On Monday 22 July, the European Union welcomed the early parliamentary elections in Ukraine (see EUROPE 12258/23), which saw the victory of the party ‘Servant of the People’ of the new President, Volodymyr Zelensky, with 42% of the votes, which would enable it to obtain an absolute majority in the Verkhovna Rada.
The ‘European Solidarity’ party of former President Petro Poroshenko won less than 9% of the votes, while the turnout is close to just 50%.
The spokesman of the European External Action Service (EEAS), as well as the Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, also head of the European Parliament's election observation mission, David McAllister (Germany, EPP), considered that fundamental rights and freedoms had been generally respected, although shortcomings persisted.
Despite the country’s security challenge “and the fact that these elections are taking place a few months earlier than expected, [...] it can undoubtedly be said that they were competitive, well-administered and effectively managed”, Mr McAllister summarised. According to him, the Central Electoral Commission tried in particular to correct shortcomings identified during the presidential elections of 21 April (see EUROPE 12240/11), such as the registration process for displaced persons or mobile workers.
The EEAS spokesperson also considered that the campaign was competitive and the election administration “competent and efficient”. But he did not fail to denounce certain problems, such as vote buying and the intertwining of commercial and political interests dictating media coverage of the elections. “It is important that the Ukrainian authorities address the identified shortcomings, based on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations”, he advised, ahead of the 2020 local elections.
Getting back to work.
In past elections, Europeans have called on the Verkhovna Rada to undertake reforms. “Ukrainians have once again given a firm mandate for reform for the next 5 years. It is now up to the new authorities to meet expectations”, summarised the EEAS spokesperson. He recalled that the EU was ready to cooperate “closely” with the new Parliament and Government, once formed, to complete the reform process, including “strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, energy and macroeconomic stability”.
The fight against corruption is also highlighted by Mr McAllister. “It was clearly an important and essential question in this campaign. [...] The newly elected members of the Verkhovna Rada, as well as the President of Ukraine, must now build on the achievements of the past 5 years and intensify their efforts to finally meet the expectations of citizens. Delays and procrastination will not be accepted”, he warned. He also hoped that the new leaders would ensure that a “spirit of dialogue and compromise between all factions” would be part of the work of the Verkhovna Rada, “as a means of building the national consensus necessary for the reform agenda”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)