POLITICAL RIGHTS IMPLEMENTATION OF UKRAINIAN CITIZENS AMID COUNTERACTING THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC

Abstract

Among the catalog of political rights of citizens of Ukraine, the COVID-19 epidemic made significant adjustments to the implementation of only two – the right to participate in elections (the opportunity to participate in government and public affairs) and the right to participate in peaceful assemblies. Instead, the other political rights (right of appeal, right of association, etc.) were subject to minimal restrictions, which were offset by electronic means of appeals, inquiries, and administrative services. The local elections held in Ukraine on October 25, 2020, testified to the readiness of the Ukrainian state to conduct democratic procedures in difficult epidemic conditions. For this purpose, special regulations were adopted and appropriate security measures were applied. Although voter turnout was expected to be low, an objective opportunity to exercise their right to freely choose and be elected was created and ensured. The campaigns discussions and debates continued mainly online. However, the voting itself took place on election day and without the use of alternatives technologies (electronic voting, voting by mail, on behalf of, etc.). At the time of the epidemic, the right to peaceful assembly was being severely restricted in Ukraine. The quarantine resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine set various restrictions on the concentration of people (initially not more than 200, and later – not more than 10), and hence the possibility of full-fledged meetings. Although these provisions were by-laws and inconsistent with the Constitution of Ukraine, law enforcement agencies were largely guided by them and opposed the assembly. Judicial practice did not solve this problem either, as administrative rulings and protocols were revoked by courts on formal grounds, and not due to the unconstitutionality of the quarantine restriction.