Official: CEC's refusal to register Tymoshenko and Lutsenko as candidates for MPs illegal

The refusal of the Central Election Commission (CEC) to register former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko as candidates for MPs is illegal, considers the representative of the Batkivschyna united opposition in the CEC, Ruslan Kniazevych, who appealed to the court with an appropriate claim.

"The Constitution of Ukraine contains several provisions that limit the participation of people in elections. There is a huge legal gap between the notions "to participate in elections" and "to be elected"," Kniazevych said at a meeting of the Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals on Saturday.

He said that the Constitution, in particular, establishes that persons who at the time of elections have existing or non-expunged convictions cannot be elected deputies.

"Thus, existing or non-expunged convictions cannot be the ground for prohibition to participate in elections," he said.

According to Kniazevych, "otherwise, the Central Election Commission makes the registration of candidates and their election equal."

Kniazevych noted that Tymoshenko's and Lutsenko's sentences can be declared illegal and cancelled before the election process ends.

The plaintiff asked the court to declare the CEC's decision illegal and cancel it, as well as oblige the Central Election Commission to register Tymoshenko and Lutsenko as candidates for MPs.