How They Voted in Places of Detention in the Chernihiv Region

The fate of the entire country depends on the vote of each elector. Therefore, during the extraordinary elections of the President of Ukraine, the Chernihiv Public Committee for Human Rights implemented an initiative to facilitate the free expression of will for voters in special institutions, i.e., in places of detention (as understood by the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture), and also carried out monitoring of the observance of these rights with the support of IFES-Ukraine.

Specifics of the electoral process in places of detention

The characteristics of places of detention and the presence of individuals therein are defined by three main criteria:
1. Individuals are located there by a decision of a judicial or specific administrative body.
2. Individuals are under the full care of the state.
3. Individuals held there are deprived of liberty or restricted in their freedom of movement.

Therefore, public human rights organisations and the administration of such institutions are tasked with facilitating the free and informed choice of these vulnerable individuals as much as possible, so that every voter’s voice is heard and accounted for. This is to ensure they can participate in the socio-political life of the country and fulfil their civic duty on an equal footing with other voters who are at liberty.

The electoral process and voting in penitentiary and social-medical institutions have their own peculiarities. On one hand, due to their legal or medical status, state of health, and age, voters in such institutions have limited access to information about candidates and their programmes, limited communication with the outside world, and limited means of protecting their electoral and other rights in the event of their violation.

For example, during this electoral campaign, in two targeted penitentiary institutions of the Chernihiv region (a women’s colony and a pre-trial detention centre), only representatives of Y. Tymoshenko’s headquarters expressed a desire and found the time to conduct agitation work with convicted and detained voters.

And during interviews with the special contingent of the Pryluky Educational Colony, where about 70 young men aged 18 to 22 were to vote for the first time, the absolute majority stated that they would participate in the voting but had not decided on their choice and did not know the details or specifics of the voting procedure. Some of the colony’s residents could not name a single candidate’s surname at all.

On the other hand, election results in such institutions have always raised many questions and doubts due to a high percentage of support for pro-government forces or candidates compared to the average for the region and the country.

For instance, in 2010, Y. Tymoshenko won the presidential elections in the Chernihiv pre-trial detention centre and the women’s colony. In 2012, during the parliamentary elections in the majoritarian district, the nominee of the Party of Regions, the then First Deputy Governor S. Prokopenko, secured victory at these polling stations.

Another feature of elections in penitentiary institutions is the high or almost absolute voter turnout compared to ordinary polling stations. On one hand, this is explained by general practice, where such voters are brought to the polling station under escort, cell by cell or by brigades. It is very difficult for a voter who, for instance, does not wish to participate in the voting for some reason, to express their position to the administration under whose complete control they are. On the other hand, elections are a significant event in the lives of convicts and detainees who are in isolation, so participating in the vote is, to a certain extent, a form of leisure.

Voting in places of detention in the Chernihiv region

Regarding the direct monitoring of this year’s voting process at the specified stations, observers from the Chernihiv Public Committee for Human Rights also recorded certain violations and peculiarities on 25 May 2014.

In particular, the direct objects of monitoring on election day were special polling stations, namely in the Chernihiv pre-trial detention centre, the Chernihiv Women’s Correctional Colony, the Chernihiv Regional Psychoneurological Hospital, as well as an ordinary polling station at the Chernihiv Geriatric Boarding House, since voters in this institution also have a particularly vulnerable status.

In the Chernihiv Women’s Correctional Colony and in the pre-trial detention centre, the voting had effectively ended by 11:00. No violations were recorded, except for an attempt by one of the commission members in the women’s colony to enter the voting booth and assist a visually impaired convict in filling out the ballot. However, this attempt was prevented by other commission members.

Also, in the pre-trial detention centre, the administration prohibited official observers from conducting photo and video recording in the polling room (due to the special status of the detained persons), whereas in the women’s colony, there were no such obstacles.

Regarding social and medical institutions, the main problem here is the helpless and inadequate state of certain individuals. For example, in the geriatric boarding house, more than half of the 350 voters voted in their wards due to health conditions. Some of them could not even sign for the receipt of the ballot themselves or place a mark on it. Commission members had to resort to the help of one of the ‘mobile’ voters, who accompanied the members and helped the infirm perform the voting procedure, as the law prohibits commission members or observers from doing this.

Also, during the voting in the wards, a fact was recorded where an elderly voter had a slip of paper before voting on which the surname of one of the candidates was written (evidently, so as not to forget who to vote for).

At the Chernihiv Geriatric Boarding House, as early as 9:00 in the morning, a number of male voters were entering the polling room with clear signs of alcohol intoxication. The presence of 2 people in the voting booths was also recorded.

In turn, at the Chernihiv Psychoneurological Hospital, individual voters who had not been declared legally incapacitated and therefore had the right to vote were nevertheless, due to their mental state, disoriented about what was happening, spoiled ballots, forgot them in the booths, or threw them outside the ballot boxes. Many patients were not brought to vote at all due to their condition, so the total turnout at this special station reached only 57%.

Thus, public monitors became convinced that voting in such institutions has its own peculiarities and differs from ordinary stations where the vast majority of Ukrainian citizens vote.

However, summarising the results of the observation, one can conclude that the expression of will on election day was free and transparent, and on the whole, the situation does not give rise to serious remarks or complaints.

During the monitoring of elections in places of detention, carried out by the Chernihiv Public Committee for Human Rights, no gross violations (use of administrative resources, bribery of voters, falsifications, etc.) that could have affected the voting process and the results of the citizens’ expression of will were detected.

Election results:

Chernihiv Women’s Correctional Colony (special station No. 741108 of electoral district No. 208): 519 convicted women voted out of 521 entered in the voter list.
Tymoshenko—56%,
Poroshenko—19%,
Lyashko—6%.

Chernihiv Pre-trial Detention Centre (special temporary station No. 000001): 239 voted out of 241 persons entered in the voter list.
Tymoshenko—47%,
Poroshenko—24%,
Lyashko—14%.

Chernihiv Geriatric Boarding House (station No. 741087):
352 persons on voter lists. Of these, 186 were entered in the extract from the voter list for voting at the place of stay (in wards). 333 voters participated in the voting. 156 voted in the room, 177 in the wards.
Poroshenko—38%,
Tymoshenko—21%,
Lyashko—12%.

Chernihiv Regional Psychoneurological Hospital (station No. 740890): 566 persons entered in the voter list. 325 voters participated in the voting. That is, the turnout was 57%, which is too low a percentage for a special station.
Poroshenko—30%,
Tymoshenko—19%,
Lyashko—10%,
Invalid ballots—8%.

Note that, in general, in the Chernihiv region, Tymoshenko received the highest percentage among the regions of Ukraine—20%; Poroshenko received one of the lowest—44%.