REVIEW - Kiev Leaves Some 10Mln Ukrainians Unable To Cast Ballot In Presidential Election

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2019) Aside from the millions of residents from war-torn Donbas, the approximately 3 million Ukrainians who reside in Russia and account for the majority of Ukrainian expatriates, will be unable to vote in the upcoming presidential election since the Central Election Commission (CEC) has closed all polling places in its neighbor to the east.

According to many Russian and Ukrainian politicians, the decision of CEC violates the Ukrainian Constitution and calls into question the legitimacy of the election, which will held on March 31.

Since the election will not be held on the territory of Donbas as it is not under Kiev's control, between 7 and 10 million people will be unable to vote. This figure represents from one sixth to a quarter of the population of the country. At the same time, according to the legislation, the presidential election in Ukraine is general, and all citizens of the country who have turned 18 years old have the right to vote.

Although Russia is one of the leading countries where Ukrainians come to earn money, Ukraine's CEC has closed all five foreign polling stations that were established on a permanent basis. This happened on December 31, 2018, on the very first day of the election campaign. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said at the time that it was "dangerous" for the citizens of the country to vote in Russia, but as usual it was unclear what source or evidence these allegations are based.

Meanwhile, according to the Ukrainian media, there are about 3 million Ukrainian citizens in Russia. And Klimkin himself previously stated that every 12th Ukrainian was living on the territory of Russia.

Now Ukrainian citizens living in Russia can vote in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Finland or in their homeland.

"Ukrainian citizens who are temporarily in Russia and have a passport of a Ukrainian citizen [the so-called Ukrainian internal passport] are advised to vote at their place of registration in Ukraine," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

From 7 to 10 million Ukrainian citizens will not be able to vote for the future president due to the closure of polling stations in Russia and the refusal to hold elections in Donbas, according to Russian Permanent Representative to OSCE Alexander Lukashevich.

"The fair question arises about the legitimacy of such a process in general, when a huge part of the Ukrainian population is not able to take part in an open vote for political concerns raised by the Ukrainian authorities," Lukashevich told Sputnik.

According to experts, the closure of polling stations in Russia and the refusal to hold elections in Donbas will only benefit incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who also intends to run for president.

A member of the Russian CEC, Evgeny Shevchenko, believes that Kiev's decision to close polling stations in Russia was contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution, which guarantees the right of self-determination to the citizens.

A number of presidential candidates also condemned the decision. Thus, Yuriy Boyko, the leader of the Opposition Platform � For Life party, believes that the CEC "serves the interests of the current president" and the authorities were trying to falsify the election.

"This is a violation of the constitution, as people should be able to come where they live and are registered, and vote there," Boyko stressed.

Representatives of the Ukrainian opposition have tried to challenge the CEC decision in court, but to no avail. They now plan to appeal to the Constitutional Court, as well as to the European Court of Human Rights.

POLLING STATIONS IN CONGO AND KOSOVO

According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the number of voters abroad is almost 527,000 people. During the presidential election, 101 polling stations will be opened for them in 72 countries: 99 polling stations were established at foreign diplomatic offices and two in military units in the Congo and in Kosovo. The largest number of voters, about 53,000 people, is expected at the polling station at the Ukrainian Embassy in Moldova.

Due to the time difference, voting abroad will take place from March 30 to April 1, although the election in Ukraine itself will be held on March 31.

"The vote will actually begin on March 30 at the polling station at the Ukrainian Embassy in Australia, and will end on April 1, Kiev time, at the Consulate General in San Francisco," Serhii Pohoreltsev, the head of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's Directorate General for Consular Service, said.

To vote abroad, a Ukrainian citizen must be included in the list of voters at a foreign polling station. To do this, one has to apply to a diplomatic office, come in person and have a document confirming his or her citizenship - Ukrainian internal passport, diplomatic or service passport.

VOTING ABROAD TO LEAVE RESULTS UNAFFECTED

Ruslan Bortnik, the director of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Management of Policy, believes that voting abroad will not affect the results of the presidential election in Ukraine.

"There will be a vote, and it will be a vote for pro-Western candidates. Most likely, people like [Former Minister of Defense] Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Poroshenko will get the votes. But voting abroad has never seriously affected the overall result of the Ukrainian election, because tens of millions of people vote in the election and tens of thousands of people vote abroad at best. Therefore, it is a drop in the ocean; it is more of a symbolic vote than the one that affects the election," Bortnik told Sputnik.

The upcoming presidential election will see an unprecedented number of candidates for Ukraine - 43. According to the opinion polls, comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been the leader of the presidential rating for more than a month, followed by leader of the pro-European Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party Yulia Tymoshenko and incumbent president Poroshenko.