The outcomes and achievements of the “CEC: prosvita” offered throughout an professional dialogue on data assist, awareness-raising and efficient regulation of campaigning in the course of the elections in Ukraine

On May 14, 2021, as part of the work of the Ukrainian Parliament, a public discussion “Information support for elections, awareness-raising and effective regulation of campaigns, including on social media” * took place State Building, Local Government, Regional and Urban Development Committee to improve electoral legislation on the basis of the results of the 2020 local elections. Members of the Parliament of Ukraine, representatives of the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine, authorities and local self-government bodies, non-governmental organizations and the expert community involved in the reform of the electoral law took part in the discussion.

During the discussion, Andriy Hevko, member of the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine, presented the results and successes of the information and awareness-raising campaign “CEC: prosvita” and the activities of the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine together with his partners, including the Council of Europe ** during 2020 local elections in Ukraine. Among other things, he noted that “improving the legal culture of those involved in the electoral process is one of the priorities of the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine, as set out in the Commission’s strategic plan for 2020-2025. In preparation for the local elections from December 2019, we have planned an awareness campaign for voters. We have developed an awareness project – “CEC: prosvita”. The main idea of ​​this project is to show that every choice is important, especially when a person makes that choice consciously and responsibly. “

The Council of Europe has and supports the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine within the project “Supporting the Transparency, Inclusiveness and Integrity of Election Practice in Ukraine” to improve the legal and political culture of issues and participants in the electoral process in Ukraine. Especially on the eve of the 2020 local elections, an interactive online platform on elections “CEC: prosvita” was developed with the support of the project, which became a joint awareness-raising project of the CEC and the Council of Europe. The platform was created for Ukrainian citizens – voters, including first-time voters, election commissioners, observers, candidates and parties, as well as other participants in the electoral process.

The online platform “CEC: prosvita” includes training courses “About elections in simple terms” and “About local elections for voters”as well as informative and educational materials via local elections. A new online training course for observers The placement on the platform is currently being developed.

* The discussion aimed to develop recommendations on how to further improve the legal framework for information support for elections in Ukraine, and included issues relating to the regulation of election campaigns and information support for elections, as well as awareness-raising activities by the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine. Media participation in voter education, problematic aspects of information support and campaigns for people with disabilities, as well as ensuring voter access to open election data.

** **.The cooperation takes place within the framework of the project “Supporting the transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine” of the Council of Europe, which is being carried out within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2018-2022.