Lozynskyi: instead of banning pro-Russian candidates from running, they propose marking them on the ballot

Legally, it is not possible to bar someone from running without a court verdict.

Candidates who, legally, held leadership positions in parties banned by the court should be marked directly on the ballot in the first postwar elections.

This was stated in an interview with LB.ua by Roman Lozinsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Verkhovna Rada on State Governance and a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The deputy explained that a lustration is a mechanism to prevent overt collaborators and supporters of the ‘Russian world’ from coming to power under disguised brands, but at the same time not to prohibit the political opponents and critics from running. In his words, a balance is needed.

He described a variant of strict lustration where everyone who legally had ties to prohibited parties is barred from running, but he emphasized that international law requires an individual approach—by court decisions.

At the same time Lozinsky gave an example of what could happen in the absence of court verdicts.

“If you went to the central square of your city with a Russian flag in a 26-style year and said, ‘Forward, Russia. Crimea is Russia,’ but you have no court verdict against you—you run in elections, you get elected, and then the ‘Russian World’ shakes in your city, regional, or national council,” the deputy warned, stressing that this should not be allowed.

Since it is legally impossible to deny registration to those who work for Russia but have no verdict, the simplest solution, he said, is to inform voters.

“The simplest thing we can do is put a certain mark on the ballot so people understand, they are informed: this candidate has such a background, such history, such an attitude,” Lozinsky said.

The deputy clarified that this refers to individuals who legally held leadership positions in parties banned by the court precisely for working for the aggressor country and for threats to national security, and these facts can be verified through the Ministry of Justice and registries.