deputies of local councils or heads of village, township or city councils;

12) his/her recognition as incapable;

13) his/her death.

4. In case of early termination of the authority of an election commission or decrease of the number of its members below the level specified in Articles 20 and 21 of this Law, the respective higher election commission, within seven days from the date of termination of the authority of the above commission but not later than on the eve of the day of elections, shall duly approve a new membership of the commission or include other persons in it to replace those whose authority has terminated, in accordance with the procedure established by this Law.

5. In case of systematic failure on the part of the head, deputy head, secretary or another member of the election commission to fulfill his/her duties, the constituency election commission or the polling district election commission may address the election commission that founded it with a motivated decision on replacement of that person, provided that not less than two-thirds of the members of the commission supported such decision. This decision shall be subject to mandatory consideration within the period specified in paragraph four of this Article.

6. Under the circumstances described in items 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 13 of paragraph three of this Article, the authority of a member (members) of the commission shall be terminated from the moment of commencement or identification of such circumstances, and. under the circumstances specified in items 2, 5, 6, 9, 11 and 12 of this Article, from the moment of making decision on termination of his/her authority.

Article 28. Payment for the Work of Members of Election Commission and Individuals Evolved in the Work of the Commission

1. The work of a member of an election commission who exercises his/her authority in the election commission on the payment basis shall be remunerated in the amount and in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, from the funds of the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of the elections.

2. The size of the salary of a member of the election commission, who is dispensed from his/her production or official duties at his/her principal place of employment, may be neither lower than his/her average salary at his/her principal place of employment, nor higher than the size of the salary of a people’s deputy of Ukraine.

3. Members of the election commissions may be paid a lump-sum allowance in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission, and within the limits of general savings on the wages fund provided for by the estimate of expenditures of the respective election commission for the preparation and conduct of the elections of deputies.

4. The work of members of election commissions (including pensioners and temporarily unemployed persons) during the day of elections and the days of determining voting results shall be paid in the amount and in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

5. The work of the persons described in paragraph eighteen of Article 25 of this Law shall be paid in the amount and in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine out of the funds of the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of the elections.

Article 29. Appeals Against Decisions, Actions or Inaction Related to Elections of Deputies

1. Voters, parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy shall have the right to appeal against the decisions, actions or inaction of the subjects specified in the paragraphs two and three of this Article, and the election commissions shall have the right to appeal against decisions, actions or inaction of the subjects specified in paragraph two of this Article.

2. Appeals against decisions, actions or inaction of the bodies of state power, local self-government bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations, their public officers and officials, as well as acts and actions of associations of citizens, except for those which according to the law or a statute (regulations) refer to their intraorganizational activities or to their exclusive competence, may be lodged with a court.

3. Appeals against decisions, actions or inaction of election commissions and members of the election commissions may be lodged with a higher election commission or with a court.

4. Appeals against decisions, actions or inaction of a polling district election commission and its members may be lodged with the local court the jurisdiction of which spreads over the territory of location of the respective polling district, and appeals against those of a constituency election commission and its members may be lodged with the appeals court the jurisdiction of which spreads over the territory of location of this constituency election commission.

5. Appeals against decisions, actions or inaction of the Central Election Commission and its members may be lodged with the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

6. A complaint may be lodged with the respective election commission or court within seven days from the date of passing the decision, taking action or inaction. As regards the violations that took place before the day of elections, a complaint may be filed not later than at 12 p.m. of the day preceding the date of elections. As for the violations that took place in the course of voting, a complaint may be lodged with the respective election commission no later that at 12 p.m. of the day of elections, and it may be lodged with the higher election commission or with the court not later than at 12 p.m. of the day following the date of elections. As for the violations that took place in the course of counting the votes and establishment of the results of voting at the polling election commission, a complaint may be lodged with district election commission or with the court not later than two days following the date of elections, as regards violations that took place at the district election commission, a complaint may be lodged with the Central Election Commission or with the court not later than five days following the date of elections.

7. A complaint lodged with the election commission must contain the following:

1) the title of the election commission with which the complaint is lodged;

2) the surname, first name and patronymic, place of residence of the citizen of Ukraine or the accurate name and location of the legal entity – complainant;

3) the essence of the problem;

4) statement of claims;

5) statement of facts with the indication of the evidence on which the complainant grounds his/her claims;

6) signature of the complainant (the representative of the legal entity – complainant) and the date of filing the complaint.

8. A complaint received by the respective election commission or the court shall be considered within five days from the date of its receipt, but not later than on the day preceding the date of elections, and a complaint lodged on the eve of the day of elections, on the day of elections or the next day shall be considered without delay.

9. A complaint filed without complying with the requirements specified in paragraph seven of this Article shall be returned to the complainant (the representative of the legal entity – complainant) with the appropriate explanations no later than on the next day after the date of receipt of the complaint.

10. Should the election commission, upon consideration of a complaint, deem it necessary to request the law-enforcement agencies to verify the facts stated in the complaint, the respective agencies, following such a request of the election commission, shall verify the facts and take appropriate measures to stop violation of the legislation within five days from the date of receipt of the request, and if this request is received less than five days before the date of elections or on the day of elections or the next day after the elections they shall do the same without the delay.

11. The term of lodging a complaint established by this Law shall not be subject to extension or revision. The complaints filed upon expiration of this term shall remain unconsidered.

12. If a court accepts a complaint for consideration, and this complaint with the statement of the same claim and the same facts is lodged with the election commission, the latter shall terminate consideration of this complaint pending coming into force of the court judgment. The court shall be obliged to notify this election commission and the higher election commission about the receipt of the complaint or about coming of a judgment into legal force no later than the next day after the date of receipt of the complaint or the date of coming of the judgment into legal force, respectively.

13. In case the decision of the election commission is overruled by a court, the decision on this issue shall be made by the election commission whose decision was overruled or the higher election commission on the basis of the court judgment.

14. The higher election commission, on the basis of a complaint, a court judgment or on its own initiative, may overrule the decision of a lower election commission and take a decision on the point of the matter or to oblige the lower election commission to reconsider the complaint.

15. Courts, prosecuting authorities and election commissions shall organize their work in the course of the election process (including the weekends) so as to ensure receipt and consideration of complaints within the terms established by this Law.

CHAPTER V. VOTERS’ LISTS

Article 30. Procedure of Compilation of Voters’ Lists

1. To prepare and conduct voting, the executive bodies of village, township, city (in the cities where there are no city district councils), and city district councils or the bodies (public officials) which exercise their authorities according to the law, by September 1 of the year preceding the year of holding the regular elections, shall compile the general lists of voters who reside on the territory of the respective village, township, city or city district, based on the information about the place of their permanent residence and according to the form established by the Central Election Commission. For the purposes of compilation of the general lists of voters they may use the information about the place of permanent residence of the citizens, which is available with local bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the State Tax Administration of Ukraine. The heads of those bodies shall be obliged to supply the information required for the compilation of the general lists of voters following the request of the head of the respective village, township, city or city district council.

2. Upon the formation of the polling districts, the executive bodies of the village, township, city (in the cities where there are no city district councils), and city district councils or the bodies (public officials), which exercise their authorities according to the law, on the basis of the respective general lists of voters indicated in paragraph one of this Article, shall compile the voters’ lists in each polling district (except for the polling districts specified in the paragraphs three – five of Article 17 of this Law) according to the form established by the Central Election Commission, further specify those lists and no later than 30 days before the date of elections submit them with signature of the head of the respective village, township, city or city district council or of the person who exercises his/her authority according to the law to the polling district election commissions.

3. Servicemen, members of their families and other voters who reside within the territory of location of military units (formations) and who will vote in the polling districts located outside the military units (formations) shall be entered in the voters’ lists of the respective polling district, based on the information supplied by the commanders of the military units (formations) to the bodies which compile the lists of voters, no later than 45 days before the date of elections. To ensure free expression of the will of servicemen of a fixed period, they shall be granted a leave on the day of elections for not less than four hours.

4. In the polling districts formed in the in-patient medical institutions, on the vessels which on the day of elections are at sea flying the State Flag of Ukraine, at the polar stations of Ukraine, at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, in military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine, in the penitentiary institutions and other places of temporary stay of voters with restricted capacity for movement as well as at polling districts established in accordance with paragraph four of Article 17 of this Law on the territory of a military unit (formation), the lists of the voters shall be compiled according to the form specified in paragraph two of this Article by the respective polling district election commissions on the basis of the information submitted by the heads of the above-mentioned institutions, establishments, missions, captains of the vessels and commanders of the military units (formations) not later than 20 days before the date of elections.

5. Voters’ lists in the polling districts formed at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad shall include the personnel of those missions and offices and members of their families, as well as other citizens of Ukraine who reside or stay on the territory of the respective foreign country, based on the data of consular registration.

6. In the case of the exceptional formation of a polling district in accordance with paragraph seven of Article 17 of this Law, the lists of voters shall be compiled by the polling district election commission not later than four days before the date of elections based on the information submitted by the heads of the institutions, establishments, missions, captains of the vessels and commanders of the military units (formations) specified in paragraph four of this Article.

7. A list of voters shall include the citizens of Ukraine who have attained or will attain the age of eighteen on the day of elections and have the right to vote, and who from the day of compilation of the voters’ lists permanently reside (for the polling districts formed according to paragraph two of Article 17 of this Law) or on the day of elections will stay on the territory of the respective polling district (for the polling districts formed according to paragraphs three – five of Article 17 of this Law).

8. The lists of voters shall indicate the surname, first name and patronymic, the year of birth (for the persons who recently attained or will attain the age of eighteen on the day of elections, the day and month of their birth as well), the address of the place of residence of the voter. In case of absence of the information about the month and day of birth of a citizen, he/she shall be considered to be born on January 1 of the corresponding year. The voters shall be entered in the list following the procedure convenient to conduct the voting.

Article 31. Procedure of Introducing Changes in the List of Voters and Their Familiarization with It

1. A polling district election commission shall specify the list of voters and supplement it on the basis of personal requests of citizens, submissions of bodies and officials mentioned in paragraphs one, three and four of Article 30 of this Law, upon which the list shall be signed by the head and secretary of the commission, sealed with the commission’s seal and submitted for general familiarization not later than within 15 days, and, in exceptional case of the establishment of a polling district in accordance with paragraph seven of Article 17 of this Law, not later than three days prior to the day of elections. Each voter shall be provided with an opportunity to familiarize himself/herself with the voters’ list in premises of the polling district election commission and verify the accuracy of the data entered in the list.

2. At the request of a member of an election commission, a candidate for deputy or an authorized person of a party (bloc of parties), a polling district election commission shall have the right to approach the respective bodies of state power and local self-government bodies with a request to familiarize themselves with any documents that contain the information about the place of permanent residence of citizens, on the grounds of which the voters’ lists were compiled.

3. A voter can be entered in the list of voters in one polling district only.

4. A voter who leaves the populated locality, where he/she is entered in the voters’ list, less than 25 days before the date of elections inclusive may address the polling district election commission with a request to unfile him/her from the list of voters. Based on this request and one of the documents provided by paragraph two of Article 2 of this Law, the polling district election commission shall issue this voter an absentee ballot according to the form to be approved by the Central Election Commission. In this case, an entry shall be made in the list of voters, indicating the date of issuance of the absentee ballot and its number, the list shall be signed by the voter who received the absentee ballot and the member of the election commission who issued this ballot. If a voter loses his/her absentee ballot the latter shall not be issued again.

5. Absentee ballots shall have the unified numeration at the entire territory of Ukraine and shall be considered documents of strict accountability.

6. The procedure of producing absentee ballots, their delivery to the constituency and polling district election commissions, withdrawal and cancellation of unused absentee ballots shall be established by the Central Election Commission. Forms of absentee ballots shall be delivered to polling district election commissions no later than 25 days before the date of elections and in the case of the exceptional formation of a polling district, according to paragraph seven of Article 17 of this Law, on the day of the first meeting of the commission.

7. A voter who arrived before or on the day of elections at the populated area different from the place of his/her permanent residence and, according to paragraph four of this Article, was struck off the voters’ list there, shall be entered by the head, deputy head or secretary of the polling district election commission in the list of voters on the grounds of the voter’s request, one of the documents provided by paragraph two of Article 2 of this Law and the absentee ballot which shall be attached to the list of voters. A voter who arrived before or on the day of elections at a polling district formed at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, in military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine shall be entered by the head, deputy head or secretary of the polling district election commission in the list of voters on the grounds of the voter’s written request, which contains information on place of permanent residence or the absentee ballot and a passport of citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad, diplomatic passport, service passport, seaman’s identity card or crew member card.

8. In case the persons specified in paragraphs four - six of Article 30 of this Law are entered in the list of voters on the basis of the information provided by the heads of the respective institutions, offices, missions, captains of vessels and commanders of military units (formations), a polling district election commission shall notify, within two days, the constituency election commission of the single-mandate constituency to which this polling district belongs about entering those persons in the list of voters and about the place of their permanent residence.

9. The constituency election commission which received the notification mentioned in paragraph eight of this Article shall ensure immediate communication of this information to the polling district election commission at the place of permanent residence of the given voter who was entered in the voters’ list at a different place in accordance with paragraphs four – six of Article 30 of this Law. The polling district election commission, on the basis of this notification, shall pass a decision to strike this voter from the voters’ list at this polling district. In this case, the entry "absent" shall be made instead of the voter’s signature in the list of voters; the numbers of the single-mandate constituency and the polling district where, according to the notification, this voter was entered in the voters’ list shall be also indicated, as well as the date of taking the decision to unfile the voter from the list of voters in the polling district, and the member of the polling district election commission who entered these data in the voters’ list shall put his/her signature there.

10. A citizen shall have the right to lodge an appeal with the constituency election commission or directly with the local court situated at the location the polling district, against the incorrectness and errors made whilst compiling the list of voters, including the failure to enter, incorrect entry or strike him/her or other persons from the list of voters. A complaint lodged with the polling district election commission not later than one day before the day of elections shall be considered within the period of three days, but no later than on the day preceding the day of elections, and a complaint filed on the eve of the day of elections shall be considered without delay. The polling district election commission shall be obliged to introduce the required changes to the list of voters or to give to the complainant a copy of the decision reasoning the dismissal of his/her complaint. A complaint lodged with the court prior to the day of elections shall be considered within the period of five days, but not later than on the day preceding the day of elections, while a complaint filed on the day of elections shall be considered without delay, but no later than the time of completion of voting.

11. It is prohibited to introduce any changes to the list of voters after completion of the voting.

CHAPTER VI. FINANCIAL AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT FOR
THE PREPARATION AND CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS OF DEPUTIES

Article 32. Financing of Elections of Deputies

1. Expenditures for the preparation and conduct of elections of deputies shall be incurred exclusively from the funds of the State Budget of Ukraine as well as the resources of election funds of parties (blocs) the candidates for deputy of which are registered in the multi-mandate constituency, and candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies.

2. In order to finance their election campaign, a party (bloc) of the candidates for deputy, which are registered in the multi-mandate constituency, as well as candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies, shall establish their election funds, which shall be formed in accordance with the procedure set forth by this Law.

Article 33. Financing of the Preparation and Conduct of Elections of People’s Deputies from the Funds of the State Budget of Ukraine

1. Financing of the preparation and conduct of elections of deputies from the funds of the State Budget of Ukraine shall be made by the Central Election Commission, which is the main administrator of these resources.

2. The amount of funds for the preparation and conduct of elections of deputies, upon submission of the Central Election Commission, shall be included, on an annual basis, as a separate sentence in the law on the State Budget of Ukraine.

3. The Central Election Commission and constituency election commissions shall cover the expenditures for the preparation and conduct of elections, such as printing information posters of parties (blocs) the candidates for deputy of which are registered in the multi-mandate all-state constituency, candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency, publication in newspapers of election programs of parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency; and broadcast time on radio and television, according to the costs estimate approved by the Central Election Commission, within the limits of the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections.

4. Funds allocated for the preparation and conduct of deputies elections provided in the State Budget shall be transferred to the Central Election Commission within three days from the day of announcement of the commencement of the election process.

5. The Central Election Commission shall approve average expenditure norms for constituency election commissions and average expenditure norms for the needs of polling districts election commissions.

6. The constituency election commission shall, within ten days upon its formation, prepare the uniform estimate of expenditures for the preparation and conduct of elections based on the average allowed expenditure norms. The estimate shall include expenditures of the constituency election commission and expenditures for the needs of polling districts election commissions of the single-mandate constituency. The estimates shall be submitted for approval to the Central Election Commission.

7. Financing of election commissions shall be performed under the procedure established by the Central Election Commission along with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.

8. A constituency election commission shall, within seven days from the day of official announcement of the results of deputies’ election, return the funds received from the State Budget for the preparation and conduct of elections which have not been spent to the bank account of the Central Election Commission. The State Treasury of Ukraine, within a three days period, shall notify the Central Election Commission about the return of these funds to its bank account.

9. A constituency election commission, within ten days from the day of official announcement of election results, shall produce and submit to the Central Election Commission financial statement on the receipt and use of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of the deputies elections, in compliance with the order established by the Central Election Commission and in the form approved by the Central Election Commission together with the State Treasury of Ukraine.

10. The Central Election Commission and respective departments of the State Control and Revision Service of Ukraine, in the order, established by the Central Election Commission together with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, shall exercise control over correct and targeted spending of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of deputies’ elections.

11. In the event that the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for preparation and conduct of the deputies elections, have not been transferred in full, the liability for repayment of the accounts payable of constituency election commissions upon expiration of their authority shall be transferred to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and redeemed prior to the end of the respective fiscal year.

Article 34. Election Fund of a Party (Bloc) and a Candidate for Deputy Registered in a Single-Mandate Constituency

1. A party (bloc), the candidates for deputies of which are registered in the multi-mandate constituency, and a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be required to open a bank account of their election fund at least 50 days prior to the day of elections. The bank account of a party (bloc) shall be opened upon submission of a copy of the decision of the Central Election Commission on the registration of candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency included in the electoral list of the party (bloc); and, for the bank account of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency, upon submission of a copy of the decision on his/her registration made by the relevant constituency election commission.

2. The National Bank of Ukraine, upon coordination with the Central Election Commission, within 80 days prior to the day of elections, shall issue rules regulating opening and closing of a bank account of the election fund of a party (bloc) and a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency as defined in paragraph one of this Article (hereinafter referred to as a bank account of the election fund).

3. A party (bloc), the candidates for deputies of which are registered in the multi-mandate all-state constituency, shall open a bank account of its election fund in a bank of Ukraine located in Kyiv. A candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall open his/her bank account of the election fund in a bank of Ukraine at the place of location of the respective constituency election commission. The Central Election Commission shall establish the list of banks qualified to keep bank accounts of election funds. The said party (bloc) and the candidate for deputy shall have the right to open one bank account only of the election fund and in the national currency only.

4. Resources available on the bank account of the election fund shall be withdrawn in the form of bank transfers only.

5. A banking institution shall not charge for services related to the opening and closing of a bank account of the election fund. The banking institution shall neither accrue nor pay interest on money held on the bank account of the election fund.

6. A banking institution, at the latest on the next working day upon opening a bank account of the election fund of a party (bloc) and a candidate for deputy as defined in the paragraph one of this Article, shall notify about the opening of such account and the account details to the Central Election Commission or the relevant constituency election commission, respectively.

7. The Central Election Commission shall publish once the information on the opening of the bank account of the election fund and the account details in the newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier"; the constituency election commission shall publish the above information in the local state-owned or municipal press at the expense of the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections. Subsequently, information on details of the bank account of the election fund shall be published in the press at expense of the respective election fund.

