It’s no surprise that public opinion polls show that Ukrainians are largely disappointed with the same old faces and choices in politics. The candidates expected to run in the 2019 presidential election aren’t new. Out of frustration with the unaccountability of the current parliament, there was a big push this spring to switch to an open-list proportional election system for parliament. However, due to vested interests, the status quo is likely to prevail. What options do Ukrainians have for a better selection of candidates and a more democratic electoral system?
Political party primaries may be one solution. In the United States they originated as a way to break up the power of party bosses and involve more people in the political process. With Ukraine’s current closed-list proportional ballot system, and since less than two percent of Ukrainians are members of any political party, Ukraine could greatly benefit from the same internal party democratization and break up of the party bosses’ grip on power.
