Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada amends law on parliamentary elections to meet European integration requirements
KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada amended the law on parliamentary elections on Thursday to meet its European integration commitments.
The bill was supported at the second reading and on the whole by 365 out of the 423 parliamentarians present in the session hall on Thursday. Only the Communist Party faction did not take part in the voting.
The bill proposed by parliamentarians from the Party of Regions faction envisions the establishment of a special electoral district abroad, which would include all polling stations located outside Ukraine; an amendment to the procedure for setting up district elections commissions; a reduction in the size of the monetary deposit during registration; the imposition of restrictions on the size of an electoral fund; and tougher requirements to be met by news agencies covering elections.
The bill also introduces a so-called system of "gender orientation of political parties," which implies that political parties would have to voluntarily set quotas for women in their charters.
