Electoral Violence and the Case of Internally Displaced Persons during Early 2014 Parliamentary Election in Ukraine

Elections are a central instrument to exercise democracy in many countries, from well-established to developing democratic states. However, not all citizens can participate openly in the selection of their government for a variety of reasons. This paper will address topics of electoral violence and internally displaced persons during the 2014 early parliamentary election in Ukraine. It will show that despite the presence of military conflict in the east of the country, the Central Election Commission of Ukraine introduced changes to the Law of Ukraine on State voter Register (Art. 7 of the Law) in accordance with Art 17 of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of Central Election Commission, that allowed Ukrainian citizens who resided on the occupied territories to participate in the election.