How Ukraine Voted in Early Parliamentary Elections

On July 21, Ukrainians headed to the polling stations to vote in the snap parliamentary elections. There were 22 parties to choose from, and another 3320 MP candidates in the 199 single-mandate constituencies throughout the country. Hromadske provided you with live updates on the voting process.

All updates are given in Kyiv time zone (Eastern European Summer Time).

READ MORE: Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People Set to Get Single-Party Majority

10 p.m. According to the final national exit poll results, five parties will enter Ukraine's new parliament.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People - 44.2%

Viktor Medvedchuk's Opposition Platform - For Life - 11.4%

Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity - 8.8%

Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna - 7.4%

Sviatoslav Vakarchuk's Golos - 6.5%

READ MORE: Five Parties to Make Up Ukraine's New Parliament - Exit Polls

8:10 p.m. David Arakhamia, number 4 on Servant of the People party list, told Hromadske that about 70% of a draft coalition agreement is ready.

8 p.m. Polling stations have now CLOSED. National exit poll results:

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People  - 43.9% Viktor Medvedchuk's Opposition Platform-For Life - 11.5%

Petro Poroshenko's European Solidarity - 8.9%

Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna - 7.6%

Sviatoslav Vakarchuk's Golos - 6.3%

7:36 p.m. 56 criminal proceedings in relation to electoral fraud have been opened as of 7 p.m. in Ukraine. Overall, 1,955 violations have been reported to the police so far. Of those, 457 reports involved illegal campaigning, 64 – prevention of other people's right to vote, 45 involved conflicts, 26 spoiling ballot papers, 11 damaging property, 16 bomb threats, and 31 cases of photographing ballot papers.

6:52 p.m. As of 6 p.m. the Ukrainian Police had received 1,792 reports about electoral violations. Law enforcers created 44 protocols about administrative violations. 44 criminal proceedings had been opened.

6:34 p.m. In the city of Myrnohrad, which is in Ukraine's Donetsk region, someone threw multiple ballots into a ballot box. The police are working on the scene to receive more information and register the violation.

5:37 p.m. The Kharkiv and Odesa departments of the National Police report that they received anonymous bomb threats via telephone about 27 polling stations. So far, no explosives have been found at the stations.

5:11 p.m. The National Antarctic Science Center announces that the 12 Ukrainians currently in Antarctica completed voting in their remote polling station.

4:50 p.m. As of 4 p.m., the voter turnout is 36.21%, the Central Election Commission reported. The highest turnout was registered in the Chernihiv region (42.05%), the lowest in Zakarpattia (21.82%), western Ukraine.

4:21 p.m. An event of ballot stuffing was registered in Lviv, western Ukraine. A woman (born in 1995) cast 10 ballot papers at once, which she herself filled in. Once this was noticed, the ballot box was taped and is no longer being used. Overall, 21 criminal proceedings have so far been opened in relation to the electoral processes on July 21 in Ukraine.

3:40 p.m. Ukrainians are voting in the United States.

3:25 p.m. The head of the Central Election Commission, Tetyana Slipachuk, said that the main problem at the polling stations is the question of putting the stamp "out" in the ballot papers. According to her, many ballot papers were damaged because of the fact that the stamp opposite the candidates who have withdrawn from the race was placed incorrectly.

​3:08 p.m. The Central Election Commission stated that the electoral process is going as planned. No systemic violations that could affect the results of the elections have been recorded so far.

2:58 p.m. The polling station in Australia, which opened first among foreign polling stations, has already finished voting. According to the commission, 57 people voted in the parliamentary elections, which is 4% of all registered voters. In total, Ukrainians are voting in 72 countries.

2:41 p.m. In Zaytsevo in Donetsk region, elections are taking place despite the information about mining of the crossing point Mayorske. In the opinion of the participants of the election process, in particular the MP candidate at the 51st constituency Nadiya Savchenko, the closure of the checkpoint seriously affects the voting of citizens, especially those who live in the occupied territory, but have the right to vote in the 51st constituency.

2:13 p.m. This is how the front-line town Shchastya in Luhansk region looks on the election day.



1:56 p.m. In the constituency number 102, members of the election commission used a saucepan instead of a safe. In the photo from the polling station number 350666 (village Nahirne, Svitlovodsk district) it is evident that "safe" is written on a saucepan and it is "sealed". Eventually, a safe deposit box was brought to the polling station, OPORA writes.