8. Spending of resources of the bank account of the election fund shall be terminated one day prior to the day of elections.

9. In the event that repeated elections are called in a single-mandate constituency, spending of resources from the bank accounts of the election fund of respective candidates for deputy listed in the ballots for repeated voting shall be renewed from the date of the decision on conducting the repeated voting.

10. The banking institution shall close the bank account of the election fund on the fifteenth day following the day of official promulgation of election results in the respective constituency.

Article 35. Election Fund Managers

1. A party (bloc) shall assign no more than two managers of the election fund from among its authorized persons indicated in Article 57 of this Law. A candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency may be a manager of his/her own election fund, or assign no more than one manager of the election fund from among his/her authorized persons indicated in Article 58 of this Law. Election fund managers shall have the exclusive right to use resources of the election fund in accordance with laws of Ukraine.

2. Election fund managers shall keep records of receipts and spending of resources of the election fund.

3. The banking institution in which the account of the election fund is opened shall provide an election fund manager with information about the amount and the sources of contributions that were deposited onto the account of the election fund on a weekly basis or if inquired by the fund manager.

4. A manager of the election fund of a party (bloc) shall be required, within five days from the day of elections, to submit to the Central Election Commission financial statement on receipts and the use of resources of the election fund. A manager of the election fund of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be required, within five days from the day of elections (in the event the candidate for deputy has been included into voting bulletins for repeated voting, within five days from the day of the repeated voting), to submit to the constituency election commission a financial statement on receipts and the use of resources from the election fund. The Central Election Commission shall approve the form of the said financial statement at least 60 days prior to the day of elections.

Article 36. Establishment of Election Fund and Spending of its Resources

1. The election fund of a party (bloc) shall be established out of financial resources of the party (or of parties constituting the bloc) and of voluntary contributions from individuals.

2. The election fund of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be established at his/her own expense and from voluntary contributions of individuals.

3. Expenditures made from the election fund of the party (bloc) shall not exceed one hundred and fifty thousand untaxed minimum citizens’ incomes; and expenditures made from the election fund of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall not exceed ten thousand untaxed minimum citizens’ incomes.

4. An individual’s voluntary contribution to the election fund of one party (bloc) or one candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall not exceed one thousand untaxed minimum citizens’ incomes.

5. The following persons may not make voluntary contributions to election funds:

1) citizens of foreign states and stateless persons;

2) natural persons who are subjects of entrepreneurial activity and who have debts in respect of a budget of any level on the day of transfer of the contribution to the election fund;

3) anonymous donators (where the data required in paragraph six of this Article is not indicated in the money transfer order).

6. A voluntary contribution from a Ukrainian citizen to an election fund shall be accepted for transfer by a banking institution or a post office upon presenting one of the documents provided by paragraph two of the Article 2 of the present Law. A money transfer order shall state the surname, first name and patronymic, date of birth and address of an individual.

7. A voluntary contribution shall be transferred by the banking institution or post office to the bank account of the election fund on the next working day upon the receipt of the money transfer order at the latest. The overall duration of the bank transfer of contributions to the bank account of the election fund shall not exceed two banking days.

8. A manager of the election fund shall retain the right to reject a contribution made by an individual, by submitting respective application and money transfer order to the banking institution in which the bank account of the election fund is opened. The said contribution shall be returned to the individual, with all respective bank charges covered from the contribution in question, or, if such a return is impossible, it shall be transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine.

9. When a contribution made by an individual exceeds the maximum amount provided in paragraph four of this Article, the banking institution shall return the amount in excess to the respective individual, upon submission of the application and money transfer order by the election fund manager, with all respective bank charges covered from the contribution in question, or, if such a return is impossible, transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine.

10. A manager of the election fund shall be required to reject a contribution made by an individual not qualified to do so as provided by the present Law. The banking institution in which the bank account of the election fund is opened shall, upon submission of an application of the election fund manager rejecting such contribution, transfer the contribution to the State Budget of Ukraine.

11. The control over receipt, accounting and the use of election funds shall be performed on a random basis by the Central Election Commission, constituency election commissions and the banking institution in which the bank account of the election fund is opened, in compliance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission, the National Bank of Ukraine and the central body of executive power in charge of communications at least 60 days prior to the day of elections.

12. The managing bodies of a party (bloc) shall, within seven days upon announcement of the official election results, take decision on transferring the remaining resources from the election fund to the bank account of the party (or constituent parties of the bloc). The remaining resources shall be transferred within five days upon delivery of the respective decision of the party (bloc). In the event that the party (bloc) fails to take such decision within the period specified herein, the banking institution shall transfer the funds in question to the State Budget of Ukraine on the fifteenth day from the day of official announcement of the election results by the Central Election Commission.

13. The remaining resources from the election fund of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be transferred by the banking institution to the State Budget of Ukraine within a three-days period from the day of official announcement of the election results in the respective single-mandate constituency, or decision on declaring elections in such constituency void.

14. In the event of cancellation of the decision on registration of a candidate for deputy, the resources remaining in his/her election fund shall be transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine on the eighth day following the day of publication of the said decision.

15. Contributions transferred to the election fund after the election day (in the event of candidates included into ballots for the repeated voting - after the repeated election day) shall be returned by the respective banking institution to the relevant individual (the latter bearing all related bank charges), or, if such a return is impossible, transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine.

Article 37. Procurement and Logistics Arrangements for Preparation and Conduct of the Election Campaign

1. Bodies of state power, bodies of local self-government, and their officials shall assist election commissions in performing their authorities: provide them with required premises, ensure their security and the security for ballots and other election-related documentation; provide with vehicles, communication facilities, equipment, office supplies and facilities (to be returned upon expiration of the authority of the election commissions), in compliance with the list and quantity established by the Central Election Commission. The procedure of payment or compensation for the aforementioned services shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

2. Procurement of goods, works and services for preparation and the conduct of elections of deputies during the election process shall be performed by election commissions from the funds of the State Budget of Ukraine in compliance with the procedure approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

CHAPTER VII. NOMINATION AND REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATES FOR DEPUTY

Article 38. General Procedure of the Nomination of Candidates for Deputy

1. Candidates for deputy may be nominated by a party registered in accordance with the procedure established by law at least one year prior to the day of elections, or by an election bloc, provided it is composed of the parties that have been registered at least one year prior to the day of elections.

2. A citizen of Ukraine which has the right to be elected as provided by the Article 8 of this Law, shall have the right to nominate himself/herself as a candidate for deputy in the respective single-mandate constituency by submitting application to the relevant constituency election commission stating his/her willingness to be a candidate for deputy in that constituency (self-nomination application).

3. A citizen of Ukraine which has the right to be elected as provided by the Article 8 of this Law, shall have the right to accept the offer to be a candidate for deputy in the multi-mandate, or a single-mandate constituency.

4. Nomination of candidates for deputy shall commence 85 days and end 65 days prior to the day of elections.

Article 39. Formation of an Election Bloc

1. An election bloc may be formed by two or more parties indicated in paragraph one of Article 38 of this Law, based on resolution of the general convention (meeting, conference) of each party.

2. Leaders or representatives of parties authorized by the convention (meeting, conference) to form an election bloc shall conclude an agreement on the bloc formation. The agreement shall be executed by authorized persons and sealed with the seals of parties that formed the bloc.

3. An agreement on formation of an election bloc shall establish:

1) Managing bodies of the election bloc and terms and conditions of their functioning;

2) Representation of member parties at inter-party conventions (meetings, conferences);

3) Procedures of conducting inter-party conventions (meetings, conferences) regarding candidates nomination;

4) Procedures of taking decisions at the inter-party conventions (meetings, conferences);

5) Terms of nomination and norms of representation of candidates for deputy in the electoral lists of the parties constituting the bloc.

4. Decision on formation of the election bloc shall be notified to the Central Election Commission at least two days prior to the day of convocation of the inter-party convention (meeting, conference). Such notification shall be accompanied by a copy of agreement on formation of the election bloc, an extract from minutes of the conventions (meetings, conferences) of constituent parties on formation of the election bloc signed by the leaders and sealed with seals of the constituent parties, and copies of the registration certificates and charters of the constituent parties, certified by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine upon announcement of the commencement of the election campaign.

Article 40. Procedure of Nomination of Candidates for Deputy by a Party (Bloc)

1. A party (bloc) may nominate candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate and single-mandate constituencies.

2. The number of candidates for deputy nominated by a party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency shall not exceed the number of deputies stipulated in Article 1, paragraph three, item 1 of this Law. All candidates for deputy nominated by a party (bloc) shall be included in the single electoral list of such party (bloc).

3. A party (bloc) may nominate no more than one candidate in each single-mandate constituency.

4. A party (bloc) may nominate as a candidate for deputy a person who is a member of the party (a member of a party that is a constituent of the bloc) or a non-party citizen which has the right to be elected deputy in accordance with Article 8 of this Law.

5. A party that is a constituent of an election bloc may not independently nominate candidates for deputy and be a constituent of another election bloc.

6. Candidates for deputy shall be nominated by a party at its convention (meeting, conference), and by a bloc at an inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc. The convention (meeting, conference) at which candidates for deputy are nominated shall be attended by at least 200 delegates. A party (bloc) may nominate candidates for deputy in single-mandate constituencies at the meeting (conference) of a republic, in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, or an oblast or city, in Kyiv or Sevastopol, cell (organization) of the party (joint meeting (conference) of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) conducted in accordance with the charter of the party (charters of the parties that are constituents of the bloc), and in accordance with the bloc’s constituent agreement if candidates for deputy are nominated by a joint meeting (conference) of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc.

7. Nomination of candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency shall be performed at least 87 days before the day of elections in the form of an electoral list of candidates for deputy from a party (bloc), which shall indicate their order of priority, in accordance with the form approved by the Central Election Commission. A person may be included in the electoral list of no more than one party (bloc).

8. The minutes of the convention (meeting, conference) of the party or inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc shall indicate: the date of the convention (meeting, conference), agenda, information about the persons nominated candidates for deputy (surname, first name, patronymic, day, month and year of birth, position (occupation), place of employment and home address, number of the single-mandate constituency if nominated in single-mandate constituencies, results of the voting on the electoral list of candidates for deputy nominated in the multi-mandate constituency and candidates for deputy nominated in single-mandate constituencies). The minutes shall be signed by the chairman of the convention (meeting, conference), and the electoral list of candidates for deputy shall be signed by the head of the party (heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) and sealed with the seal of the party (parties that are constituents of the bloc). The minutes of the meeting (conference) of the republic, in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, an oblast or city, in Kyiv or Sevastopol, cell (organization) of the party (joint meeting (conference) of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) shall indicate: the date of the meeting (conference), agenda, information about the persons nominated candidates for deputy nominated in single-mandate constituencies (surname, first name, patronymic, day, month and year of birth, citizenship, party membership, position (occupation), place of employment and home address, number of the single-mandate constituency and results of the voting on the electoral list of candidates for deputy nominated in single-mandate constituencies). The minutes shall be signed by the chairman of the meeting (conference) and sealed with the seal of the cell (organization) of the party (cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc).

9. The head of the party (heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) shall notify the Central Election Commission in writing about the time and place of the convention (meeting, conference) of the party or the inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc to be conducted with the purpose of nominating candidates for deputy at least two days prior to the convention (meeting, conference). If so ordered by the Head of the Central Election Commission, a member of the Central Election Commission may be present at such convention (meeting, conference).

10. Mass media shall be notified in good time about the time and place of a convention (meeting, conference) to be conducted with the purpose of nominating candidates for deputy. The accreditation procedure of mass media representatives at such convention (meeting, conference) shall be determined by the organizers thereof.

Article 41. Conditions of Registration of Candidates for Deputy in the Multi-Mandate Constituency that are Included in the Electoral List of a Party (Bloc)

1. The Central Election Commission shall register candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency included in the electoral list of a party (bloc) subject to the receipt of the following documents:

1) an application for registration of candidates for deputy signed by the head of the party (heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) and sealed with the seal of the party (seals of the parties that are constituents of the bloc);

2) a copy of the certificate of registration of the party (parties that are constituents of the bloc) and charter of the party (parties that are constituents of the bloc) certified free of charge by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine after the announcement of the beginning of the election process;

3) an excerpt from the minutes of the convention (meeting, conference) of the parties at which the election bloc was created, signed by the heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc and sealed with the seals of such parties, if the candidates for deputy are nominated by a bloc;

4) the constituent agreement of the election bloc if the candidates for deputy are nominated by a bloc;

5) an excerpt from the minutes of the convention (meeting, conference) of the party (inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) conducted with the purpose of nominating candidates for deputy from the party (bloc), which shall contain the information provided for in Article 40, paragraph eight of this Law. The excerpt shall be signed by the head of the party (heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) and sealed with the seal of the party (seals of the parties that are constituents of the bloc);

6) the electoral list of candidates for deputy from the party (bloc) in accordance with the form approved by the Central Election Commission;

7) statements of the persons included in the electoral list of the party (bloc) announcing their consent to be candidates for deputy from this party (bloc), commitment, if elected, to cease the activity or abdicate a representative mandate which in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine are inconsistent with the mandate of a people’s deputy of Ukraine, consent to the publication of their biographical data in connection with their participation in the elections and commitment, if elected, to transfer, within one month from the official announcement of election results, the management of their enterprises and their corporate rights to another person as stipulated in the legislation;

8) autobiographies of the persons included in the electoral list of the party (bloc) containing up to two thousand printed characters, which shall contain: surname, first name, patronymic, day, month, year and place of birth, citizenship, information about education, employment, position (occupation), place of employment, public work (including elected offices), party membership, family members, home address, duration of residence in Ukraine and criminal record;

9) election program of the party (bloc) in the official language containing up to seven thousand eight hundred printed characters;

10) property and income statement for the year preceding the year of the submission of each candidate for deputy and his/her family members in accordance with the form approved by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine;

11) document attesting transfer of election deposit in accordance with Article 43 of this Law;

12) photographs of the persons included in the electoral list of the party (bloc), whose size and quantity shall be as stipulated by the Central Election Commission.

2. Documents submitted to the Central Election Commission after the announcement of the beginning of the election process as stipulated in Article 39, paragraph four of this Law shall not be resubmitted.

Article 42. Conditions of Registration of Candidates for Deputy in a Single-Mandate Constituency

1. A constituency election commission shall register a candidate for deputy nominated by a party (bloc) in the respective single-mandate constituency upon presentation by the candidate of one of the documents provided by Article 2, paragraph two of this Law and subject to the receipt of the following documents:

1) an excerpt from the minutes of the convention (meeting, conference) of the party (inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) or excerpt from the minutes of the meeting (conference) of the republic, in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, an oblast or city, in Kyiv or Sevastopol, cell (organization) of the party (joint meeting (conference) of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) conducted with the purpose of nominating the candidate for deputy in the respective single-mandate constituency, which shall contain the information provided for in Article 40, paragraph nine of this Law. The excerpt from the minutes of the convention (meeting, conference) of the party (inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) shall be signed by the head of the party (heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) and sealed with the seal of the party (seals of the parties that are constituents of the bloc), and the excerpt from the minutes of the meeting (conference) of the cell (organization) of the party (joint meeting (conference) of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) shall be signed by the head of the cell (organization) of the party (heads of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) and sealed with the seal of the cell (organization) of the party (seals of cells (organizations) of the parties that are constituents of the bloc);

2) a copy of the charter of the party (charters of the parties that are constituents of the bloc) certified free of charge by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine after the announcement of the beginning of the election process;

3) a copy of the constituent agreement of the election bloc certified by the heads of the parties that are constituents of the bloc, if the candidates for deputy are nominated by a bloc;

4) a statement of the person nominated candidate for deputy announcing his/her commitment, if elected, to cease the activity or abdicate a representative mandate which in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine are inconsistent with the mandate of a people’s deputy of Ukraine, consent to the publication of his biographical data in connection with his participation in the elections and commitment, if elected, to transfer, within one month from the official announcement of election results, the management of their enterprises and their corporate rights to another person as stipulated in the legislation;

5) autobiography of the candidate for deputy containing up to two thousand printed characters, which shall contain: surname, first name, patronymic, day, month, year and place of birth, citizenship, information about education, employment, position (occupation), place of employment, public work (including elected offices), party membership, family members, home address, duration of residence in Ukraine and criminal record;

6) election program of the candidate for deputy in the official language containing up to three thousand nine hundred printed characters;

7) property and income statement for the year preceding the year of the submission of the candidate for deputy and his/her family members in accordance with the form approved by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine;

8) document attesting transfer of election deposit in accordance with Article 43 of this Law;

9) photograph of the candidate for deputy, whose size and quantity shall be as stipulated by the Central Election Commission.

2. A constituency election commission shall register a candidate for deputy in the respective single-mandate constituency who has been self-nominated in this constituency upon presentation by the candidate one of the documents provided by Article 2, paragraph two of this Law and the receipt of the self-nomination application and the documents provided for in paragraph one, items 4-9 of this Article.

3. Documents submitted to the respective constituency election commission shall not be resubmitted.

Article 43. Election Deposit

1. Prior to submission of documents to the Central Election Commission for registration of candidates for deputy included in the electoral list in the multi-mandate constituency, a party (bloc) shall transfer election deposit in the amount of fifteen thousand untaxed minimum citizens’ incomes to a special account of the Central Election Commission by means of cashless settlement.

2. Prior to submission of documents to a constituency election commission for registration, a candidate for deputy who has been nominated in a single-mandate constituency shall transfer election deposit in the amount of 60 untaxed minimum citizens’ incomes to an account of the constituency election commission.

3. In case that a respective election commission decides to refuse registration of candidates (a candidate) for deputies, the paid election deposit shall be transferred to an account of the party (bloc) or returned to the candidate for deputy within five days from passing of the respective decision.

4. In case of cancellation of the decision on registration of all candidates for deputy included in the electoral list of a party (bloc) and nominated in the multi-mandate constituency, or of a candidate for deputy nominated in a single-mandate constituency, the paid election deposit shall be transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine within five days from passing of the respective decision.

5. Election deposit shall be returned to parties (blocs) which took part in distribution of deputies’ mandates and to deputies elected in single-mandate constituencies.

6. Election deposit paid by a party (bloc) that did not participate in distribution of deputies’ mandates in the multi-mandate constituency shall be transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine within eight days from the day of official promulgation of results of the election of deputies.

7. Election deposit paid by a candidate for deputy which was nominated in a single-mandate constituency but not elected as a deputy shall be transferred to the State Budget of Ukraine within eight days from the day of promulgation of results of the election of deputy in the single-mandate constituency or from the day of promulgation of the decision on declaration of invalidity of the election in that constituency.

Article 44. Property and Income Statement of a Candidate for Deputy and His/Her Family Members

1. A property and income statement of a candidate for deputy and his/her family members for the preceding year shall be filled in by the candidate for deputy with his own hand in accordance with the form approved by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.

2. The truthfulness of information included in the statement mentioned in paragraph one of this Article shall be checked, if so requested by the Central Election Commission or constituency election commissions, by the bodies of the State Tax Administration at least 30 days before the day of elections. The appropriate election commission shall be notified of the revealed violations within the same time-period.

Article 45. Procedure for Registration of Candidates for Deputy in the Multi-Mandate Constituency

1. Candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency included in the electoral list of a party (bloc) shall be registered by the Central Election Commission, subject to the availability of documents provided for in Article 41 of this Law.

