What did Kyiv's new election commission and US sanctions signal?
A look back at two developments reported on 20 September 2018, days before 24 September 2018: a refreshed Central Election Commission and US sanctions tied to Russian arms.
What was the political picture on 24 September 2018? Two developments from the preceding days framed it: one domestic, one international.
On 20 September 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine renewed the membership of the Central Election Commission (CEC). The previous line-up had been due for replacement four years earlier, so the vote closed a long overdue procedural gap in an institution that oversees elections.
The same day, the US State Department imposed sanctions on the Equipment Development Department, an agency within China's military. The reason given was its purchase of Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and S-400 missile system equipment through Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms export agency. The measure was taken under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
The legal frame
CAATSA is a US federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia. It works by preventing US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities. The Senate passed it on 27 July 2017 by 98 votes to 2, after the House approved it 419 to 3. President Donald Trump signed it on 2 August 2017, although he believed the legislation was seriously flawed.
Two separate stories
The two events were unconnected. One concerned the renewal of an electoral body in Kyiv after a four-year delay. The other concerned the enforcement of a US law against a Chinese military agency over purchases routed through a Russian state exporter. Together they show how, in the days before 24 September 2018, Ukrainian institutional housekeeping and wider sanctions policy were both moving ahead.