1:32 p.m. This shows how seats will be distributed in the new parliament:

1:26 p.m. Svyatoslav Vakarchuk arrived at his polling station. Speaking to the journalists, he used his own lyrics to say "everything will be fine".

1:16 p.m. There have not been any grave violations in the elections, Interior Ministry reported at a briefing. As of 12 p.m., the police received 606 statements and communications related to the election process.

1:12 p.m. As of 12 p.m, voter turnout in the early parliamentary elections is 18.63%. This data is provided by the Central Election Commission on the basis of the counting of appearances at 133 single-mandate constituencies (out of 199 in Ukraine).

The highest fixed turnout is in Kirovohrad and Luhansk region. As of 12 p.m., almost 24.14% and 23.88% of eligible voters have voted there, respectively. The lowest turnout was in Zakarpattya region.

12:32 p.m. A little earlier, Speaker of the Parliament Andriy Parubiy came to his polling station. He came to vote at the polling station in the House of Officers, but forgot his passport. However, soon afterwards, he got his document, and was able to vote, Vesti reports.

12:22 p.m. At the same time as Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the previous president, Petro Poroshenko, came to vote at another polling station.

12:16 p.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife came to the polling station to vote in the parliamentary elections. Hromadske ran a live broadcast from the polling station.

12:07 p.m. As of 11 a.m., the police recorded 382 communications related to the electoral process. For the most part, they concerned illegal campaigning, interference with electoral law, conflict, bribery of voters and damage to property.

11:50 a.m. The head of the commission in the Dnipro district of Kyiv came to work inebriated, the police drew up an administrative protocol. Now the man faces a fine.

11:42 a.m. Pro-Russian blogger Anatoliy Shariy was not allowed to take part in the early elections, but his name was still in the ballot, Hromadske was informed by a reader.

READ MORE: The Return of Pro-Russian Politicians in Ukraine?

11:28 a.m. Parliamentary elections: what we know as of 11 a.m.:

- 8 polling stations in the country did not open on time. In particular, in the Mykolaiv region, one station failed to print ballots in time, and at one of the stations in Zhytomyr region the head of the commission was late.
- In Bakhmut, members of the commission tried to falsify the results of the vote
- A number of MP candidates have already voted. Dmytro Razumkov, head of Servant of the People campaigned for his party during a conversation with journalists
- Three polling stations were opened in the Lukyanivka remand prison, and the prisoners have voted.

10:51 a.m. As of 10 a.m., 2 polling station election commissions in Chernihiv region remain unopened. Transmission of election documents is still ongoing, the Interior Ministry reports. Today, the police have already received 218 applications and communications related to the electoral process.

10:39 a.m. Ukrainians vote in Poland. According to the Ambassador of Ukraine Andrii Deshchytsia, a polling station has already opened in Warsaw.

10:19 a.m. The leader of the Batkivshchyna Party, Yulia Tymoshenko, came to the polling station. In response to the question of whether she plans to become the next prime minister, Tymoshenko noted that nobody knows who will be the next prime minister today, but her team is ready to work.

10:16 a.m. The leaders of the Opposition Platform - For Life Yuriy Boyko and Vadym Rabinovich have also voted.

9:54 a.m. The head of musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk's  Golos ("Voice") party and the second number on the party list, Yulia Klymenko, has also voted.

9:51 a.m. Razumkov campaigned for his party during a conversation with journalists. Ukraine's election law prohibits campaigning on the election day.

9:40 a.m. The first number on the list of Servant of the People and head of the party Dmytro Razumkov arrived at his polling station. He said that the advantage of the early elections is that MPs will be able to approve the budget for the next year in a timely manner.

Polling station 800982, Kyiv Photo: Liuda Kornievych / Hromadske

9:29 a.m. As of 9:00 a.m., 8 polling stations have not yet opened in Ukraine. This was announced by the head of the National Police Serhiy Knyazev.

9:10 a.m. Over 6,000 law enforcement officers are working at the elections in Kyiv: policemen are protecting all 1108 polling stations in the capital.

8:26 a.m. As usual,Ukrainians in Australia voted first. The voting began at 1:00 a.m. Kyiv time at that foreign polling station. The process will end in San Francisco at 6:00 p.m. Kyiv time on July 22.

8:17 a.m. There are officially 1,719 registered election observers: 1,602 - from 21 international organizations, and 117 observers - from 12 foreign states. Earlier, the Central Election Commission refused to register OSCE observers from Russia in the elections.

8:00 a.m. Polling stations start to open up in Ukraine.