2. Submission of documents to the Central Election Commission for registration of candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency shall end 60 days before the day of elections.

3. The representative of a party (bloc) who has submitted documents provided for in Article 41 of this Law shall be issued a certificate of the date and time of acceptance of the documents indicating the list of accepted documents.

4. A person included by a party (bloc) in its electoral list of candidates for deputy who, by the day of submission to the Central Election Commission of the application of the party (bloc) for registration of candidates for deputy, did not give his/her consent to be a candidate for deputy from this party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency shall be deemed excluded from the electoral list of the party (bloc) from the day of submission of such application of the party (bloc). An application of such person announcing his/her consent to be a candidate for deputy submitted after this date shall not be accepted.

5. A person included by a party (bloc of parties) into its electoral list of candidates for deputy may withdraw his/her application regarding the consent to be nominated a candidate for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency prior to the day of registration. From the time the Central Election Commission receives the application regarding the withdrawal of the consent to be a candidate, this person shall be regarded excluded from the electoral list of the party (bloc). The Central Election Commission shall notify the party (bloc) representative in writing about the receipt of the application no later than within a three-day period upon the submission of the application. Any other applications from the person regarding his/her consent to be a candidate from the party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency shall not be accepted.

6. A person included into several electoral lists of parties (blocs) pursuant to his/her written application regarding the consent to be a candidate from those parties (blocs) in the multi-mandate constituency shall be excluded by the decision of the Central Election Commission from all the electoral lists which the said person was included in.

7. No later than on the fifth day upon the receipt of the application for registration of candidates in the multi-mandate constituency together with the additionally required documents, the Central Election Commission shall adopt a decision on the registration of candidates for deputy in this constituency or on the refusal to register.

8. The sequence of candidates in the electoral list determined by a party (bloc) may not be changed after their registration by the Central Election Commission, except for the cases stipulated by this Law.

9. In case of registration of candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency, a party (bloc) representative shall be issued, together with a copy of the decision regarding the registration, provided within three days from the day of its adoption, certificates of the candidates for deputy made in compliance with the form established by the Central Election Commission. Within the same period, the electoral list of the candidates for deputy from the party (bloc) and the said decision shall be published in the newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier".

10. In the event that the Central Election Commission finds in the documents submitted by a party (bloc) any evidence of the violation of paragraph one of Article 37 of the Constitution of Ukraine, it shall address the Prosecutor General of Ukraine or the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine as regards their application to the Supreme Court of Ukraine for banning the activities of the party (parties comprising the bloc). Consideration of the issue of the registration of the candidates for deputy from this party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency shall be postponed pending the court ruling.

11. A decision regarding a refusal to register candidates for deputy shall contain exhaustive reasoning of the refusal. A copy of this decision shall be issued to a party (bloc) representative no later than on the next day upon the adoption of the decision.

12. A refusal to register candidates for deputy included in the electoral list of a party (bloc of parties) in the multi-mandate constituency on the grounds of improper drawing up of the submitted documents provided for by paragraph one of Article 41 of this Law shall not exclude resubmission by that party (bloc) of the application for registration of the candidates for deputy included in the electoral list of the party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency. The said application, together with the documents corrected in compliance with requirements of this Law, shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission no later than 55 days prior to the day of elections. The final decision regarding the registration of the candidates for deputy included into the electoral list of the party (bloc) shall be adopted by the Central Election Commission no later than 53 days prior to the day of elections.

Article 46. Procedure of Registration of Candidates for Deputy in a Single-Mandate Constituency

1. A candidate for deputy nominated in a single-mandate constituency shall be registered by a corresponding constituency election commission, provided that all requirements stipulated by Article 42 of this Law have been met.

2. Submission of documents for registration of candidates for deputy in a single-mandate constituency to a constituency election commission shall be terminated 60 days prior to the day of elections.

3. A person who submitted the documents stipulated by Article 42 of this Law shall be issued a certificate indicating the date and time of the receipt of the documentation, listing the documents received.

4. A person nominated as a candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency shall have the right to withdraw his/her application for self-nomination or registration as a candidate for deputy prior to the day of registration of him/her as a candidate for deputy. Any reapplication of this person regarding his/her self-nomination in the same constituency shall not be accepted.

5. No later than on the fifth day after the receipt of the application for registration of a candidate in a single-mandate constituency together with the additionally required documents, the constituency election commission shall adopt a decision regarding the registration of the candidate for deputy or a refusal to register.

6. A refusal to register a candidate for deputy nominated in a single-mandate constituency on the grounds of improper drawing up of the documents provided by Article 42 of this Law shall not exclude repeated submission of the application of the candidate for deputy for his/her registration in the corresponding single-mandate constituency. The said application, together with the documents corrected in accordance with the requirements of this Law, shall be submitted to the constituency election commission no later than 55 days prior to the day of elections. The final decision regarding the registration of the candidate for deputy in the single-mandate constituency shall be adopted by the constituency election commission no later than 53 days prior to the day of elections.

7. In the event of the registration of a candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency, he/she shall be issued, together with a copy of the decision regarding the registration, provided within three days, the certificate of a candidate for deputy made in compliance with the form established by the Central Election Commission.

8. Within a five-day period from the termination of the registration of candidates in a constituency, the Central Election Commission, upon submissions of constituency election commissions, shall publish in the newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier" the list of candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency stating each candidate’s surname, first name and patronymic, date of birth, education, permanent residence, employment (occupation), party affiliation and the entity which nominated the candidate.

Article 47. Refusal to Register a Candidate (Candidates) for Deputy

1. An election commission shall refuse to register a candidate (candidates) for deputy for the following reasons:

1) violation of the Laws of Ukraine during establishment of election block and nomination of candidates for deputy;

2) violation of the procedure for nomination of a candidate (candidates) for deputy established by this Law;

3) establishment by a court of the fact of presence in the election program of a candidate of provisions aimed at elimination of independence of Ukraine, change of constitutional order in violent way, violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, undermining its security, illegal seizure of state authority, propaganda of war, violence, kindling inter-ethnic, racial, religious hatred, encroachment on the human rights and freedom, health of population.

4) absence or improper presentation of the documents specified by Article 41 or Article 42 of this Law;

5) termination of the Ukrainian citizenship of the candidate for deputy;

6) emigration of the person nominated for candidacy to another country for permanent residency;

7) establishment of the incapability of the person nominated as a candidate for deputy, or enforcement of the court sentence for committing an intentional crime;

8) discovery by a corresponding election commission of vital inconsistencies in the personal information regarding the candidate submitted in compliance with this Law;

2. A decision to refuse registration of a candidate (candidates) for deputy shall fully substantiate the grounds for the refusal. No later than on the next day after the adoption of the decision, a copy of it shall be handed over (mailed) to a representative of the corresponding party (bloc) or to a candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency.

3. If none of the candidates for deputy nominated in the multi-mandate constituency and included in the electoral list of a party (bloc) was registered by the Central Election Commission within the period established by this Law, the party (bloc) shall lose the status of a subject of the election process.

Article 48. Changes in the Composition of an Election Bloc of Parties

1. A party comprising a bloc may take a decision regarding its withdrawal from the bloc no later than 35 days prior to the day of elections. Such decision shall be adopted by the party convention (meeting, conference) in compliance with its charter. The decision on the party’s withdrawal from the bloc and the extract from the convention (meeting, conference) minutes regarding this issue, signed by the party leader and the convention (meeting, conference) chairman and authenticated by the party’s seal, shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission and the governing body of the bloc within three days.

2. A party’s withdrawal from a bloc comprised of more than two parties shall have no impact on the status of the bloc as a subject of the election process, irrespective of the number of parties remaining in it. The name of the withdrawing party shall be taken out of the list of parties comprising the bloc on ballots and other electoral documentation.

3. In the event of a party’s withdrawal from a bloc comprised of two parties, the party which did not make a decision to withdraw shall be a successor to the bloc and a subject of the election process. The ballots and other election documentation shall list the name of the party, which succeeded the bloc instead of the name of the bloc.

4. If the decision provided by paragraph one of this Article is adopted no later than 65 days prior to the day of elections, the party which withdrew from a bloc shall have the right to nominate candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency and in single-mandate constituencies in compliance with the procedure envisaged by this Law.

5. If the decision stipulated by paragraph one of this Article is adopted later than 65 days prior to the day of elections, the party which withdrew from the bloc shall lose the status of a subject of the election process.

6. Based on the decision provided by paragraph one of this Article, the Central Election Commission shall adopt a decision regarding either the exclusion of the members of the party which decided to withdraw from the bloc, from the list of candidates of the bloc (the party which succeeded the bloc), or the cancellation of the registration of the party’s members as candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency.

7. Parties comprising a bloc may take a decision about dissolution of the bloc no later than 35 days prior to the day of elections. The said decision shall be made by conventions (meetings, conferences) of all parties comprising the bloc. The decision regarding the dissolution of the bloc and extracts from the minutes of conventions (meetings, conferences) of each party regarding this issue signed by the party leader and the chairman of the convention (meeting, conference) and authenticated by the party seal shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission within three days.

8. In the event of the decisions described in paragraph seven of this Article being adopted no later than 65 days prior to the day of elections, each of the parties formerly comprising the bloc shall have the right to nominate its candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency and in single-mandate constituencies in compliance with the procedure envisaged by this Law.

9. In the event of the decisions stipulated in paragraph seven of this Article being adopted later than 65 days prior to the day of elections, the parties formerly comprising the bloc shall lose the status of subjects of the election process.

10. If the decisions stipulated in paragraph seven of this Article were adopted prior to the registration of candidates for deputy nominated to the bloc’s electoral list, the Central Election Commission shall not consider the issue of their registration. If the said decisions were adopted after the registration of candidates for deputy nominated to the electoral list of the bloc, the Central Election Commission shall cancel the registration of these candidates on the basis of the aforementioned decisions.

11. If the decisions stipulated by paragraphs one and seven of this Article were adopted prior to the registration of a member of the party which decided to withdraw from a bloc as a candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency, or if this person was nominated by the bloc which decided to dissolve itself, he/she can apply to a corresponding election commission for self-nomination. If such application has not been submitted, the constituency election commission shall not consider the issue of registration of this person as a candidate for deputy.

12. If the decision stipulated by paragraphs one and seven of this Article was adopted after the registration of the person who is a member of the party which decided to withdraw from a bloc as a candidate for deputy in the single-mandate constituency, or after the registration of the candidate for deputy nominated by the bloc which decided to dissolve itself, the constituency election commission shall cancel the said candidate’s registration as a candidate for deputy within ten days after the documents regarding the aforementioned decisions were received by the commission.

Article 49. Cancellation of the Decision on Registration of a Candidate (Candidates) for Deputy

1. The Central Election Commission shall cancel its decision on registration in the multi-mandate constituency of a candidate for deputy included into the electoral list of a party (bloc), which entails his/her expulsion from the electoral list, in the following cases:

1) if, at any time after being registered, the candidate applies in writing stating his/her withdrawal from the ballot;

2) if no later than 15 days prior to the day of elections, the party (bloc) applies for cancellation of the decision to register the candidate for deputy in compliance with the decision adopted in accordance with the party’s statute (agreement on the bloc formation);

3) emergence of the grounds for cancellation stipulated in paragraph six, Article 48, of this Law;

4) termination of the candidate’s Ukrainian citizenship;

5) departure of the candidate for deputy abroad for permanent residence;

6) establishment of the incapability of the person nominated as a candidate for deputy, or enforcement against him/her of the court sentence for committing an intentional crime;

7) inclusion of the candidate for deputy into more than one electoral list of a party (bloc), provided this person gave his/her consent to be nominated in the multi-mandate constituency by those parties (blocs), or registration of a candidate for deputy in a multi-constituency as a candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency;

8) discovery by the Central Election Commission of vital inconsistencies in the personal information regarding the candidate submitted in compliance with this Law;

9) establishment by the court of the fact of bribing the electorate or the members of election commissions by the candidate for deputy or by a third person instructed or requested to do so by the candidate;

10) establishment by the court that the organization, of which the candidate for deputy is a founder, owner or board member, provided the electorate or the members of election commissions with money or goods, services, securities, credits, lottery tickets and other things or material values for free or at discount prices during the election process;

11) if a candidate for deputy embracing a position, job combination included, in bodies of state power or local self-government, or at the state-owned or municipal enterprises, establishments or organizations, or military formations created in compliance with the Ukrainian legislation, engaged or used his/her subordinates, office transportation, communication, equipment, premises or other objects and resources at his/her place of work for carrying out his/her election campaign;

12) if a candidate for deputy, upon getting a warning from the Central Election Commission mentioned in paragraph 4 of this Article, repeatedly violated the requirements of this Law.

2. The Central Election Commission shall cancel its decision regarding the registration in the multi-mandate constituency of all candidates for deputy included into the electoral list of a party (bloc) in the following cases:

1) emergence of the grounds stipulated in Article 48, paragraph ten of this Law;

2) establishment by the court of the fact of bribing the electorate or the members of election commissions by the party (bloc of parties) authorized persons or by a third person instructed by them to do so or at their request;

3) establishment by the court that the organization of which the party (bloc) is a founder, owner or board member, or their authorized person provided the electorate or the members of election commissions with money or goods, services, securities, credits, lottery tickets and other material values for free or at discount prices during the election process;

4) establishment by the court that the party (bloc) used other sources of financing besides the resources of its election fund to finance its election campaign;

5) expenditures of the party (bloc) exceeded the maximum sum of expenses established by this Law for an election fund of a party (bloc).

3. A constituency election commission shall cancel its decision regarding the registration of a candidate for deputy in the following cases:

1) if the candidate applies in writing stating his/her renunciation of being a candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency no later than one day before the elections;

2) if no later than 15 days prior to the day of elections, a party (bloc) which nominated the candidate for deputy applies for cancellation of the decision to register the candidate for deputy in compliance with the decision adopted in accordance with the party’s statute (agreement on the bloc formation);

3) termination of the candidate’s Ukrainian citizenship;

4) departure of the candidate for deputy abroad for permanent residence;

5) establishment of the incapability of the candidate for deputy, or enforcement against him/her of the court sentence for committing an intentional crime;

6) registration of the candidate for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency or in another single-mandate constituency;

7) emergence of the grounds for cancellation stipulated in Article 48, paragraph twelve of this Law;

8) discovery by the election commission of vital inconsistencies in the personal information regarding the candidate submitted by him/her in compliance with this Law;

9) establishment by the court of the fact of bribing the electorate or the members of election commissions by the candidate for deputy or by a third person instructed by the candidate to do so or at his/her request;

10) establishment by the court that an entity, enterprise or organization, of which the candidate for deputy is a founder, owner or board member, provided the electorate or the members of election commissions with money or goods, services, securities, credits, lottery tickets and other things or material values for free or at discount prices during the election process;

12) establishment by the court that the candidate for deputy used other sources of financing besides the resources of his/her election fund to budget the election campaign;

13) expenditures of the candidate for deputy exceeded the maximum sum of expenses established by this Law for a candidate’s election fund;

14) if a candidate for deputy, upon getting a warning from the constituency or the Central Election Commissions, mentioned in paragraph four of this Article, repeatedly violated the same requirements of this Law.

4. In the event of the violation of other provisions of this Law on the part of a candidate for deputy or a party (bloc), a corresponding election commission may issue a warning, which shall be made public in the state-owned and municipal media or in a different way.

5. The relevant election commission shall notify a candidate for deputy or a party (bloc) about the decision to cancel the registration of a candidate (candidates) no later than on the third day after the decision was adopted, and issue a copy of the decision to a party (bloc) representative or the candidate within the same time frame.

6. In the event of death of a candidate for deputy or declaring him/her missing, the Central Election Commission shall declare him/her withdrawn from the multi-constituency ballot and exclude the name from the relevant electoral list, or a relevant constituency commission shall declare him/her withdrawn from single-constituency ballot.

CHAPTER VIII. ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Article 50. Terms of Conducting Election Campaign

1. Election campaign shall commence 50 days prior to the day of elections. The Central Election Commission shall announce about the beginning of the election campaign in the mass media 53 days prior to the day of elections.

2. The election campaign shall end at 12 p.m. on the last Friday prior to the day of elections.

Article 51. Forms and Means of Election Campaign

1. An election campaign may be carried out in any forms and by any means provided they comply with the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine. Citizens of Ukraine shall have the right to discuss freely and comprehensively election programs of parties (blocs) the candidates for deputy from which are registered in the multi-mandate constituency and of candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandated constituency, as well as political, business and personal qualities of the candidates, and to campaign ‘for’ and ‘against’.

2. The conduct of an election campaign within the period of the election process beyond the time limits established by Article 50 of this Law shall be forbidden. Official announcements made during the election process (without any commentaries which might have the character of agitation, as well as video and audio recordings, film shots or photographs) regarding the actions of the candidates for deputy connected with their exercise of government (office) duties stipulated by the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine shall not be considered as an election campaign.

3. An election campaign shall be conducted out of the resources of the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections for the purposes specified in this Law, and also at the expense of the election funds of parties (blocs) which nominated candidates in the multi-mandate constituency and of the candidates registered in single-mandate constituencies.

4. An election campaign conducted out of the resources of the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections shall be pursued in compliance with the principle of equal opportunities, i.e. parties (blocs) the candidates for deputy of which were registered in the multi-mandate constituency and candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be provided with equal printing areas in printed media and equal broadcast time on radio and television.

5. Bodies of executive power and bodies of local self-government shall assign premises suitable for conducting public events organized by a constituency election commission. At that, the constituency election commission shall be obligated to ensure equal opportunities for all parties (blocs) candidates for deputy of which were registered by the Central Election Commission in the multi-mandate constituency and for candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency. Payments for the use of the said premises shall be effected in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 37, paragraph one of this Law.

6. Any party (bloc) the candidate for deputy of which is registered in a single-mandate constituency shall have the right to rent, at the expense of its electoral funds, buildings or any other premises of any form of ownership to hold conventions, meetings, debates, discussions and other public events of election campaign.

7. Ant party (bloc) the candidate for deputy of which is registered in a single-mandate constituency shall notify the respective constituency election commission about the time and venue of conducting public events of election campaign.

Article 52. Information Posters and Election Campaign Materials

1. The Central Election Commission shall, at the expense of funds which are allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections and not later than 35 days prior to the election day, ensure publication of information posters for parties (blocs) candidates for deputy of which were registered in the multi-mandate constituency, in the amount sufficient to furnish five copies to each election commission. A party may produce printed materials for its election agitation (election agitation of a bloc, of which it is a party) using property that belongs to it. A candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency may produce materials for his/her agitation in the same way. The said posters shall include election programs of parties (blocs) submitted by them when registering candidates for deputy, electoral list of the party (bloc), with indication of surnames, first names, patronymics, dates of birth, positions (occupations), places of work and residence, and party affiliations of the candidates for deputy included therein, as well as photographs of the top five candidates for deputy. The form, size and pattern of any such poster shall be established by the Central Election Commission.

2. The Central Election Commission shall coordinate the text of each information poster with a representative of the respective party (bloc).

3. A constituency election commission shall, at the expense of the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections and not later than 35 days prior to the election day, ensure publication of information posters, coordinated with candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies, in the amount of two thousand copies for each candidate for deputy. The posters shall include the biography of the candidate, his/her election program as submitted for registration, and his/her photograph.

4. Information posters of parties (blocs) and of candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies, shall, upon their production, be submitted to respective election commissions, in the amount of 5 copies of each poster for each election commission, under the procedure established by the Central Election Commission, while the remaining posters shall be handed over to the candidate for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency or his/her authorized person.

