Model of Elections to Local Councils in Ukraine Evolution

Abstract

This paper reflects process of national model of local and regional elections' evolution in Ukraine. The authors trace the origin of the local democratic election since the end of the USSR and the beginning of Ukraine's Independence. They looked at key factors, which determine the legal framework of the local elections as well as at the will and whims of political elite, who try to subject rules of the game to their vested interests in national and local politics. The article outlines main stages of the local elections' system evolution. The authors point out that Ukraine has changed its electoral model several times, local elections including. Thus, elections of 1994, 1998 and 2002 were held in accordance with the majority system, 2006 elections were grounded on the proportional system with the closed electoral lists. Elections of 2010 experimented with the mixture of both previous systems. Elections of 2015 were founded on the proportional system with open electoral lists and of 2020 with the same system despite some minor adjustments made. It is hardly easy to state what kind of electoral system is the best. Effectiveness of any depends on the certain conditions, which should be taken into careful consideration. Pros and cons of any electoral system relay on certain political system and corresponding regime peculiarities, depends on dominant type of the political culture of the citizens, political parties principal characteristics and activity of the Civic society. However, the authors outline positive and negative sides of all the systems Ukraine adopted and explored. They also make some proposals aimed at resolution of the most vicious problems penetrated electoral processes in Ukraine, covering their legal foundations and institutional design of elections to the local Self-government bodies.