RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE AND PUBLIC CONTROL OF THE ELECTION PROCESS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

During the years of independence, Ukraine has undergone certain processes that have led tochanges in the relationship between government and society. These changes were not alwayspositive. State power had a high level of authority in the eyes of the Ukrainian people. The majorityof the population does not believe in the objectivity of the results of the people’s will, which, infact, stimulates interest and shows the importance of public control over the election process.The purpose of the article – is to study the correlation of the state and public control over thesuffrage of Ukraine and its influence on the formation and development of civil society.The methodological basis of the study were general scientific and special legal methods ofcognition. Among the general scientific methods used is the method of philosophical dialectics,which is revealed through the methods of analysis and synthesis, ascent from simple to complex,from abstract to concrete, modeling, abstraction, idealization and formalization.Despite the expansion of opportunities to influence the future of the country through the free willof the people, the importance and effectiveness of public control faces a number of obstacles. Forexample, the presence of underdeveloped civil society, the lack of a prescribed mechanism for publiccontrol, political indifference of citizens, the negative impact of bureaucratic manifestations – allthis and many other factors together have a negative impact on the development of civil societyand effective control for the election process. But a rather significant shortcoming in the way ofits development is the lack of scientific research on this issue.As a result of the research, it was found that through election procedures it is possible to bestbalance and reconcile the interests of political elites, social classes, groups of the whole society,to bring the government closer to the needs of the people. The public sector plays a positive role in the processes of stabilization and harmonization of relations in society and the electoral processin particular. Public control as a social phenomenon is impossible without the formation of afavorable environment for its full and effective functioning, ie without a developed civil society.The article concludes that election control can be effective only when it is carried out by anindependent third party, in our case – civil society in relation to public authorities and localgovernments, which are directly involved in ensuring the preparation and conduct of the electionprocess. Many years of international and national experience clearly show that the lack or lowlevel of public control over the electoral process and excessive state control ultimately lead tousurpation of power and falsification of election results.