5. A party (bloc) or a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency may at their own discretion produce materials of election campaign at the expense and within the limits of their electoral funds. Any information included into the said materials shall meet the requirements of law.

6. A party (bloc) or a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be obligated to submit one copy of each printed election campaign material produced at the expense of the electoral funds and using property, which belongs to them, to the Central Election Commission or to the appropriate election commission respectively, not later than within seven days from the production of such material.

7. Any printed materials of election campaign shall contain information about the entity that printed them, their circulation, and persons in charge of the issue.

8. Local bodies of executive power and bodies of local self-government shall, not later than 50 days prior to the election day, assign special areas and furnish them with stands and notice-boards in frequently visited public areas for placing of election campaign materials.

9. Information posters of parties (blocs) shall be the same in terms of their form, size and pattern, as established by the Central Election Commission, and information posters of candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be the same in terms of form, size and pattern as approved by the respective constituency election commission.

10. Information posters shall be transferred to polling districts at least 20 days prior to the election day.

Article 53. General Rules of the Use of Mass-Media

1. Any election campaigns with the use of the mass media of any forms of ownership shall be conducted in compliance with the principle of equal opportunities and under the procedure provided by this Law.

2. An election campaign in the mass media shall be presented in the form of public debates, discussions, round table discussions, press conferences, interviews, speeches, political advertising, television sketches, video films, or other materials about parties (blocs) or candidates for deputy and in other forms that are in compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine.

3. Any party (bloc) shall have the right, at the expense of the funds which are allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections, use the state-owned all-national radio and television channels as well as the newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier" for the purposes of conducting election campaign and on conditions set forth in this Law.

4. Any candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall have the right to use the state-owned and communal mass media, at the expense and within the limits of the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections and on conditions set forth in this Law.

5. The order of providing airing time and printed space at the expense and within the limits of the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections shall be determined by the Central Election Commission.

6. Election campaigns in the mass media of any form ownership at the expense of electoral funds of parties (blocs) or of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be conducted on conditions of equal charges for broadcast time or printing area units and shall be limited only by the upper amount of electoral fund expenditures.

7. Charges for broadcast time and printing area units shall be established by the respective mass media not later than 80 days prior to the election day, in the amount not exceeding commercial advertising charges and shall not be subject to any changes during the election process.

8. In any case of promulgation of results of public opinion polls related to the election of deputies, mass media shall make references to the organization that conducted the poll, the time when it was held, the number of respondents, the methods of data collection, the exact wordings of any posed questions and the statistical value of a possible error.

Article 54. Rules of the Use of Electronic (Audiovisual) Mass Media

1. All television and radio broadcasting organizations shall be obliged to publish in the mass media their charges for one minute (second) of broadcast time not later than 70 days prior to the election day and to communicate the said charges to the Central Election Commission and to constituency election commissions.

2. Broadcast time for conducting election campaigns at the expense and within the limits of the funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections shall be provided by state-owned and communal television and radio broadcasting organizations between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

3. Broadcast time (broadcast schedules) of television and radio broadcasting organizations having the license of the National Council of Ukraine for Radio and Television Broadcasting for the right to use all-national broadcasting channels shall be changed (although without changing the total broadcast time) for the period of election of deputies, in order to enable regional state-owned television and radio broadcasting organizations to distribute their programs and election campaign broadcasts in the respective regions.

4. The total broadcast time given by television and radio broadcasting organizations to a party (bloc) for the purposes of conducting election campaigns at the expense and within the limits of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections shall not be less than 30 minutes on an all-national television channel and 30 minutes on an all-national radio channel, with additional 20 minutes on regional television channels in every region (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts, cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol) and 20 minutes – on regional radio channels in every region.

5. The total broadcast time given by television and radio broadcasting organizations to a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency for the purposes of conducting election campaigns at the expense and within the limits of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections shall not be less than 10 minutes on a regional television channel covering the territory of the respective single-mandate constituency, and 10 minutes on a regional radio broadcasting channel covering the territory of the same single-mandate constituency.

6. Any comments, irrespective of their form, or evaluations as to the content of election campaigns or programs as well as dissemination of any information about a party (bloc) or its candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency, or any candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be forbidden within 20 minutes prior to and within 20 minutes after the television or radio broadcasting of the said election campaign television or radio programs.

7. Broadcast time schedules with specific indications of election campaign television or radio programs and the dates and time of their broadcasting shall be drawn up by the respective state-owned and communal television and radio broadcasting organizations in accordance with the results of casting of lots conducted, respectively, by the Central Election Commission or by constituency election commissions with the participation of representatives or authorized persons of parties (blocs), or, accordingly, candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies or their authorized persons.

8. Results of casting of lots as to distribution of broadcast time for the purposes of conducting election campaigns at the expense of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections shall be publicized in newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier" or, respectively, in the local state-owned and communal mass media within three days from the approval of the said results by the Central Election Commission and constituency election commissions.

9. Payments for the provided broadcast time shall be effected by the Central Election Commission and constituency election commissions in accordance with the estimates approved by them, within the limits of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections and in compliance with the relevant agreements between the Central Election Commission and the National Television Company of Ukraine or the National Radio Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, or, between respective constituency election commissions and regional state-owned or communal television and radio broadcasting organizations.

10. Any broadcast time at the expense of the electoral fund of a party (bloc) or of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be provided under an agreement concluded by an authorized person of the said party (bloc) or candidate for deputy and a television and radio broadcasting organization of any form of ownership. No broadcast time shall be provided without conclusion of such an agreement and transfer of funds onto accounts of the television and radio broadcasting organization.

11. Television and radio broadcasting organizations shall be obliged to make an audio or video recording of any broadcasts containing election campaign information and to keep such recordings until the expiration of thirty days period from the moment of the official promulgation of election results.

12. Television and radio broadcasting organizations of any form of ownership, if so requested in writing by the Central Election Commission, or constituency election commissions, or the National Council of Ukraine for Television and Radio Broadcasting, or the central body of executive power in charge of information policies, television and radio broadcasting, shall be obliged to provide information on assignment of broadcast time for the conduct of election campaign, and, if necessary, furnish copies of relevant agreements, of payment documents, and of the taped or otherwise recorded broadcasts.

Article 55. Rules of the Use of the Printed Mass Media

1. Parties (blocs) shall have the right, at the expense and within the limits of funds which are allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections, to publish their election programs, as submitted by them at the moment of registration of their candidates for deputy, in newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier", the printing patterns of all such publications to be the same and each material to contain not more than seven thousand eight hundred symbols. The agreement on publication of the said materials with the editorial boards of the above newspapers shall be concluded by the Central Election Commission.

2. Candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies shall have the right, at the expense and within the limits of funds which are allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections, to publish their election programs, as submitted by them at the moment of registration, in state-owned or communal printed mass media, the printing patterns of all such publications to be the same. The agreements on publication of the said materials with editorial boards of the indicated media shall be concluded by the respective constituency election commissions.

3. The order of publishing of election programs at the expense of funds which are allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections shall be established by the Central Election Commission and by constituency election commissions by casting of lots with the participation of authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies, or their authorized persons.

4. The results of casting of lots as to the order of publication of election programs of parties (blocs) shall be published in newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier", and, as to the order of publication of election programs of candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies by respective constituency election commissions, in local state-owned or communal newspapers, within three days from their approval.

5. Any party (bloc) or candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall have the right to publish, at the expense of own electoral funds, election campaign materials in printed mass media of any form of ownership.

6. Election campaign materials mentioned above in paragraph five of this Article shall be published in accordance with agreements concluded by authorized persons of parties (blocs) or by candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies with editorial boards of the printed mass media. No such materials shall be published without relevant agreements and transfer of funds onto accounts of the respective printed mass media.

7. Editorial boards of printed mass media of any form of ownership, if so requested by the Central Election Commission or constituency election commissions, shall be obliged to furnish information as to the use of printing areas for the publishing of election campaign materials of parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy, and, if necessary, also provide copies of relevant agreements, payment documents and copies of the requested publications.

Article 56. Restrictions as to Conducting Election Campaigns

1. Participation in election campaigns shall be prohibited to:

a) persons who are not citizens of Ukraine;

b) bodies of executive power and bodies of local self-government as well as officials and employees thereof, and

c) members of election commissions when performing their official duties.

2. In military units (formations) and in penitentiary institutions, conducting of election campaigns shall be restricted. Individual authorized persons of parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy shall not be allowed to visit military units (formations) or penitentiary institutions. Meetings of the said persons with the voters shall be organized by the respective constituency election commissions jointly with commanding officers of military units (formations) or superintendents of penitentiary institutions, with obligatory notification, at least three days prior to the day of the meeting, of all the authorized persons of the parties (blocs) in the relevant constituency and the candidates for deputy registered in that constituency.

3. Dissemination, in any possible form, of materials containing calls to liquidation of the independence of Ukraine, to forcible change of the constitutional order, to violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation, to undermining its security, to illegal cease of the state power, or propagating war or violence, or inter-ethnic, racial or religious conflicts, or threatening human rights and freedoms or human health, shall be prohibited.

4. State-owned or communal mass media as well as their officials, employees and creative staff, shall, in any material or program which is not made under an agreement concluded in compliance with the requirements of Article 54, paragraph eleven and Article 55, paragraph six of this Law and throughout the duration of the election process, not be allowed to campaign for or against candidates for deputy or parties (blocs), or to evaluate election programs thereof, or to impart any preferences in any form. Should this stipulation be violated, upon submission of the Central Election Commission or a respective constituency election commission, the activity of the mass media entity in violation may be temporarily suspended by a court decision.

5. Any mass media entity that promulgated information deemed evidently incorrect by a party (bloc) or a candidate for deputy shall be obligated, not later than within three days from the date of promulgation of the said information and at least two days prior to the election day, to provide an authorized person of the said party (bloc) or of the said candidate for deputy, if they so request, with an opportunity to refute the promulgated information, by granting them the same amount of broadcast time on television or radio, or by publishing the material submitted by the said party (bloc) or candidate for deputy, which shall be printed with the same font under the heading "Refutation" and in the same place of the type page, and be of no smaller size than that of the publication refuted. Any refutation shall bear references to the corresponding publication in the printed mass media or the television or radio broadcast, and the facts being refuted. Such refutation shall be published without any supplements, comments or abridgements and at the expense of the respective mass media entity.

6. Conducting of election campaigns accompanied by giving-out of money or by free or preferential distribution of commodities, services, works, securities, credits, lotteries or any other material values shall be prohibited.

7. The Central Election Commission shall furnish, in state-owned mass media, its explanations as to prohibition of conducting any election campaigns accompanied by giving-out of money or by free or preferential distribution of commodities, services, works, securities, credits, lotteries or any other material values. The text of such explanations shall be approved by the Central Election Commission and published in newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier" on their first pages twice a week, as well as regularly broadcasted by television and radio broadcasting organizations starting from 30 days prior to the election day.

8. Regional state-owned or communal television and radio broadcasting organizations shall not broadcast their products to intervene with the election programs of parties (blocs) broadcasted on all-national broadcasting channels at the expense of funds which are allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections.

9. The central body of executive power in charge of information policies, television and radio broadcasting shall, jointly with state-owned television and radio broadcasting organizations subordinate to that authority, be obligated to ensure the procedure under which broadcasting of a party’s or bloc’s election campaign program on the first all-national television channel should not coincide in time with broadcasting of such program of another party (bloc) on the first all-national radio channel, should the broadcast time for both programs be granted at the expense of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections.

10. Broadcasting of election programs of candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies on channels of regional state-owned or communal television and radio broadcasting organizations shall not coincide in time with broadcasting of election programs of parties (blocs) on all-national broadcasting channels should such broadcast time be granted at the expense of funds allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of elections.

11. Inclusion of any election campaign materials of parties (blocs) or candidates for deputy, or of any political advertising into informational television and radio programs shall be prohibited. Political advertising shall be designated as such and separated from any other materials.

12. Election programs of parties (blocs) and of candidates for deputy shall not be interfered with advertising of goods, services and works or with any other announcements.

13. Conducting of election campaigns in foreign mass media pursuing their activity on the territory of Ukraine shall not be allowed.

14. Mass media of any form of ownership pursuing their activities on the territory of Ukraine shall be prohibited to promulgate, within the last 15 days preceding the day of election, any information on the results of public opinion polls as to attitudes to parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy.

15. No printed election campaign materials and no information about election process developments shall be placed on monuments of architecture or in places where they might impede road safety.

16. No candidate for deputy holding a post (including job combination) in bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, state-owned or communal enterprises, institutions, organizations, or a military unit (formation) may engage in carrying out of his/her election campaign or use for any work related to carrying out of the election campaign his/her subordinates (during working hours), office transportation, communication, equipment, premises or other objects and resources at his/her place of work, as well as use any in-house meeting, production conference or staff meeting for the purposes of election campaigning.

17. Production and dissemination of printed election campaign materials with no indication of the publishing institution, of its circulation or of the information about persons in charge of the issue shall not be allowed.

18. Conduct of election campaigns shall be terminated at 12 p.m. of the last Friday prior to the election day. From the said moment any active conduct of election campaigns (publication of election campaign materials in the printed mass media, distribution of electoral flyers, placement of electoral posters, public appeals as to voting for or against parties (blocs) or candidates for deputy) shall not be allowed. All election campaign materials shall be removed from 12 p.m. of the last Friday prior to the election day by appropriate services of bodies of executive power and bodies of local self-government.

19. No results of polls of voters as to expression of their will at voting may be promulgated before the end of the voting.

20. Any interference with the exercise of the right to conduct election campaign, as well as any violation of the procedure of conducting such campaigns established by law shall entail liability stipulated by laws of Ukraine.

21. Should an election commission receive an application or a complaint as to violations of the requirements set forth in paragraphs three, six and twelve - seventeen of this Article, such commission shall immediately communicate the said application or complaint to the respective law enforcement bodies for verification and response in compliance with laws of Ukraine.

CHAPTER IX. GUARANTEES OF ACTIVITIES OF PARTIES (BLOCS), CANDIDATES FOR DEPUTY, AND OFFICIAL OBSERVERS

Article 57. Guarantees of Activities of Parties (Blocs) in Election Process

1. Any party (bloc) the candidates for deputy of which were nominated in the multi-mandate constituency shall have the right to delegate to the Central Election Commission one representative with the right of deliberative vote, who shall be authorized to represent the interests of his/her party (bloc) in the course of the election process. The candidacy of such representative shall be approved by the central executive body of the respective party (or by the executive body of the bloc).

2. Any citizen of Ukraine with the right to vote may become a representative of a party (bloc) in the Central Election Commission, with the exception of members of election commissions, officials of bodies of state power or bodies of local self-government, military men, privates or senior officers of the bodies of internal affairs of Ukraine and of the Security Service of Ukraine, and persons doing their alternative (non-military) service.

3. An application for registration of a representative of a party (bloc) signed by the leader of the party (or the leaders of the parties in the bloc) and bearing the seal of the party (or seals of the parties in the bloc) as well a copy of the decision of the central executive body of the respective party (or the executive body of the bloc) approving the candidacy of its representative shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission concurrently with the registration of the party’s (bloc’s) candidates for deputy. The application for registration of a representative of a party (bloc) shall indicate his/her surname, first name, patronymic, citizenship, day, month and year of birth, place of work, employment position (occupation), residential address, and telephone number. The application shall be accompanied by the written consent of the said person to represent the interests of the party (bloc) in the Central Election Commission.

4. The Central Election Commission shall register the representative of the party (bloc) in the Central Election Commission with the right of deliberative vote not later than within three working days from the receipt of the documents indicated above in paragraph three of this Article and shall issue the representative with credentials compliant with the form established by the Central Election Commission. Should the registration of candidates for deputy on the electoral list of any party (bloc) be refused or cancelled, or in the event that a party (bloc) loses its status of the subject of the election process for any other reason, the authority of the representative of such party (bloc) in the Central Election Commission shall be deemed terminated from the moment of emergence of the said circumstances.

5. Any party (bloc) – subject of election process may have not more than five authorized persons at the level of the multi-mandate constituency and one authorized person in each single-mandate constituency. An authorized person of a party (bloc) – subject of election process may not be a candidate for deputy and shall meet all the requirements indicated in paragraph two of this Article. The list of authorized persons with the obligatory indication of respective constituencies shall be approved by the central executive body of the party (or by the executive body of the bloc).

6. An application for registration of authorized persons of a party (bloc) signed by the leader of the party (or leaders of the parties in the bloc) and bearing the applied seal of the party (or seals of the parties in the bloc) as well a copy of the decision of the central executive body of the respective party (or the executive body of the bloc) approving the list of the authorized persons shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission any time after the registration of candidates for deputy included into the electoral list of the party (bloc). An application for registration of authorized persons of a party (bloc) shall indicate each authorized person’s surname, first name, patronymic, citizenship, day, month and year of birth, place of work, employment position (occupation), residential address, and telephone number. The application shall be accompanied by written consents of all authorized persons to represent the interests of the party (bloc) in the respective constituencies.

7. The Central Election Commission shall register authorized persons of a party (bloc) not later than within three working days from the receipt of the documents indicated above in paragraph six of this Article and shall provide a representative of the party (bloc) with credentials of the registered authorized persons compliant with the form established by the Central Election Commission. In the event a party (bloc) loses its status of a subject of the election process, the authority of the authorized persons of such party (bloc) shall be deemed withdrawn from the moment of emergence of the said circumstances.

8. Any representative or authorized person of a party (bloc) from the moment of his/her registration by the Central Election Commission and until termination of the said authority or of the election process shall have the right to be relieved from his/her work or service duties without retention of salary and upon agreement of the owner of the employing enterprise, institution, organization and an authorized body thereof.

9. Any representative or authorized person of a party (bloc) shall have the right to submit a resignation notice to the Central Election Commission at any time prior to the election day.

10. The executive body of a party (bloc) which approved its representative or authorized person may at any time prior to the election day make a decision on revoking the said representative or authorized person and approve another candidacy in his/her place. The relevant application, the copy of the said decision and other documents shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission in accordance with the procedure specified in paragraphs three and six of this Article.

11. The Central Election Commission shall pass its decision on cancellation of registration of a representative of a party (bloc) or of an authorized person thereof on the grounds of the application submitted as set forth in paragraph nine or ten of this Article not later than within three working days from its receipt, or, in the event of such application being submitted on the day before the election or on the election day, - immediately. The copy of the said decision shall be given to the representative of the respective party (bloc) or communicated to the address of the executive body of the party (bloc).

12. Any representative or authorized person of a party (bloc) whose authority is withdrawn before the end of the election process shall immediately return his/her credentials to the Central Election Commission.

13. Any representative of a party (bloc) in the Central Election Commission shall have the following rights:

1) to attend all meetings of the Central Election Commission where issues related to the election of deputies are discussed, and to take part in the relevant discussions;

2) to get familiarized with the contents of minutes of meetings of the Central Election Commission and with its decisions, as well as to receive copies of such decisions;

3) to get immediate access to minutes, telephone messages and other official notices received by the Central Election Commission from constituency election commissions, results of voting in the respective single-mandate constituency, as well as minutes of the respective polling district election commissions on the counting of votes;

4) other rights stipulated in this Law.

