Ukraine's Parliament Adopts New Electoral Code

Ukrainian Parliament has adopted a new electoral code.

230 MPs voted in favor of this decision.

The new Electoral Code provides for the introduction of a proportional electoral system with open party lists at the legislative elections, as well as the change of the electoral system at local elections.

It should be noted that the draft Electoral Code, which provides for open lists and the abolition of constituency candidates, was adopted in the first reading in November 2017. But since then, the case had not yet reached the second reading: an unprecedented number of amendments (almost 5000) had been submitted to the document, which delayed its consideration.

After the inauguration, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved the Ukrainian parliament and introduced his bill to the parliament, which provided for the abolition of the constituency system, but retained closed lists.

MPs did not include the president's bill on the agenda. After that, Zelenskyy issued a decree providing for the early parliamentary elections on July 21, which automatically meant that the snap election would take place using the old mixed system.