The campaign "Invisible voters", Kyiv, March 20, 2018. Source: Civic Holding Group "Vplyv".According to Ukraine’s Social Politics Ministry, there are over 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country, and the latest data from the International Organization for Migration show that 80% of IDPs regard themselves as completely or partially integrated in their new communities. They cite the availability of housing and work and presence of family and friends as the main criteria for successful integration.
Another important condition for integration is, of course, the ability to take part in political life. In Ukraine, however, IDPs can vote for the president and part of the Verkhovna Rada, the country’s parliament, but they can’t vote in local elections or one-member constituencies as they are not locally registered as householders.
No registration, no vote
“I pay my taxes like everyone else but I have no influence on who will dispose of my cash, as local elections happen without any participation on my part”, says Katarina Zhemchuzhnikova, a settler from Donetsk. Katarina moved to Kyiv at the start of the war, and has been standing up for IDPs’ rights with colleagues from the “Support” Civil Network NGO.