14. An authorized person of a party (bloc):

1) shall assist his/her party (bloc) in its participation in the election process, including in the conduct of election campaign;

2) shall represent the interests of his/her party (bloc) in relations with election commissions (except for the Central Election Commission), bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, electors, and other subjects of the election process on the territory of the respective constituency;

3) may take part, with the right of deliberative vote, in the meetings of election commissions (except for the Central Election Commission) on the territory of the respective constituency;

4) shall have the right to be present at a polling station during the voting and at the meeting of the polling district election commission during the counting of votes, although with restrictions as indicated in Article 25, paragraph nine of this Law;

5) should any violations of this Law be revealed, shall have the right to write a relevant statement, such statement to be signed by the authorized person and at least two electors in witness of the revealed facts and to be submitted to the respective election commission;

6) shall have other rights set forth in this Law.

Article 58. Guarantees of Activity of Candidates for Deputy

1. No candidate for deputy, except for candidates for deputy who are people’s deputies of Ukraine, may be refused dispensing from his/her production or service duties at work with provision of unpaid vacation for the period of election campaign.

2. In the course of election campaign no candidate for deputy may be dismissed from work on the initiative of the owner of his/her enterprise, institution, organization, or the body authorized by the owner, or the commanding officer of his/her military unit (formation). No candidate for deputy may be without his/her consent moved to another position, or dispatched on a business trip, or enrolled into military or alternative (non-military) service, or summoned to training (inspection) and special events for the military reserve.

3. Any candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency may nominate not more than five citizens having the right to vote as his/her authorized persons.

4. Authorized persons of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall be registered by the respective election commission in accordance with the candidate’s application, on condition that written consents of the said persons are available. The application shall indicate the authorized person’s surname, first name, patronymic, citizenship, day, month and year of birth, place of work, employment position (occupation), residential address, and telephone number. The application shall be accompanied by the written consent of the said person to represent the interests of the applying candidate for deputy. The constituency election commission shall register the authorized persons of the candidate for deputy within three working days from the receipt of the above application and issue them with credentials in accordance with the form established by the Central Election Commission.

5. Persons indicated in the second sentence of Article 57, paragraph two of this Law shall not be registered as authorized persons of candidates for deputy.

6. Authorized persons of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall assist the candidate in the conduct of the election process and represent his/her interests in relations with election commissions, bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government, mass media, public associations and electors.

7. Authorized persons of a candidate for deputy shall acquire their authority from the date of registration by a constituency election commission. The authority of these persons shall terminate from the date of a decision canceling registration of the respective candidate for deputy in a single-mandate constituency or from the day of registration of the elected people’s deputy of Ukraine.

8. Authorized persons of a candidate for deputy, from the moment of their registration and until termination of the election process, shall have the right to be dispensed from their working or service duties without retention of salary and upon agreement of the owner of the employing enterprise, institution, organization and a body authorized by the owner.

9. Any candidate for deputy shall have the right, at any time prior to the day of election, to apply to the constituency election commission for termination of the authority of his/her authorized person and to submit documents for registration of another authorized person in compliance with the provisions of this Law.

10. Any authorized person of a candidate for deputy shall have the right to submit a resignation notice to the constituency election commission at any time prior to the election day.

11. The respective constituency election commission shall pass its decision on cancellation of registration of an authorized person of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency on the basis of the relevant application submitted as set forth in paragraph nine or ten of this Article and not later than within three working days from its receipt, or, in the event of such application being submitted on the day before the election or on the election day, immediately. The copy of the said decision shall be communicated to the candidate for deputy.

12. In the event stipulated above, the former authorized person of a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency, whose credentials have been cancelled until the end of election process, shall immediately return his/her credentials to the constituency election commission, which issued such credentials.

Article 59. Official Observers

1. Official observers from parties (blocs) the candidates for deputy of which were registered in the multi-mandate constituency, or named by candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies, may take part in the election process. Official observers from foreign states and international organizations may conduct observations of the course of election process.

2. The authority of official observers shall commence from the day of their registration by the respective election commission in accordance with the procedure set forth in this Law and shall terminate after the Central Election Commission establishes deputies election results.

3. The election commission that has registered an official observer may terminate his/her authority ahead of time in the event that such official observer violates the laws of Ukraine on elections of deputies. A motivated decision shall be taken regarding termination of the authority of the official observer.

Article 60. Official Observers from Parties (Blocs) and Candidates for Deputy

1. Any citizen of Ukraine having the right to vote, who is not a member of any election commission, may be an official observer from a party (bloc) the candidates for deputy of which were registered in the multi-mandate constituency, or from a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency.

2. An official observer from a party (bloc) or a candidate for deputy indicated in paragraph one of this Article shall be registered by the constituency election commission in accordance with submissions of, respectively, executive bodies of rayon, city (or rayon of city), or higher level organizations of the party (or organizations of the parties constituting the bloc) or of the candidate for deputy.

3. Submissions as to registration of official observers shall carry indications of their surnames, first names, patronymics, citizenships, residential addresses, and telephone numbers. Such a submission shall be supplemented with the written consents of the official observers to act in such capacity on behalf of the respective parties (blocs) or candidates for deputy.

4. An application as to registration of an official observer from a party (bloc) shall be signed by the head of rayon, city (or rayon of city), or higher level organizations of party (or organization of the parties constituting the bloc) or by the candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency, and shall be submitted to the respective constituency election commission not later than five days prior to the election day.

5. The respective constituency election commission shall issue the official observers with credentials in accordance with the form established by the Central Election Commission.

6. An official observer shall have the right:

1) to be present at polling stations during the voting, to observe, at any distance although causing no physical hindrance, actions of the commission members, including in the course of giving out of ballots to voters and counting of votes;

2) to photograph, to film, and to make audio and video recordings;

3) to be present when members of the election commission are given ballots to organize voting of electors outside the voting premises or when the said voting takes place;

4) to attend, in compliance with the requirements of this Law, meetings of the polling district and constituency election commissions, with respect to provisions set forth in Article 25, paragraph nine of this Law, including at the time of counting votes and establishing election results in a single-mandate constituency;

5) to apply to the respective election commission as to elimination of violations of this Law, should such violations be revealed;

6) to write a statement as to any revealed violation of this Law, such statement to be signed by the official observer and by at least two other persons in witness of the revealed fact of violation, with indications of their surnames, first names, patronymics, residential addresses, and to further submit such statement to the respective election commission within terms stipulated in Article 29 of this Law, and

7) to have other rights provided by this Law.

7. An official observer shall have no right

1) to interfere in the work of an election commission, to take actions disturbing the course of the election process or hindering members of the election commission from exercise of their authority;

2) to fill in ballots instead of voters (even if they so request);

3) to be present in the booth (room) assigned for secret voting when a voter fills in his/her ballot.

8. Should an official observer violate any of the requirements of paragraph seven of this Article, a polling district election commission may deprive him/her of the right to be present in the polling station premises during the voting or to attend meetings of the election commission.

9. The executive body of republic, in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblast, and city, in cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, organizations of parties (or organizations of the parties constituting the bloc), or a candidate for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency shall have the right to revoke an appointed official observer, to apply in writing to the respective constituency election commission regarding termination of the official observer’s authority and to submit documents as to registration of another official observer in accordance with the procedure set forth in this Law.

10. An official observer shall, at any time, have the right to apply to a constituency election commission for termination of his/her authority. On the grounds of such application, the constituency election commission shall make its decision and communicate a copy thereof to the authorized person of the party (bloc) or to the candidate for deputy.

Article 61. Official Observers from Foreign States and International Organizations

1. Official observers from foreign states and international organizations shall be registered by the Central Election Commission. Proposals with respect to their registration shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission not later than 10 days prior to the election day, either directly or through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

2. The Central Election Commission shall pass its decisions on registration of official observers from foreign states and international organizations not later than 5 days prior to the election day.

3. The Central Election Commission shall issue official observers from foreign states and international organizations with credentials in accordance with the established form.

4. Official observers from foreign states and international organizations shall exercise their authority on the territory of Ukraine.

5. An official observer from a foreign country or an international organization shall have the rights as follows:

1) to attend meetings of candidates for deputy and authorized persons of parties (blocs) with electors, as well as pre-election conventions, rallies, and meetings of constituency election commissions;

2) to get familiarized with materials of election campaigns;

3) to be present in polling districts during the voting and counting of votes or when results of the election are established;

4) to photograph, to film, and to make audio- and video-recordings;

5) to express his/her own proposals as to organization of deputies elections and improvement of the now effective legislation of Ukraine in view of the international experience, and to hold press conferences in compliance with the requirements of the laws of Ukraine;

6) to establish, in cooperation with other observers from foreign states and international organizations and in coordination with the Central Election Commission, ad hoc groups of observers for the purpose of coordinating their activities within the limits of authority stipulated in this Law.

6. Official observers from foreign states and international organizations shall observe the elections independently and on their own.

7. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, other bodies of executive power, bodies of local self-government and election commissions shall cooperate with official observers from foreign states and international organizations in the exercise of their authority.

8. The activities of official observers from foreign states and international organizations shall be funded and otherwise provided for at the expense of nations or organizations that dispatched them to Ukraine, or at such observers’ own expense.

9. Official observers from foreign states and international organizations shall have no right to make use of their status in any activities having no relation to observing the elections, or to interfere with the proceedings of election commissions.

CHAPTER X. VOTING AND ESTABLISHING RESULTS OF DEPUTIES ELECTIONS

Article 62. Ballot

1. The form and text of a ballot for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and the form of a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency shall be approved by the Central Election Commission no later than 32 days prior to the day of elections. The text of a ballot for voting in single-mandate constituency shall be approved by the appropriate constituency election commission no later than 25 days prior to the day of elections.

2. Ballots shall be documents of rigorous accountability.

3. A ballot shall contain the name and date of elections, an indication of the type of a constituency (multi-mandate all-state constituency or single-mandate constituency), the number of the single-mandate constituency, as well as designated places for the inscription of the number of the polling district, for the seal of the constituency election commission, and for the inscription of the surname and initials and the signature of the member of the polling district election commission who will issue the ballot.

4. A ballot for voting in the multi-mandate constituency shall indicate the full name of every party (bloc, with mandatory indication of the names of the parties constituting the bloc), as well as the surnames, first names, patronymics of the first five candidates for deputy included in the electoral list of the party (bloc). An empty square should be placed to the right of every party's (bloc's) name. The names of the parties (blocs) shall be placed on the ballot in the order established through casting of lots conducted by the Central Election Commission with the participation of representatives of the parties (blocs) after the registration of candidates for deputy included in the electoral lists of the parties (blocs) but not later than 32 days before the election day. After the listing of parties (blocs), the following shall be inscribed: "I do not support candidates for people’s deputy of Ukraine from any political party, election bloc of political parties", and an empty square should be placed to the right of these words.

5. A ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency shall inscribe the information in the alphabetical order of surnames of the candidates for deputy registered in this constituency, indicating the surname, first name, patronymic, date of birth, place of residence, place of work (occupation), party affiliation of the person nominated as a candidate for deputy. An empty square shall be placed to the right of the information on each candidate for deputy. The following shall be inscribed on the ballot after listing the surnames of all candidates for people’s deputy: "I do not support any of the candidates for people’s deputy of Ukraine", and an empty square should be placed to the right of these words.

6. A ballot shall contain explanation as to the procedure for completion of the ballot during voting.

7. A ballot shall have a control check, separated from the ballot by the line for separation. The control check shall contain the name and the date of the elections, an indication of the type of a constituency (the multi-mandate all-state constituency or a single-mandate constituency), the number of the single-mandate constituency, as well as designated places for the number of the polling district, the number of the voter in the voters’ list of voters in this district, the signature of the voter receiving the ballot, and for the surname, initials and signature of the member of the polling district election commission who will issue the ballot.

Article 63. The Procedure for Production of Ballots

1. The Central Election Commission shall provide for the centralized production of ballots by state-owned printing enterprises no later than 10 days before the election day on the basis of agreements concluded by it with such printing enterprises.

2. Technological waste, printing spoilage, as well as printing forms shall be destroyed according to procedure and within the time period established in the agreement for ballot production.

3. Ballots shall be received by the Central Election Commission in original wrapping of a producer enterprise.

4. Ballots for voting in the relevant constituency shall be printed on the same paper in accordance with the form established by the Central Election Commission and the text approved by the appropriate election commission, and should be equal in size, color and content. Ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and in single-mandate constituencies shall be printed on paper of different color.

5. A ballot shall be printed in the state language, shall consist of one page, and its text shall be placed on one side only.

6. At a polling district formed on a vessel which is at sea on the day of elections flying the State Flag of Ukraine or at a polar station of Ukraine, ballots may, as an exception on permission of the Central Election Commission, be produced directly by the respective polling district election commission.

7. In the event that a decision on the registration of a candidate for deputy from a party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency or on the registration of candidates for deputy in a single-mandate constituency has been revoked after ballots are produced, the Central Election Commission or the appropriate constituency election commission, respectively, shall adopt a decision regarding the introduction of changes to the ballot or regarding reprinting of such ballot. Such changes, in accordance with the decision of, respectively, the Central Election Commission or the appropriate constituency election commission, shall be introduced to the ballots by members of polling district election commissions by means of an appropriate stamp. Every voter should be notified of the changes introduced to the ballot when the ballot is given out.

Article 64. The Procedure for Transferring Ballots to Election Commissions

1. A constituency election commission shall receive ballots from the Central Election Commission at the meeting of the former. The constituency election commission shall complete minutes on the receipt of ballots according to the form established by the Central Election Commission. The minutes shall be completed in triplicate, and every copy of the minutes shall be signed by all members of the constituency election commission and by representatives of the Central Election Commission present during the handing over of the ballots. The first copy of the minutes shall be delivered to the Central Election Commission, the second shall be kept by the constituency election commission, and the third copy shall be immediately posted in the premises of the constituency election commission for general familiarization.

2. No earlier than three days before the election day, at its meeting, the constituency election commission shall hand over the ballots to polling district election commissions. On behalf of every polling district election commission, no less than three members of such polling district election commission, who must be representatives of different parties (blocs), shall receive the ballots.

3. Minutes shall be drawn up regarding the handing over of ballots from the constituency election commission to polling district election commissions according to the form established by the Central Election Commission, indicating the following:

1) the number of the single-mandate constituency;

2) the number of the polling district;

3) the total number of voters in the polling district in accordance with the voters’ list on the day of drawing up of the minutes;

4) the numbers of ballots handed over to the polling district for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and in the single-mandate constituency;

5) the surnames and signatures of the members of the polling district election commission who received the ballots.

4. Minutes of handing over of ballots to polling district election commissions shall be completed in triplicate and signed by all members of the constituency election commission present at the meeting. The first copy of the minutes shall be sent to the Central Election Commission, the second shall be kept by the constituency election commission, and the third copy shall be immediately posted in the premises of the constituency election commission for general familiarization. An excerpt from the minutes shall be handed over to every polling district election commission that received ballots.

5. Ballots shall be delivered to polling district election commissions formed at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad and in military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine, in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission.

6. Ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and a single-mandate constituency shall be delivered to polling district election commissions in the number which is equal to the number of citizens entered in the voters’ list in the respective polling district, supplemented by a reserve the amount of which shall be established by the Central Election Commission.

7. Every member of the constituency election commission, every authorized person of a party (bloc), a candidate for deputy or his/her authorized person shall be entitled to receive copies of minutes of the receipt of ballots from the Central Election Commission and of the handing over of ballots to the polling district election commission, signed by the head and the secretary of the polling district election commission and attested with the commission’s seal, but no more than one copy of each minutes per each party (bloc) or each candidate for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency which they represent.

8. Members of the polling district election commission shall transport ballots to the premises of the polling district election commission accompanied by an officer of internal affairs bodies.

9. On the day of receipt of ballots by the polling district election commission from the constituency election commission at the meeting of the former, members of the polling district election commission shall inscribe the polling district number and affix the seal of the polling district election commission in the designated places of each ballot, and, in the designated places of each control check, the polling district number.

10. Ballots shall be kept in the premises of the polling district election commission in a safe (metal box) sealed by a tape with putting signatures of all members of the polling district election commission present at the meeting on it, and sealed with the seal of the polling district election commission.

Article 65. Premises for Voting

1. Voting shall be conducted in specially allotted premises equipped with an sufficient number of booths (rooms) for secret voting and with designated places for issuing ballots.

2. Ballot boxes shall be placed in such a way that voters, when approaching them, were able to walk through the booths (rooms) for secret voting.

3. Premises for voting should be arranged in such a way that places where ballots are issued, entrance to booths (rooms) for secret voting and exit from such booths (rooms), and ballot boxes were within the field of vision of the members of the polling district election commission and of the persons authorized to be present in the premises for voting under this Law.

4. In the premises for voting or directly in front of the premises, posters shall be placed by the polling district election commission explaining the voting procedure and informing of the liability for any breach of legislation on elections of deputies, as well as electoral lists of candidates for deputies from each party (bloc) in the multi-mandate constituency, and information posters of parties (blocs) placed in the order in which the parties (blocs) appear in the ballot, and information posters of the candidates for deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency placed in the alphabetical order.

Article 66. Organization and Procedure of Voting

1. Voting shall be conducted on the day of elections from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. At polling districts established at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine, the voting shall be conducted using local time of the country where such polling districts were established.

2. A polling district election commission shall inform voters about the time and place of voting no later than 10 days prior to the day when it is held, and, in the exceptional cases of polling district forming pursuant to Article 17, paragraph seven of this Law, on the eve of the election day.

3. The polling district election commission shall be responsible for organizing voting, for equipping premises for voting and maintaining proper order in them, and for ensuring the secrecy of voters' will.

4. No earlier than thirty minutes before the voting commences, the polling district election commission shall hold a meeting during which the safe (metal box) containing ballots shall be opened. On the grounds of the excerpt from the minutes of the constituency election commission on the handing over of ballots to polling district election commission, the head of the polling district election commission shall announce the number of ballots received by the polling district election commission. This information shall be entered to the minutes of the polling district election commission on counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate constituency and the single-mandate constituency, respectively.

5. In the event that any damage to the tape sealing the safe (metal box) is discovered, the polling district election commission shall immediately inform the law-enforcement agencies and the constituency election commission about that and shall undertake the recount of ballots on which a report shall be drawn up signed by all members of the polling district election commission present at the recount and certified with the seal of the polling district election commission.

6. Before the voting commences, the head of the polling district election commission shall provide access for inspection of all ballot boxes to members of the polling district election commission, to the attending authorized persons of parties (blocs), to candidates for people’s deputies and authorized persons thereof, to official observers, and to representatives of mass media. Following the inspection, ballot boxes shall be sealed or the seal of the polling district election commission shall be attached to them. A control sheet shall be inserted in every ballot box used for voting in the polling district, inscribed with the number of the single-mandate constituency, the number of the polling district, the time of its insertion in the ballot box, and the surnames of the head, deputy head, secretary and other members of the polling district election commission, of the authorized persons of parties (blocs), of the candidates for deputies and their authorized persons, of the official observers from parties (blocs), and of the candidates for deputies registered in the single-mandate constituency present at this act. All these persons shall sign the control sheet and their signatures shall be certified with the seal of the polling district election commission.

7. Based on the list of voters for the respective polling district, provided that a voter produces one of the documents as stipulated by paragraph two of Article 2 of this Law, a member of the polling district election commission shall issue the voter with one ballot for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and one ballot for voting in single-mandate constituency. Voting ballots may be issued to a voter who is located in a criminal executive establishment upon presentation by him/her of a relevant card (certificate) issued by the criminal executive establishment, which must indicate his full name, date of birth, nationality, a photograph of the person, signature of the head and stamp of the establishment. The voter shall sign for the receipt of the aforesaid ballot in the determined places on the control checks of each ballot and in the list of voters. The member of the polling district election commission who issued the ballots shall inscribe his/her surname and initials and put his/her signature in the designated places on the ballots and the controlling checks. It is prohibited to make any marks on ballots.

