Who will make up the new Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defence – voting results and details

On January 13, 2025, the Commission responsible for overseeing the competition for forming the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine held its meeting.

Following the nationwide online vote, 15 of the 40 candidates who garnered the most votes will be elected to the Council. As per clause 17 of the Regulation on the Public Anti-Corruption Council, the Commission has decided to recognize the following candidates as elected:

1. Yurii Hudymenko (Veterans Axe): 65,222 votes;

2. Tetiana Nikolaienko (The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission): 43,515 votes;

3. Anastasiia Shuba (Anti-Corruption Axe): 40,281 votes;

4. Mykyta Soloviov (Anti-Corruption Axe): 39,860 votes;

5. Mykyta Shtankov (Veterans Axe): 39,724 votes;

6. Oresta Brit  (БОН): 39 285 votes;

7. Olena Nyshporka (Anti-Corruption Axe): 39,231 votes;

8. Oleh Chernov (Ukrainian Law Association): 37,829 votes;

9. Maksym Kostetskyi (The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission): 37,683 votes;

10. Viktor Bishchuk (Ukrainian Law Association): 37,612 votes;

11. Olena Trehub (The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission): 37,480 votes;

12. Kateryna Datsenko (Center for Public Oversight): 34,635 votes;

13. Anton Mykytiuk (Center for Public Oversight): 33,454 votes;

14. Vitalii Masiuk (Ukrainian Law Association): 32,948 votes;

15. Viktor Prudkovskykh (Center for Public Oversight): 32,136 votes.

During the meeting, the Commission analyzed the open voting protocol, the voting sequence, the report analysis of the current voting, and the system's own protocols developed by the NGO ‘Electronic Democracy’. The findings confirm that there was no evidence of technical interference during the online voting process that could have influenced the election outcomes.

It is important to note that the openness and transparency of the competition, as well as the verification of the vote-counting process, are ensured through an open voting protocol. In other words, every participant in the online rating voting can access and verify how their vote was counted (without disclosing personal information), as well as calculate the total number of votes for each candidate. 

The open protocol does not include any personal data that would allow for the specific identification of a voter.

The newly formed Council will continue to uphold civilian oversight with a zero-tolerance approach to corruption in the defense sector, focusing on enhancing transparency and accountability and preventing corruption in the Ministry of Defence.

How was the voting conducted?

The nationwide online voting for the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense took place on January 7, 2025, from 9:00 to 21:00, on the Ministry’s official website. 

A total of 101,215 Ukrainians participated in the election of the new Council, setting a record that is nearly 2.5 times higher than the previous election in 2023, where approximately 41,000 citizens voted.

How was the list of candidates compiled and the selection process conducted?

The candidate nomination process was guided by clear, well-defined criteria. Only public organizations registered at least two years prior to the competition announcement were eligible to submit candidates. An essential condition was that their statutory activities must be directly related to preventing and combating corruption. 

Each organization was allowed to nominate up to three candidates, ensuring a diverse range of representation. To ensure transparency, nominee organizations provided public reports detailing their activities and disclosing their funding sources from the past year.

The process resulted in a list of 19 civil public organizations and 40 candidates, from which voters elected 15 future members of the Council. This number is specified in the Regulation on the Public Anti-Corruption Council and aimed at ensuring the effective functioning of the Council and a representative presence of various anti-corruption initiatives.

How was voting transparency and security ensured?

The Ministry of Defence has implemented a multi-tiered security system to ensure a fair and transparent voting process. Specialists prepared the software to handle various "high load" scenarios, conducted thorough testing, and incorporated strategies for prompt action in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Voter authentication was conducted using the trusted BankID and Diia.Signature services. This effectively prevented the use of fake accounts and multiple voting. 

In voting, sensitive data was encrypted and processed in a secure data center used for the ministry’s official electronic resources. The Ministry of Defence's digital systems adhere to both national and international cybersecurity standards.

Considering the continuous attacks on Ukraine's IT infrastructure, voting was restricted to the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, special emphasis was placed on facilitating voting for military personnel at the frontline; through access via Starlink terminals and technical support, defenders could participate in the voting.

What challenges were encountered?

Despite thorough preparation, the voting process encountered specific challenges. The system successfully resisted the DDoS attack due to the coordinated efforts of the technical team. Authorization issues affected less than 1% of users, with most subsequent login attempts proving successful.

A certain number of votes were submitted from identical IP addresses (127.0.0.1). This situation is due to deploying security services that safeguard the voting process. Nevertheless, this did not compromise the accuracy of the results, as every vote was verified through trusted BankID and Diia.Signature services.

It is worth noting that the current voting followed a failed attempt, during which technical failures, site instability, and authorization errors led to the annulment of the previous voting results. This time, steps were taken to address and fix all previous shortcomings.

How are votes counted and verified?

A special Commission responsible for overseeing the competition was established by order of the Ministry of Defence to verify the voting results. The Commission's membership consisted of representatives from the current Public Anti-Corruption Council, civil society organizations, and consultative advisory bodies. In the Commission, representatives from the Ministry of Defence were not granted voting rights, reinforcing the principle of independence and state non-interference.

Final voting results must be publicly released on the Ministry of Defense’s information resources within five business days of the voting's conclusion.

Can the results be contested?

Under the current legislation, there is a mechanism to dispute the results. Specifically, this right is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and can be exercised through the judicial process.

Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that every individual is guaranteed the right to appeal in court against decisions, actions, or omissions by state authorities, local self-government bodies, and officials.

What are the expectations for the new Council?

The Anti-Corruption Council will serve as an essential means for civil society to engage in democratic oversight. Amidst current challenges, the Council will serve as an additional mechanism to oversee the transparency and integrity in both the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Over the next two years, the Council members will focus on analyzing and evaluating corruption risks across various sectors of the Ministry of Defence while formulating appropriate anti-corruption measures. Their efforts will focus on enhancing transparency in the defense sector and boosting resource utilization efficiency.

The Council's activities will officially commence once its composition has been approved by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, with further announcements to be communicated.

What are the next steps?

Shortly after the official announcement of the voting results and the approval of the Council's composition, its first meeting will be held. During this meeting, the members of the Anti-Corruption Council will elect from among themselves, by a simple majority of votes, the following positions:

• the Chair of the Anti-Corruption Council;

• the Vice-Chair of the Anti-Corruption Council;

• the Secretary of the Anti-Corruption Council. 

The Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and other members of the Anti-Corruption Council serve in their roles on a voluntary basis. Members of the Council do not hold any identification cards or other unique documents verifying their membership in the Anti-Corruption Council.

Members of the Anti-Corruption Council shall carry out their duties personally. They shall not have the right to delegate their authority to attend meetings or cast votes to any other individuals, including fellow members of the Anti-Corruption Council. If a member of the Council cannot participate in a meeting, they have the right to express their opinion in writing (electronic document), which will be announced by the Chair of the Anti-Corruption Council during the meeting before the vote.

It is worth highlighting that the high level of voter participation underscores the growing public demand for transparency and accountability in the defense sector. This imposes additional responsibility on the new composition of the Council and establishes a clear public mandate for the required changes.