Election workers lacking as central commission calls upon volunteers

The Central Election Commission of Ukraine called upon
citizens to volunteer to serve on local election commissions, which lack quorum
in 33 election districts out of a total of 200 nationally. It made the
announcement on Apr. 15, which is the last day when the commissions can be
formed. In response, the campaign of Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the lack of
quorum could be an attempt by the Poroshenko administration to undermine the
second-round vote, scheduled for Apr. 21. “If people are lacking, district
commissions are supposed to submit nominees with the help of local government
bodies,” the campaign said on its Facebook page. “But the latter aren’t doing
so either, showing either their incapability or deliberate sabotage of the
process of organizing elections.”

Zenon Zawada: This is the
first time in the last 15 years that such a situation has arisen. It remains
unclear whether the situation has been resolved, but it’s positive that such a
public announcement was made, rather than the Poroshenko administration
deciding to tacitly fill the vacancies on its own. At the same time, it could
use this announcement to justify quickly the filling vacancies with its loyal
nominees, with the claim that it will save the elections. This has some
potential to disrupt the vote.