8. A voter who, on the election day, arrives for voting at a polling district, producing a certificate of the removal from a list of voters, shall be included in the list of voters in accordance with the procedure established by Article 31, paragraph seven of this Law. Ballots shall be issued to such a voter in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph seven of this Article.

9. A voter may stay in the premises for voting as long as it is necessary for casting vote.

10. Ballots shall be filled in by a voter personally in a booth (room) for secret voting. The presence of other persons during the completing of ballots shall be prohibited. A voter who cannot fill in a ballot on his/her own because of physical incapacity, has the right upon giving notice of this to the head or other member of the polling district election commission, to resort to the help of another person except for the members of the election commission, candidates for deputy, authorized persons thereof, authorized persons of parties (blocs), or official observers.

11. Voter shall have no right to transfer his/her ballot to other persons. Receiving ballots from other persons (except for authorized member of election commission who issues ballots), inducing or compelling voters to transfer ballots to other persons by way of bribery, threats or in any other way, shall be forbidden.

12. On a ballot for voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency, a voter shall make a mark "plus" (+) or any other mark revealing the voter's intentions in the square beside the name of the party (bloc) for the candidates for deputy of which he/she votes. A voter may vote for the candidates for deputy of only one party (bloc), or refuse to support candidates for people’s deputy from any party (bloc). If a voter does not support candidates for deputy from any party (bloc), such voter shall make a mark "plus" (+) or any other mark revealing the voter's intentions in the square beside the words: "I do not support candidates for people’s deputy of Ukraine from any political party, election bloc of political parties".

13. On a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency the voter shall make a mark "plus" (+) or any other mark revealing the voter's intentions in the square beside the name of the candidate for deputy for whom he/she votes. A voter may vote for only one candidate for deputy or refuse to support any candidate for deputy. If a voter does not support any candidate for people’s deputy in a single-mandate constituency, such voter shall make a mark "plus" (+) or any other mark revealing the voter's intentions in the square beside the words: "I do not support any of the candidates for people’s deputy of Ukraine".

14. A voter shall insert completed ballots into a ballot box. A voter who cannot insert ballots into a ballot box on his/her own because of physical incapacity, shall have the right, upon giving a notice of this to the head or other member of the polling district election commission, to ask another person to do this, except for the members of the election commission, candidates for deputy, authorized persons thereof, authorized persons of any parties (blocs), or official observers.

15. In the event of any damage to a ballot box during voting, the ballot box shall be sealed by the head together with at least three members of the polling district election commission who shall be representatives of different parties (blocs) in such a way as to make insertion of any ballots impossible. Such ballot box shall not be used until the completion of voting.

16. In the event that a voter made an error while filling in a ballot, such voter may without delay apply in writing to the member of the polling district election commission who issued him/her with the ballot with the request to be issued with another ballot. The member of the polling district election commission shall issue another ballot to such voter in accordance with the procedure established by paragraph eight of this Article, but only in return for the spoilt ballot, and shall put the appropriate sign and his/her signature in the list of voters beside the surname of the voter. The spoilt ballot shall be cancelled forthwith as unused, and an appropriate report shall be drawn up. When counting votes, such spoilt and cancelled ballot with the control check shall be counted as unused and shall be put in the package of unused ballots.

17. At 8 p.m., the head of the polling district election commission shall announce the completion of the voting. After this announcement, only those voters who are in the premises for voting shall have the right to cast their votes. When the last voter leaves the premises for voting, the premises shall be closed, and only members of the polling district election commission and such persons that are entitled by this Law to attend the meeting of the polling district election commission, shall stay there.

18. At a polling district formed on a vessel flying the State Flag of Ukraine or at a polar station of Ukraine, the polling district election commission may declare voting completed before the time specified in the first paragraph of this Article, provided that all voters on the list of voters have already took part in the voting.

Article 67. Procedure for Organizing Voting Outside Voting Premises

1. A voter who cannot personally come to voting premises due to health reasons shall have the right to apply to the appropriate polling district election commission with a written request to grant him/her the opportunity to vote outside the voting premises. Such a written request may be submitted no later than twelve hours before the voting begins. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to polling districts formed at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad.

2. Voter’ request to vote outside voting premises shall be registered by the polling district election commission in a separate register with indication of the day and hour of receipt, the surname, first name, patronymic and the place of residence of such voter.

3. On the basis of requests referred to in paragraph one of this Article, the polling district election commission shall, prior to the election day, upon the termination of the period established for submission of such requests, make an excerpt from the list of voters according to the form established by the Central Election Commission for this purpose. In so doing, the secretary of the polling district election commission shall inscribe in the list of voters in the column "Signature of Voter": "votes at home".

4. Voting of voters outside the premises for voting shall be organized by no less than three members of the polling district election commission appointed by this election commission. Such members of the polling district election commission should be representatives of different parties (blocs).

5. Voting outside the premises for voting shall be organized in such a way as to allow voters to vote not later than one hour before the closing time.

6. The head of the polling district election commission shall announce that some members of the polling district election commission are leaving to organize the voting outside the premises for voting. These members of the polling district election commission shall be issued with a necessary quantity of ballots, an extract from the voters’ list and a sealed ballot box with a checklist cast into it. The check list shall indicate the time (hour, minutes) of the commission members’ departure to conduct the voting outside the voting premises, the number of ballots received, and the surnames and initials of the polling district election commission members whom the ballots were given to. The checklist shall be signed by present members of the polling district election commission, authorized persons of parties (blocs), official observers from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

7. Official observers shall have the right to be present at the voting outside the voting premises.

8. In organizing voting outside the voting premises, a member of the polling district election commission shall issue a voter, on the basis of the extract from the voters’ list and on the condition that the voter presents one of the documents stipulated by paragraph two of Article 2 of this Law, with one ballot for voting in the multi-mandate and one ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency. The voter shall sign on the control check of each ballot and on the extract from the voters’ list. Then the member of the polling district election commission shall inscribe his/her name and initials and sign in the designated places on the ballots and control checks. The voter shall fill in the ballots in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Article 69, paragraphs twelve and thirteen of this Law and put them into the ballot box.

9. After the voting outside the voting premises has been completed, the polling district election commission member who issued the ballots to the voter shall put the words "voted at home" against that voter’s name in the voters’ list, and put his/her signature, surname and initials.

10. The excerpt from the voters’ list in accordance with which the voting outside the voting premises was conducted shall be attached to the voters’ list as its inseparable part. The voters’ written requests on the basis of which this voting was organized shall also be attached to the voters’ list.

Article 68. Procedure of Counting of Votes in a Polling District

1. The votes shall be counted openly and transparently by members of the polling district election commission at its meeting, which shall be held in the same premises where the voting took place.

2. The meeting of the polling district election commission shall begin immediately after the end of the voting, proceed without a break and end after minutes on the counting of votes in the polling district in the single- and multi-mandate constituencies are signed.

3. If necessary, at the beginning of its meeting, the polling district election commission may consider the issues contained in paragraph eight of Article 25 of this Law.

4. The polling district election commission shall count the votes in the sequence of the provisions of this Article.

5. Should any additions be made to the voters’ list during the voting, it shall be signed by the head and the secretary of the polling district election commission and sealed with the commission’s seal after the end of the voting.

6. On the basis of the voters’ list, the polling district election commission shall determine the number of voters in that district. That number shall be announced and entered into the minutes of the counting of votes cast by voters in the polling district for the multi-mandate and single-mandate constituencies.

7. The polling district election commission shall count the unused ballots separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies. The number of such ballots for each of the constituencies shall be announced and entered in the minutes of the counting of votes cast by voters in the polling district for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies respectively. An unused ballot shall be canceled by separating its bottom right corner. Canceled unused ballots, together with those referred to in Article 66, paragraph sixteen of this Law, shall be packed separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies. The packages shall have the inscriptions "Unused ballots for the multi-mandate constituency" or "Unused ballots for the single-mandate constituency", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the number of polling district, the number of the ballots packed in the relevant constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members, and the commission’s seal.

8. The polling district election commission shall count the number of the voters who have received their ballots by the number of signatures in the voters’ list.

9. The polling district election commission shall count the number of control checks from the ballots with the signatures of voters and the polling district election commission members who issued them, separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies. The number of control checks for each of these constituencies shall be announced.

10. If the number of the control checks indicated in paragraph eight of this Article corresponds to the number of the voters who received the ballots referred to in paragraph seven of this Article, this number shall be announced and entered into the relevant minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district (the column titled "Number of voters who received ballots").

11. Should the number of control checks referred to in paragraph eight of this Article not correspond to the number of the voters’ signatures in the list of the voters who have received ballots, the polling district election commission shall draw up an act indicating the reason for that divergence established by the commission’s decision. The present members of the polling district election commission shall sign the act. Present authorized persons of the party (bloc), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures. After that, the commission shall decide on the establishing the number of the voters who have received ballots for voting in the respective constituency. This number shall be announced and entered in the relevant minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district.

12. The voters’ list, the attached excerpt from the list of voters stipulated by paragraph three of Article 67 of this Law, absentee ballots and the voters’ requests for giving them an opportunity to vote outside voting premises shall be packed in a separate package. The package shall have the inscription "Voters’ list", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members present, and the commission’s seal.

13. Control checks of ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and those of ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency shall be packed in separate packages. The packages shall bear the inscriptions "Control checks for the multi-mandate constituency" and "Control checks for the single-mandate constituency", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members present, and the commission’s seal.

14. Before opening ballot boxes, the polling district election commission shall check whether the sums of unused ballots for the multi-mandate and single-mandate constituencies each corresponds to the number of voters who have received ballots and the number of ballots for that constituency received by the commission. Should these data not coincide, the polling district election commission shall draw up an act indicating the reason it has established for this divergence. The present members of the commission shall sign the act. Present authorized persons of a party (bloc), candidates for deputy, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

15. The polling district election commission shall verify the integrity of seals on ballot boxes.

16. Should it find a the seal on a ballot box was damaged, the commission shall draw up an act indicating the nature of the damage established, and that act shall be signed by the present commission members. Present authorized persons of a party (bloc), candidates for deputy, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

17. The polling district election commission shall open the ballot boxes one by one. The ballot boxes used in the voting outside the voting premises shall be opened in the first place. Those found to have damaged seals or other damage established in the course of the voting, if any, shall be the last to be opened.

18. When an undamaged ballot box is opened, its contents shall be poured onto the table at which the polling district election commission members are sitting, and the presence of the checklist in the box shall be verified. Ballots from a damaged ballot box shall be taken out one by one and not mixed. The polling district election commission shall count the number of ballots in the box separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies.

19. Should the check list be absent from the ballot box, the polling district election commission shall draw up a relevant act in accordance with the procedure set up by this Article, stating the number of ballots to be found in that particular ballot box. Those ballots shall not be taken into account when determining of the total number of voters who took part in the voting, and in the counting of the votes separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies.

20. Should there be any doubt as to the authenticity of the checklist, the polling district election commission shall take a decision to exclude the ballots contained in the ballot box from the counting of the total number of voters who took part in the voting.

21. The ballots to be excluded from the counting of the voters who took part in the voting and the counting of the votes cast shall be packed separately for the multi- and the single mandate constituencies. The packages shall bear the inscriptions "Ballots not to be counted for the multi-mandate constituency" or "Ballots not to be counted for the single-mandate constituency", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling district number, the number of ballots packed for the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members present and the commission’s seal.

22. Ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency shall be separated from those for voting in a single-mandate one. The polling district election commission shall count the total number of ballots separately for the multi-mandate and the single-mandate constituencies.

23. When counting ballots, the commission member appointed by the commission shall count the votes out loud. All objects that are not ballots of the established form shall be piled up separately and not counted. Should there be any doubt whether an object is a ballot, the polling district shall resolve this question by voting. At this, every commission member shall have the right to personally inspect the object. For the time it takes to inspect the object, the counting of ballots shall stop. Objects that are not ballots shall be packed into a separate package. The package shall bear the inscription "Objects", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling district number, the number of ballots packed for the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members present and the commission’s seal.

24. After the counting of ballots in all ballot boxes in accordance with the requirements of paragraph twenty one of this Article, the election commission shall count the total number of ballots in ballot boxes for the multi- and single-mandate constituencies, with the exception of the ballots not eligible for counting in accordance with paragraphs eighteen and nineteen of this Article, and thereby establish the number of voters who took part in the voting for the multi- and the single-mandate constituencies respectively. Each of these numbers shall be announced and entered in the respective minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district.

25. Ballots in the multi-mandate constituency shall be put in places marked by separate tablets having the names of parties (blocs), inscriptions "invalid" and "against all" on both sides. After that, ballots in a single-mandate constituency shall be put in places marked by separate tablets having the surnames of the deputies registered in that single-mandate constituency, and inscriptions "invalid" and "against all" on both sides.

26. When sorting out ballots, the commission member appointed by the commission shall show each ballot to all the other commission members, announcing the voter’s will. Should there be any doubt as to the content of the ballot, the election commission shall resolve the question by voting. In so doing, each member of the commission shall have the right to personally inspect the ballot. For the time it takes to inspect the ballot, the work with other ballots shall stop.

27. The following ballots shall be considered invalid:

1) having no seal of the appropriate polling district election commission;

2) having no surname and/or signature of the member of the polling district election commission who issued it;

3) having more than one mark (for multi-mandate constituency ballots) against the names of parties (blocs), or against the name of a party (bloc) and the phrase "I do not support candidates for deputy from any party (bloc)";

4) having more than one mark (for single-mandate constituency ballots) against the surnames of candidates for deputy or the surname of a candidate for deputy and the phrase "I do not support any of the candidate for people’s deputies of Ukraine";

5) having no marks at all;

6) having their control checks in place; or

7) those that make it impossible to establish the voter’s will for other reasons.

28. Should there be any doubt as to the validity of a ballot, the commission shall resolve the question by voting. In that, each member of the commission shall have the right personally to inspect the ballot. For the time it takes to inspect the ballot, all work with other ballots shall stop.

29. Invalid ballots shall be counted separately for the multi- and the single-mandate constituencies. Each of these numbers shall be announced and entered in the relevant minutes of the counting of votes at that polling district. Invalid ballots shall be packed separately for the multi- and – the single-mandate constituencies. The packages shall have the inscriptions "Invalid ballots for the multi-mandate constituency" or "Invalid ballots for the single-mandate constituency", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling district number, the number of invalid ballots packed in the relevant constituency, date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members present and the commission’s seal.

30. The polling district election commission shall count the number of the votes given for the candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency that were included in the candidate list of a party (bloc), and the number of the voters who did not support any one of the candidates for deputy in the multi-mandate constituency that were included in the list of candidates from all parties (blocs). In the counting of the votes, each commission member shall have the right to check or re-count relevant ballots. The results of the counting of votes in the multi-mandate constituency shall be announced and entered in the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency.

31. When counting the votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate constituency, the polling district election commission shall verify whether the number of voters who took part in the voting in the polling district in that constituency corresponds to the sum of the numbers of invalid ballots in the polling district of that constituency, the ballots cast for candidates for deputy from each party (bloc), and the ballots in which the voters did not support candidates from any party (bloc). Should these data not correspond, the polling district election commission shall draw up an act, indicating the reason it has established for the divergence. The act shall be signed by the present members of the polling district election commission. Present authorized persons of the party (bloc), candidates for deputy, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

32. Ballots with votes in the multi-mandate constituency that were cast for candidates for deputy from each party (bloc), and ballots in which voters did not support candidates for deputy from any party (bloc) shall be packed separately. The packages shall have the name of the party (bloc), inscription "Did not support candidates for deputy from any party (bloc)", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling district number, the amount of ballots packed for the relevant constituency, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members present and the commission’s seal.

33. After finishing counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate constituency, the polling district election commission shall count the number of votes cast for each candidate for deputy in single-mandate constituencies, and the number of voters who did not support any candidate for deputy in that constituency. When counting the votes, each polling district election commission member shall have the right to check or re-count relevant ballots. The results of counting the votes in the polling district in the single-mandate constituency shall be announced and entered in the relevant minutes.

34. In the process of counting votes in a polling district in a single-mandate constituency, the polling district election commission shall verify whether the number of voters who took part in the voting in the said polling district in that constituency corresponds to the sum of invalid ballots in the polling district in that constituency, the ballots cast for candidates for deputy in the single-mandate constituency, and the ballots in which the voters did not support any candidate for deputy. In case of inadequacy of these data, the polling district election commission shall draw up an act, indicating the reason it has established for the lack of correspondence. The act shall be signed by the present members of the polling district election commission. Present authorized persons of the party (bloc), candidates for deputy, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. The seal of the commission shall endorse their signatures.

35. Ballots with votes in a single-mandate constituency cast for each candidate for deputy in that single-mandate constituency and ballots in which voters did not support any candidate for deputy shall be packed separately. The packages shall bear the surname and initials of each relevant candidate for deputy, the phrase "Did not support any candidate for deputy", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling district number, the number of the ballots packed, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the present members of the polling station commission and the commission’s seal.

Article 69. Minutes of a Polling District Election Commission on Counting of Votes

1. A polling district election commission at its meeting shall draw up minutes on counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant multi-mandate all-state constituency and minutes on the counting of votes in the relevant single-mandate constituency according to the forms established by the Central Election Commission.

2. Minutes of a polling district election commission on counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate constituency shall include the following data, in figures and in words:

1) the number of ballots for voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency received by the polling district election commission;

2) the number of voters entered in the polling district’s voters’ list;

3) the number of unused ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency;

4) the number of voters who received ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency;

5) the number of voters who took part in the voting at the given polling district in the multi-mandate constituency;

6) the number of invalid ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency;

7) the number of votes given in the multi-mandate constituency for the candidates for deputy from each party (bloc); and

8) the number of voters in the multi-mandate constituency that did not support candidates for deputy from any party (bloc).

3. Minutes of a polling district election commission on the counting of votes in a polling district in a single-mandate constituency shall include the following data, in figures and in words:

1) the number of ballots for voting in the single-mandate constituency received by the polling district election commission;

2) the number of voters entered in the polling district’s voters’ list;

3) the number of unused ballots for voting in the single-mandate constituency;

4) the number of voters who received ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency;

5) the number of voters who took part in the voting at the given polling district in the single-mandate constituency;

6) the number of invalid ballots for voting in the single-mandate constituency;

7) the number of votes given in the single-mandate constituency for each candidate for deputy; and

8) the number of voters in the single-mandate constituency that did not support any candidate for deputy.

4. Minutes on the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate constituency shall be drawn up by the polling district election commission in the number of copies that is greater by four than the number of the members of the polling district election commission, and the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the single-mandate constituency – in the number of copies that is greater by three than the number of members of the polling district election commission. The copies of the minutes shall be numbered, each having equal legal force.

5. Each of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district shall have the date and time (hour, minutes) of its signing by the members of the polling district election commission. The head, his/her deputy, secretary and other commission members present at the commission meeting shall sign each of the minutes. Should a commission member’s signature be missing, the reason for its absence shall be indicated in the minutes against that commission member’s surname. The seal of the polling district election commission shall certify the minutes. Authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy and their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency present at the counting of votes shall have the right to sign the first copies of the minutes.

6. It shall be prohibited to fill out minutes of the counting of votes at a polling district in pencil and to make any kind of corrections therein without a relevant decision of the commission.

7. Should the polling district election commission find any inaccuracies (such as a slip of the pen or a mistake in numbers) after the signing of minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the appropriate constituency, it shall consider the question of amending the minutes at its meeting by drawing up new minutes with the mark "Corrected".

8. The first and second copies of minutes of a polling district election commission on the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency, and the first copy of the minutes of the polling district election commission on the counting of votes in the polling district in a single-mandate constituency, as well as respective copies of each of the minutes with the mark "Corrected", if any, shall be packed into separate packages. The packages shall have the inscriptions, "Minutes of the multi-mandate constituency" or "Minutes of the single-mandate constituency", respectively, and the number of the single-mandate constituency, the polling district number, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the present polling district election commission members and the seal of the commission. The third copy of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate constituency and the second copy of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the single-mandate constituency shall be kept with the secretary of the commission. The fourth and third copies respectively shall be put out immediately for general familiarization in the premises of the polling district election commission. The rest of the copies of each of the minutes shall be handed out to members of the polling district election commission.

9. At the request of authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency, who were present at the counting of votes in the polling district, they shall immediately be issued with copies of the minutes mentioned in this Article, authenticated by the head and secretary of the polling district election commission and sealed with the seal of the commission, in an amount of not more than one copy of each of the minutes for each party (bloc) and each candidate for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency.

10. Packages with minutes of a polling district election commission on the counting of votes in a polling district, ballots, control checks and objects, as well as separate opinions, if any, of the members of the polling district election commission, and acts, petitions, complaints and decisions made by the commission shall be delivered to the constituency election commission immediately after the end of the commission’s meeting.

Article 70. Declaration of Voting in a Polling District Void by a Polling District Election Commission

1. A polling district election commission may declare elections in a polling district in a single- and/or multi-mandate constituency void if it establishes a violation of some of the requirements of this Law that makes it impossible to establish the results of the expression of voters’ will with accuracy. The polling district election commission may declare elections in the polling district void under any of the following circumstances:

1) illegal voting (casting of a ballot into a ballot box for a voter by another person, except for the cases stipulated by paragraph fourteen of Article 66 of this Law; voting by persons who have no right to vote; voting by persons who are not entered in the voters’ list for that constituency or are entered in it without a good and valid reason; voting by the same person more than once) in the amount that exceeds 10 percent of the number of voters who took part in the voting in the polling district in the relevant constituency;

2) finding of ballots in ballot boxes in the amount that exceeds, by more than 10 percent, the number of voters who took part in the voting in the polling district in the relevant constituency;

3) destruction or damaging of a ballot box (boxes) that makes it impossible to determine the content of the ballots, if the number of those ballots exceeds by 10 percent the number of voters who took part in the voting in the polling district in the relevant constituency.

2. Should it establish any of the circumstances referred to in paragraph one of this Article, the polling district election commission shall draw up an act for each particular case. The act shall be signed by all present commission members and sealed with the commission’s seal. Such an act (acts) shall be grounds for the consideration by the polling district election commission of the question of declaring the voting in the polling district in that constituency void.

3. Should the commission decide to declare the voting in the polling district in the multi- and/or single-mandate constituency as void, its minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency shall contain only the information referred to in items 1-6 of paragraph two of Article 69 of this Law, and the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in a single-mandate constituency – only the information referred to in items 1-6 of paragraph three of said Article. A dash shall be put in place of other data. The polling district election commission shall draw up the minutes according to the procedure set forth by Article 69 of this Law.

4. Ballots shall be packed separately for single- and the multi-mandate constituencies. The packages shall have the inscriptions "Ballots of the single-mandate constituency" or "Ballots of the multi-mandate constituency", the number of the single-mandate constituency, the number of the polling district, the number of ballots packed, the date and time of packing, the signatures of the polling district election commission members, and the commission’s seal.

5. The decision of the polling district election commission to declare the voting in the polling district in the multi-mandate and/or single-mandate constituencies void, and the act (s) on the basis of which that decision was made shall be attached to the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant constituencies.

Article 71. Procedure of Transporting and Handing Relevant Documents to the Constituency Election Commission

1. Transportation of the documents referred to in paragraph ten of Article 69 of this Law shall be carried out by the head of a polling district election commission or his/her deputy and two other members of the commission, who shall represent different parties (blocs), accompanied by a representative of the law-enforcement agency. It shall be prohibited to unseal the packages with ballots and other documents in the process of transportation.

2. Minutes of the counting of votes in a polling district in relevant constituencies and other documents of a polling district election commission shall be delivered to the relevant constituency election commission at its meeting.

3. The polling district election commission shall communicate the content of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant constituencies set up on a vessel flying the State Flag of Ukraine on the election day, or at the Ukrainian polar stations, immediately after signing them by members of the Central Electoral Commission, using technical means of communication, to the relevant constituency election commission. The first and second copies of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency and the first copy of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the single-mandate constituency shall be subsequently delivered to the relevant constituency election commission along with the other documents specified by paragraph ten of Article 69 of this Law.

4. The polling district election commission shall communicate the content of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in relevant constituencies that were set up at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad or in military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine, immediately after signing them by the members of the Central Election Commission, using technical means of communication, to the relevant constituency election commission. The first and second copies of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency and the first copy of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in a single-mandate constituency shall subsequently be delivered to the relevant constituency election commission through the relevant central bodies of executive power in accordance with the procedure established by the Central Election Commission. Other documents referred to in paragraph ten of Article 69 of this Law shall be attached to the minutes.

Article 72. Procedure of Accepting and Considering Documents of a Polling District Election Commission by a Constituency Election Commission

1. Minutes of counting of votes in a polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency and counting of votes in the polling district in a single-mandate constituency, as well as other documents from polling district election commissions referred to in paragraph ten of Article 69 of this Law, shall be accepted and considered at a meeting of the constituency election commission.

2. The meeting of a constituency election commission shall begin from the moment of the first arrival of minutes of the counting of votes at a polling district and other documents from that polling district and continue without a break until the establishment of results of the voting in the single-mandate constituency. At that time, constituency election commission members may not be engaged in the fulfillment of other functions.

3. After the constituency election commission has accepted the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant constituency, all the information contained therein shall be announced.

4. Should the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant constituency reveal any corrections, errors or inaccuracies, the constituency election commission may oblige the polling district election commission to make amendments to those minutes in accordance with paragraph seven of Article 69 of this Law. While the polling district election commission is considering this issue, the copies of the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant constituency and the documents attached thereto submitted to the constituency election commission shall be kept in custody by that election commission.

5. The polling district election commission shall consider, within the time limits established by the constituency election commission, the issue of amending the minutes. The minutes with the mark "Corrected" shall be transported and delivered to the constituency election commission in accordance with the procedure set forth by Article 71 of this Law.

6. If it has acts properly completed by authorized persons of a party (bloc), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons and official observers from parties (blocs) or candidates for deputy registered in a single-mandate constituency about violations of the requirements of this Law in the course of voting and/or counting of votes in the polling district that put the results of the counting of votes at that polling district into doubt, the constituency election commission may decide to conduct a recounting of the votes in the polling district in the multi- and/or the single-mandate constituencies.

7. Should there be an act or a written petition from persons referred to in paragraph one of Article 71 of this Law regarding violation of the requirements of this Law in the process of transporting the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district and other related documents to the constituency election commission, the election commission may, and if there are signs that the packages with documents have been opened, should decide to repeat the counting of votes at that polling district for the multi-mandate and/or the single-mandate constituencies.

8. Until the repeat counting of votes in a polling district by a constituency election commission, the minutes of the counting of votes in the polling district in the relevant constituencies and other related documents of the polling district election commission shall be kept in custody at the premises of the meeting of the constituency election commission.

9. The constituency election commission shall conduct repeat counting of votes in a polling district in the multi- and/or single-mandate constituencies with mandatory participation of members of the polling district election commission, who transfer all election documents, after it has considered and accepted minutes from all polling district election commissions. All members of the polling district election commission shall have the right to take part in the repeat counting of votes in the polling district by the constituency election commission, and authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the relevant single-mandate constituency may be present.

10. Should it make a recounting of votes in the given polling district, the constituency election commission shall draw up minutes about the repeat counting of votes in the respective polling district in accordance with the form established by the Central Election Commission.

11. Minutes of the repeat counting of votes at the relevant polling district in the multi-mandate and/or single-mandate constituency shall be drawn up by the constituency election commission in a number of copies that is greater by four than the number of persons constituting the constituency election commission. The copies of the minutes shall be numbered, each having the same legal force. These minutes shall be signed by the present members of the constituency election commission and the members of the polling district election commission who took part in the repeat counting of votes and attested with the seal of the constituency election commission. The data in the minutes shall be announced. Authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies that were present at the counting of votes shall have the right to sign the first copy of each of the minutes.

12. In case that the constituency election commission reveals, in the relevant polling district, the circumstances referred to in paragraph one of Article 70 of this Law, or other circumstances which result in the impossibility of establishing the results of the voters’ expression of will with accuracy, the constituency election commission may decide to declare the voting in the polling district in the multi- and/or single-mandate constituency void. In that case, the minutes on the repeat counting of votes in that polling district in the multi- and/or single-mandate constituency shall be drawn up in accordance with the procedure stipulated in the eleventh paragraph of this Article. It shall only contain the information referred to in items 1-6 of paragraph two and items 1-6 of the paragraph three of Article 69 of this Law.

13. The first copy of the minutes of the constituency election commission of the repeat counting of votes at the relevant polling district in the respective constituency, together with the relevant minutes of the polling district election commission on the counting of votes in the polling district the voting at which was defined as void, and the decision of the constituency election commission to declare the voting void in the multi-mandate and/or a single-mandate constituency shall be attached to the minutes of the constituency election commission on the results of the voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency and/or the minutes of the constituency election commission on the results of the election of the people’s deputy of Ukraine in the relevant single-mandate constituency. The second copy of the minutes of the constituency election commission on the repeat counting of votes at the relevant polling district in the relevant constituency shall be kept with the secretary of the constituency election commission. The third copy shall be given to the polling district election commission. The fourth copy shall be put out immediately for general familiarization in the premises of the constituency election commission. The rest of the copies shall be given to members of the constituency election commission, one copy each. The data of the minutes of the constituency election commission about the repeat counting of votes in the relevant polling district in the respective constituency shall be announced.

Article 73. Establishing Results of Voting in the Multi-Mandate Constituency Within a Single-Mandate Constituency

1. After adopting and considering the minutes of polling district election commissions on the counting of votes in polling districts in relevant constituencies, among them the minutes with the mark "Corrected", on the basis of the minutes of polling district election commissions on the counting of votes in the polling districts in the multi-mandate all-state constituency and the statements as to the content of such minutes of the polling district election commissions transmitted with the help of technical means of communication from the polling districts set up on the vessels flying the State Flag of Ukraine on the election day, at the Ukrainian polar stations, or at diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, and, in case of repeat counting of votes, on the basis of the minutes of the constituency election commission of the repeat counting of votes in the relevant polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency, an election commission shall establish the following:

1) the number of ballots for voting in multi-mandate constituency, received by constituency election commission;

2) the number of ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency received by the polling district election commission of a single-mandate constituency;

3) the number of voters entered in voters’ lists in a polling district in the single-mandate constituency;

4) the number of unused ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency;

5) the number of voters who received ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency;

6) the number of voters who took part in the voting in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency;

7) the number of invalid ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency;

8) the number of votes given in the multi-mandate constituency for the candidates for deputy from each party (bloc); and

9) the number of voters in the multi-mandate constituency that did not support the candidates for deputy from any party (bloc).

2. The information about the results of voting in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency shall be entered in the relevant minutes of the constituency election commission.

3. The minutes on the results of voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency shall be drawn up by the election commission in the number of copies that is greater by three than the number of persons comprising the constituency election commission. The copies of the minutes shall be numbered, each having the same legal force.

4. It shall be prohibited to fill out minutes of the counting of votes in the multi-mandate constituency in pencil and to make any kind of corrections therein without a relevant decision of the commission.

5. The minutes on results of voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency shall be signed by the head, his/her deputy, the secretary and other members of the constituency election commission that are present, and endorsed by the seal of the constituency election commission. The minutes shall indicate the date and time (hour, minutes) of its signing by the members of the constituency election commission. Should the signature of a member of the constituency election commission be missing, the reason for its absence shall be indicated against his/her surname in the minutes. Authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy, or their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency present at determining of results of voting in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign this act. Should the constituency election commission find any inaccuracies (such as a slip of the pen or a mistake in numbers) after the signing of the said minutes, it shall consider the question of amending the minutes at its meeting by drawing up new minutes with the mark "Corrected".

6. The first copy of the minutes of the constituency election commission on the results of voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency, and, should any changes be made in the minutes, the minutes in which inaccuracies (a slip of the pen or errors in numbers) were found, together with relevant minutes and acts of polling district election commissions; the decisions made on the basis thereof and, if available, minutes of the constituency election commission on the repeat counting of votes at the relevant polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the limits of the single-mandate constituency; separate opinions of the members of the constituency election commission, presented in writing; petitions and complaints about the violation by the constituency election commission of the procedure of establishing the results of voting in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency; and the decisions made by the constituency election commission based on the results of their consideration shall be sent by the constituency election commission to the Central Election Commission without delay. The second copy of the minutes shall be kept with the constituency election commission, and the third copy shall immediately be put out for general familiarization in the premises of the constituency election commission. The rest shall be given to the members of the constituency election commission, one copy to each member.

7. At their request, authorized persons of parties (blocs) and official observers shall be immediately issued with a copy of the minutes of the constituency election commission on the results of voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency and, if available, the minutes of the repeat counting of votes in the appropriate polling district in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the single-mandate constituency, a copy of each of the minutes for each party (bloc).

Article 74. Establishing Results of Voting in a Single-Mandate Constituency

1. If none of candidates for deputy remains registered in a given single-mandate constituency on the election day, the constituency election commission shall decide to deem the election of a people’s deputy of Ukraine in the relevant single-mandate constituency as such that did not take place. Along with the election documents listed in paragraph six of Article 73 of this Law, that decision shall be sent to the Central Election Commission.

2. After establishing the results of voting in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency on the basis of minutes of polling district election commissions on the counting of votes in the polling district in the single-mandate constituency, including the ones with the mark "Corrected", and statements on the content of such minutes sent by means of communication from polling districts set up on vessels flying the State Flag of Ukraine on the election day, the Ukrainian polar stations, with diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, and the military units stationed outside Ukraine and, in the event of a repeat counting of votes, the minutes of the constituency election commission on the repeat counting of votes at the relevant polling district in a single-mandate constituency, a constituency election commission shall determine:

1) the number of ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency received by the constituency election commission;

2) the number of ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency received by the polling district election commissions;

3) the number of voters entered in the voters’ lists in polling districts of the single-mandate constituency;

4) the number of unused ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency;

5) the number of voters who received ballots for voting in the single-mandate constituency;

6) the number of voters who took part in the voting at the given polling district in the single-mandate constituency;

7) the number of invalid ballots for voting in a single-mandate constituency;

8) the number of votes given for each candidate for deputy; and

9) the number of voters that did not support any candidate for deputy.

3. Information about the results of voting in a single-mandate constituency shall be entered in the relevant minutes of the constituency election commission in figures and in words.

4. The constituency election commission shall draw up its minutes on the results of voting in the single-mandate constituency in the amount of copies that is larger by three than the number of persons comprising the constituency election commission. The copies of the minutes shall be numbered, each having the same legal force.

5. It shall be prohibited to fill out minutes of the counting of votes in a single-mandate constituency in pencil and to make any kind of corrections therein without a relevant decision of the commission.

6. The minutes on the results of voting in a single-mandate constituency shall be signed by the head, his/her deputy, the secretary and other members of the constituency election commission that are present, and endorsed by the seal of the constituency election commission. The minutes shall indicate the date and time (hour, minutes) of its signing by the members of the constituency election commission. Should the signature of a member of the constituency election commission be missing, the reason for its absence shall be indicated against his/her surname in the minutes. Authorized persons of a party (bloc), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency which were present at determination of results of voting in the single-mandate constituency shall also have the right to sign the first copy of the minutes. Should the constituency election commission find any inaccuracies (such as a slip of the pen or a mistake in numbers) after the signing of the said minutes, it shall consider the question of amending the minutes at its meeting by drawing up new minutes with the mark "Corrected".

7. The first copy of the minutes of the constituency election commission on the results of voting in a single-mandate constituency, and, should any changes be made in the minutes, the minutes in which inaccuracies (a slip of the pen or errors in numbers) were found, together with relevant minutes and acts of polling district election commissions; the decisions made on the basis thereof and, if available, minutes of the constituency election commission on the repeat counting of votes at the relevant polling district in a single-mandate constituency; separate opinions of the members of the constituency election commission, presented in writing; petitions and complaints about the violation by the constituency election commission of the procedure of establishing the results of voting in the single-mandate constituency; and the decisions made by the constituency election commission based on the results of their consideration shall be sent by the constituency election commission to the Central Election Commission without delay. The second copy of the minutes shall be kept with the constituency election commission, and the third copy shall immediately be put out for general familiarization in the premises of the constituency election commission. The rest shall be given to the members of the constituency election commission, one copy to each member.

8. At their request, authorized persons of parties (blocs), candidates for deputy, their authorized persons, official observers from parties (blocs), and candidates for deputy registered in the single-mandate constituency shall be immediately be issued with a copy of the minutes.

9. On the basis of the minutes on the results of voting in a single-mandate constituency, the constituency election commission shall make one of the following decisions on the results of voting in a single-mandate constituency: on the declaration of the people’s deputy of Ukraine elected; on a repeat voting in the single-mandate constituency; or on submission to the Central Election Commission with regard to declaration of the elections in that single-mandate constituency null and void.

10. A candidate for deputy who has received the majority of votes of the voters who took part in the voting relative to other candidates for deputy who have been running in that district shall be considered a duly elected people’s deputy of Ukraine. Should the ballot contain only one candidate for deputy, he or she shall be deemed elected if the number of votes cast for him/her exceeds the number of voters who have not supported any of the candidates for deputy in that single-mandate constituency.

11. Along with the documents referred to paragraph seven of this Article, the constituency election commission shall send its decision on the results of the election in the single-mandate constituency to the Central Election Commission without delay.

Article 75. Repeat Voting

1. If two or more candidates for deputy receive the largest and at the same time equal number of votes in a single-mandate constituency, the constituency election commission shall make a decision to call repeat voting in respect of such candidates for deputy.

2. The repeat voting shall be called no later than within fourteen days after the day of elections and held on Sunday in compliance with the present Law.

3. The Central Election Commission shall approve the form of a ballot for repeat voting in a single-mandate constituency in compliance with Article 62 of the present Law not later than 12 days before the day of elections.

4. A constituency election commission shall approve the text of a ballot for repeat voting in a single-mandate constituency not later than on the second day after the day of elections subject to Article 62, paragraph 5 of the present Law. The text of such ballot shall be sent to the Central Election Commission without any delay.

5. Ballots for repeat voting shall be produced at least five days before the day of elections and delivered to a constituency election commission not later than three days before the day of elections.

6. If out of candidates for deputy who received the largest and at the same time equal number of votes in a single-mandate constituency, there is only one candidate for deputies left as a result of withdrawal from elections of other mentioned candidates, the constituency election commission shall repeal the decision on holding repeat voting and takes the decision on declaring that candidate people’s deputy of Ukraine elected in that constituency.

7. If all the candidates for deputy who received the largest and at the same time equal number of votes in a single-mandate constituency withdraw their candidatures from elections, the constituency election commission shall repeal the decision on holding repeat voting and takes the decision on declaring elections in that constituency as such that did not take place.

8. A constituency election commission shall immediately send its decisions mentioned in paragraphs six and seven of this Article to the Central Election Commission and make them public in local mass media no later than two days after they were adopted.

Article 76. Establishing Results of Elections of Deputies in the Multi-Mandate Constituency

1. Based on the minutes submitted by constituency election commissions on the results of voting in the multi-mandate all-state constituency within the limits of respective single-mandate constituencies, the Central Election Commission, at its meeting, shall establish the results of deputies elections in the multi-mandate constituency no later than within fifteen days after the elections and draw up minutes thereon. The minutes on results of the deputies elections in the multi-mandate all-state constituency shall contain the following data in words and figures:

1) The number of ballots printed for voting in the multi-mandate constituency.

2) The number of ballots printed for voting in the multi-mandate constituency as received by polling district election commissions.

3) The number of voters registered on voters’ lists in polling districts.

4) The number of unused ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency.

5) The number of voters that received ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency.

6) The number of voters that participated in voting in the multi-mandate constituency.

7) The number of ballots for voting in the multi-mandate constituency that was declared void.

8) The number of votes cast for candidates included in the electoral list of each party (bloc).

9) Percentage of votes cast for candidates from each party (bloc) in relation to the number of voters that participated in the voting.

10) The number of voters that did not support candidates for deputy from any party (bloc) included in the party (bloc) electoral lists.

2. Candidates for deputy included in the list of candidates of a party (bloc) that obtained four and more percent of votes cast by voters that participated in the voting shall have the right to take part in the distribution of deputy mandates.

3. Candidates for deputy included in the list of candidates of a party (bloc) that obtained less than four percent of votes cast by voters that participated in the voting shall not have the right to take part in the distribution of deputy mandates.

4. Deputy mandates shall be distributed between lists of candidates of parties (blocs) proportionally to the number of votes received by the candidates for deputy included in electoral lists referred to in paragraph two of the present Article, such distribution being made in the sequence prescribed in paragraphs five – seven of this Article.

5. The number of votes necessary to obtain one deputy mandate (hereinafter referred to as "electoral quota") is calculated by dividing the total number of votes cast for candidates included in party (bloc) electoral lists that received four and more percent of votes by the number of deputy mandates.

6. The number of votes cast for candidates for deputy included in the electoral lists of each party (bloc) that obtained the right to take part in the distribution of deputy mandates shall be divided by electoral quota. The quotient is the number of deputy mandates obtained by candidates of this party (bloc). Fractional remainders shall be used for distribution of mandates that remain undistributed.

7. Parties (blocs) the candidates for deputy of which have larger fractional remainders in comparison with others after division, receive one additional mandate, beginning from the party (bloc) electoral list that has the largest fractional remainder. If fractional remainders of two or more party (bloc) electoral lists are equal, the additional mandate shall be obtained first by the electoral list of the party (bloc) the candidates for deputy of which received the greater amount of votes.

8. Determining, pursuant to the sequence in parties (blocs) electoral lists, of the individuals elected deputies from parties (blocs), in accordance with the number of deputy mandates received by parties (blocs) electoral lists, shall be the results of deputies elections.

9. After the number of deputy mandates received by parties (blocs) electoral lists has been established and individuals elected deputies have been identified according to paragraph eight of this Article, the Central Election Commission shall fix in the minutes on results of elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine in the multi-mandate all-state constituency the following:

1) the number of deputy mandates obtained by parties (blocs) electoral lists;

2) the surname, first name and patronymics, date of birth, profession, position (occupation), place of employment, place of residence and party affiliation of elected deputies.

10. The minutes of the Central Election Commission on the results of people’s deputies of Ukraine elections in the multi-mandate all-state constituency shall be made in two copies and signed by the head, deputy head, secretary and other members of the Commission that attended its meeting and shall be affixed with seal of the Central Election Commission. If any, separate opinions of members of the Central Election Commission, presented in writing, applications and complaints with regard to violations by the Central Election Commission of the procedure for determining election results in the multi-mandate constituency, as well as decisions that the commissions adopted thereon shall be attached to the minutes. The first copy of the minutes shall be kept with the Central Election Commission; the second one shall be immediately posted in the premises of the Central Election Commission for general familiarization. Copies of the minutes shall be made available to party (bloc) representatives at their requests.

Article 77. Declaring Elections Void

1. The Central Election Commission may declare deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency void upon the request of a respective constituency election commission if:

1) in the course of deputies elections in the single-mandate constituency or during the counting of votes in this constituency, violations of the requirements of the present Law took place, not allowing to accurately determine results of voters’ expression of will.

2) The number of polling districts where elections in the single-mandate constituency were declared void makes not less than 25 percent of the total number of polling districts set up on territory of this single-mandate constituency.

2. Violations of this Law that were intended to encourage or did encourage voters to vote for candidates not elected deputies as a result of elections in this single-mandate constituency, as well as violations that were committed during the deputies elections in the multi-mandate constituency within the territory of a single-mandate constituency, may not be a ground for declaring deputies elections in the single-mandate constituency void.

3. Decision on lodging a submission with the Central Election Commission related to declaring void deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be adopted at the meeting of a constituency election commission by the majority of two-thirds of the commission’s members.

4. Request to declare void deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency, which shall contain motivated reasons for declaring elections void, shall be submitted to the Central Election Commission together with the documents mentioned in Article 73, paragraph six, and Article 74, paragraphs one and seven of this Law.

5. The Central Election Commission may declare deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency void on its own initiative based on the grounds referred to in paragraph one of this Article or based on a court decision.

Article 78. Official Promulgation of Election Results

1. No later than five days after determining election results in the multi-mandate and single-mandate constituencies, the Central Election Commission shall officially promulgate deputy election results in newspapers "Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Kurier". The list of elected deputies shall be published in alphabetical order indicating their surname, first name and patronymic, date of birth, profession, position (occupation), place of employment, place of residence, affiliation to a party, constituency and the entity that nominated their candidatures.

2. Official promulgation of deputy election results by the Central Election Commission shall be deemed to be the ground for an individual elected deputy to be dismissed from the position incompatible with deputy mandate and for termination of any other representative mandate of such individual.

Article 79. Registration of Elected Deputies

1. To be registered as a people’s deputy of Ukraine, an individual elected deputy shall be obliged to submit to the Central Election Commission no later than twenty days after official publication of election results the document on his/her dismissal from the position incompatible with deputy mandate and (or) a copy of the registered application for termination of any other representative mandate as filed with the respective council.

2. If an individual elected deputy informs the Central Election Commission that valid reasons hindering him/her from observing the provisions of paragraph one of this Article, the Central Election Commission may take the decision on accepting these reasons as valid and may fix another deadline for complying with the mentioned provisions or may refuse to recognize these reasons as valid.

3. Having received documents referred to in paragraph one of this Article, the Central Election Commission shall take a decision on registration of the elected deputy.

4. If an individual elected deputy in the multi-mandate constituency does not comply with the provisions of paragraph one of this Article without valid reasons within the time limits prescribed in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the Central Election Commission shall take a decision on declaring him/her as such that refused to bear deputy mandate and announce the candidate that follows him/her in the electoral list of respective party (bloc) as deputy elected in the multi-mandate constituency.

5. If an individual elected deputy in a single-mandate constituency without valid reasons does not comply with provisions of paragraph one and two of this Article within time limits prescribed in paragraphs one and two of this Article, the Central Election Commission shall take a decision on declaring him/her as such that refused to bear deputy mandate and call a repeat election in the respective single-mandate constituency.

6. The Central Election Commission shall issue temporary credentials of people’s deputy of Ukraine of an established type to the individual registered as deputy, no later than seven days after his/her registration.

7. The decision of the Central Election Commission on the registration of a deputy and temporary credentials of a people’s deputy of Ukraine shall be the ground for him/her to take the oath of a people’s deputy of Ukraine.

Article 80. Credentials of a People’s Deputy of Ukraine

After a deputy takes the oath of a people’s deputy of Ukraine, the Central Election Commission shall issue him/her credentials of a people’s deputy of Ukraine of an established type within seven days.

Article 81. Replacing Deputies Elected in the Multi-Mandate Constituency Who Resigned

1. If a people’s deputy of Ukraine elected in the multi-mandate constituency terminates his/her term of office in advance or if his/her term of office has been terminated in advance for the reasons and according to the procedure envisaged by the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine, the first candidate that follows him/her in the electoral list of the respective party (bloc) shall be deemed to be elected deputy upon the decision of the Central Election Commission. In the event the list of candidates for deputy contains no candidatures to obtain deputy mandate, this mandate shall remain vacant till the conduct of regular or extraordinary elections.

2. Registration of an individual elected deputy in accordance with paragraph one of this Article and issuance of the temporary credentials of a people’s deputy of Ukraine to him/her shall be made by the Central Election Commission under the procedure established in Article 79 of this Law.

3. A party (bloc) that nominated candidates for deputy included in its electoral list that participated in deputy mandate division may take the decision on exclusion of a candidate for deputies that was not elected deputy in accordance with Article 76, paragraph eight, of the present Law, from its electoral list at any time after the day of election and prior to registration of this individual as a people’s deputy of Ukraine under paragraph one of this Article. Such a decision shall be made by the convention (meeting, conference) of the party concerned or inter-party convention (meeting, conference) of parties that were a part of the bloc from the election day, based on party’s statute (agreement on establishing the bloc). An excerpt from minutes of the convention (meeting, conference) proceedings signed by the head and the decision signed by the leader of the party (leaders of parties that were a part of the bloc on the election day) and stamped with the seal of the party (seals of the respective parties) shall be transmitted to the Central Election Commission within dive days from the day of the decision. Based on these documents, the Central Election Commission shall take a decision on exclusion of the candidate for deputy mentioned in the decision from the party (bloc) electoral list within seven days.

CHAPTER XI. REPEAT, INTERIM AND EXTRAORDINARY ELECTIONS

Article 82. Peculiarities of Preparation and Conduct of Repeat Elections

1. Repeat deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be conducted if deputies elections in this constituency were declared void or as not conducted, or if the individual concerned was declared as such that refused to bear deputy mandate, in accordance with Article 79, paragraph five of the present Law.

2. The decision on calling repeat deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be made by the Central Election Commission within the time limits prescribed in Article 15, paragraph four of the present Law.

3. Repeat deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be held during the last week of the sixty-day period from the day of publication of the decision on their calling. Voting shall be conducted by the same constituency election commissions and polling district election commissions in the same polling districts using the same lists of voters that were used for regular (interim) elections. The nomination and registration of candidates for deputy and other electoral procedures shall be conducted according to Article 84 of this Law.

4. The form of a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency during repeat elections shall be approved by the Central Election Commission at least 24 days before the day of elections. A respective election commission shall approve the text of a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency at least 20 days before the day of elections.

5. Individuals found guilty by a court of that deputies elections or repeat voting in a single-mandate constituency had been declared void, as well as individuals whose registration as candidates for deputy was cancelled based on violation of the present Law may not stand for repeat deputies elections in the single-mandate constituency.

Article 83. Peculiarities of Preparation and Conduct of Interim Elections

1. Interim deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be held if the people’s deputy of Ukraine elected in this constituency has terminated his term of office in advance or if his term of office has been terminated in advance on the grounds and according to the procedure provided for by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.

2. The decision to call interim deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be made by the Central Election Commission within the time limits prescribed in Article 15, paragraph five of the present Law.

3. Interim deputies elections in a single-mandate constituency shall be held during the last week of the sixty-day period from publication of the decision on their calling. Creation of election commissions and polling districts, as well as nomination and registration of candidates for deputy and other electoral procedures shall be conducted according to Article 84 of this Law.

4. Voters’ lists shall be compiled according to Article 84, paragraphs nine and ten of the present Law.

5. The Central Election Commission shall approve the form of a ballot for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and the form of a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency at least 24 days before the day of interim elections. A respective election commission shall approve the text of ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency at least 20 days before the day of elections.

Article 84. Peculiarities of Preparation and Conduct of Extraordinary Elections

1. To conduct extraordinary deputies elections, single-mandate constituencies that were set up for the last elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine shall be used.

2. Polling districts for conducting extraordinary elections shall be created at least 19 days before the day of elections and, in exceptional cases, a polling district may be created under Article 17, paragraph seven of the present Law at least five days before the day of elections according to the procedure prescribed by this Law.

3. Constituency election commissions shall be established no later than 50 days before the day of elections upon submissions of parties (blocs) that were subjects of election process during the last elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine, which should be presented to the Central Election Commission at least 53 days before the day of elections.

4. Polling district election commissions shall be set up at least 12 days before the day of elections and in exceptional case of creation of a polling district under Article 17, paragraph seven of the present Law – concurrently with the establishment of polling districts upon submissions by district, city (city-district) or higher level party cells (organizations) (party cells (organizations) that are part of the bloc) – subjects of election process, candidates for deputy registered in respective single-mandate constituencies, that shall be submitted to the constituency election commission at least 15 days before the day of elections according to the procedure provided for in Article 21 of the present Law.

5. Nomination and self-nomination of candidates for deputy shall start on the next day after the publication of the Presidential Decree on the pre-term termination of the authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and end at least 40 days before the day of elections.

6. Submission of documents to a respective election commission for registration of candidates shall end 30 days before the day of elections. Registration of candidates for deputy shall end 25 days before the day of elections.

7. Election campaign publicity shall start 24 days before the day of elections.

8. Information posters of parties (blocs) and candidates for deputy registered in single-mandate constituencies, mentioned in Article 52 of the present Law, shall be produced at least 15 days before the day of elections.

9. Voters’ lists shall be made by executive bodies of village, township, city (in cities where district councils do not exist), city district councils or by the bodies (officials) that exercise their functions according to the law, based on voters’ lists that were used for the last voting at elections of people’s deputies of Ukraine, presidential elections of Ukraine, national or municipal referendum, according to the form prescribed by the Central Election Commission. The bodies mentioned above rectify these lists and transmit them to polling district election commissions at least 10 days before the day of elections.

10. Voters’ lists shall be compiled according to Article 30, paragraph four of the present Law in polling districts created at stationary medical institutions, vessels flying the State Flag of Ukraine on the day of elections, diplomatic and other representative offices and consular missions of Ukraine abroad, military units (formations) stationed outside Ukraine, penitentiary institutions and other places of temporary residence of voters with limited capacity of movement.

11. The Central Election Commission shall approve the form and the text of a ballot for voting in the multi-mandate constituency and the form of a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency at least 24 days before the day of elections. A respective constituency election commission shall approve the text of a ballot for voting in a single-mandate constituency at least 20 days before the day of elections.

CHAPTER XII. CONCLUDING PROVISIONS

Article 85. Responsibility for Violation of Ukrainian Legislation on Deputies Elections

1. An individual shall be brought to criminal, administrative or any other responsibility in accordance with the procedure established by law, if he/she:

1) hinders, by means of violence, fraud, threat, bribery or otherwise, free exercise of the right to vote and to be elected of citizen of Ukraine;

2) benefits from his/her official position in view of being elected deputy;

3) did not make voters’ lists in due time or verify information that should be included in these lists;

4) infringes on citizen’s right to familiarize himself/herself with voters’ list;

5) imparts obviously misleading information on candidates for deputy or commits other actions that humiliate honor and dignity of candidates for deputy;

6) impedes conducting of election campaigns or violates established rules for conduct of election campaigns;

7) does not observe the procedure for financing election process as established by the present Law;

8) creates obstacles to, or interferes in, the proceedings of election commissions or activities of elections commission members related to performance of their functions;

9) prevents voting in polling districts;

10) breaks the secrecy of voting;

11) forces voters to vote against their will;

12) violates the present Law when issuing ballots: issues ballots to citizens in order to allow them to vote instead of other persons or to vote more than once, issues ballots to citizens that are not on voters’ lists in the polling district concerned or issues to citizens ballots that have been already filled in;

13) transmits blank ballots to other persons, except for the cases provided for by the present Law;

14) committed forgery with regard to election documents, a distortion or prepared and issued obviously false documents, or obviously miscalculated votes cast, or inaccurately established election results.

2. Laws of Ukraine may provide for responsibility for other violations of Ukrainian legislation on deputies elections.

Article 86. Storage of Election-Related and Other Documents and Material Values

1. After the official promulgation of deputies elections results, the Central Election Commission shall deposit election-related and other documents in the respective central state archive institution while constituency election commissions deposit such documents to respective local state archives.

2. The list of election-related and other documents subject to the storage in state archive institutions, as well as the manner in which they should be passed to these institutions shall be established by the Central Election Commission upon agreement with the central body of executive power undertaking administration of archives.

3. After termination of powers of polling district and constituency election commissions, local bodies of executive power and bodies of local self-government shall be obliged to ensure the storage of ballot boxes, polling booths, seals and stamps of these commissions, as well as methodological literature they were provided for the time of election process.

4. Minutes of election commissions, respectively, on counting of votes in polling districts in the multi-mandate constituency within the limits of a single-mandate constituency, on the results of voting in single-mandate constituencies and on deputy election results, as well as ballots, ballot counterfoils, voters’ lists, acts, applications, complaints about violations of the present Law during voting and counting of votes, other minutes and decisions of election commissions shall be kept in local state archive institutions throughout three years after the official publication of the deputy election results. After the expiration of this period, they should be destroyed in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

5. The state archive institutions shall ensure access to documents related to deputies’ elections in accordance with the procedure prescribed by Ukrainian legislation.

CHAPTER XIII. FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

1. The present Law shall enter into force on the day of its official publication.

2. Until the legislation of Ukraine is brought in compliance with the present Law, laws and other regulations shall apply in so far as they are not contrary to the present Law.

3. To prepare and conduct voting on the day of elections on 31 March 2002, general lists of voters mentioned in Article 30, paragraph one of the present Law shall be compiled before 15 January 2002.

4. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, within three months after the promulgation of the present Law, shall:

prepare and submit to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine proposals for bringing Ukrainian laws in compliance with the present Law;

bring its regulations in compliance with the present Law;

ensure adoption of regulations provided for by the present Law;

ensure that ministries and other central bodies of executive power review and repeal their regulations contradicting the present Law.

5. To deem null and void

the Law of Ukraine "On Elections of People’s Deputy of Ukraine" (Vidomosti of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1997, # 43, p. 280; 1998, # 5, p. ib., p. 18, p. 19, # 10, p.38, # 14, p.62; 2000, # 30, p.234; 2001, # 9, p. 38) and

the Regulation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine "On Effectiveness of the Law of Ukraine "On Elections of People’s Deputy of Ukraine" of 3 March 1998 (Vidomosti of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 1998, # 8, p. 30).

President of Ukraine L.KUCHMA

Kyiv, 18 October, 2001
# 2766-III

For additional information, please contact:
Alla Okomaniuk, Press Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine
310 Somerset Street West, Ottawa, ON K2P 0J9
Tel. (613) 230-2961, fax (613) 230-2400
E-mail: ukrembassy@on.aibn.com

2002 03 05

LAW OF UKRAINE "ON ELECTIONS OF PEOPLE'S DEPUTIES OF UKRAINE"

Kyiv, 18 October 2001 № 2766-III

CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER II. TYPES OF ELECTION OF DEPUTIES, PROCEDURE AND TERMS OF THEIR APPOINTMENT