"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 206 The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net (ARTUIS) Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1.PRELIMINARY STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATION REPUBLICAN
INSTITUTE (IRI) ON THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IRI, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 1, 2004
2. UKRAINIAN ELECTION CHIEF ACKNOWLEDGES MASS
ERRORS ON VOTER REGISTERS UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, Monday, 1 Nov 04 BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, Nov. 1, 2004
3. WIDESPREAD CAMPAIGN IRREGULARITIES OBSERVED IN
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, 1 November 2004
4. COURTS IN UKRAINE EXAMINED 42,600 COMPLAINTS
RELATING TO PARTICIPATION IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
VOTING ON OCTOBER 31
Number of complaints were relating to elections is unprecedented Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov 1, 2004
5. EU CALLS ON UKRAINE TO CURE DEMOCRACY BREACHES
BEFORE NEXT ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tues, Nov 2, 2004
6. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S ELECTION OBSERVATION
MISSION CALLS CHANGES SO SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE CAN BE FREE, FAIR AND TRANSPARENT Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 1, 2004
7. NATO DISAPPOINTED BY CAMPAIGNING IN UKRAINIAN
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 1, 2004
8. PACE OBSERVATION MISSION NEGATIVELY ASSESSES
THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Represent a step back for Ukraine in terms of democracy Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 1, 2004
9. "UKRAINE VOTE PANNED, PRAISED"
By Natalia A. Feduschak, The Washington Times Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 2, 2004
10. FORMER U.S. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FIND UKRAINIAN
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FAIR AND TRANSPARENT Former Member of Congress Bob Carr: "Election Within the Framework of Law"
Source: Darren Spinck, DBC Public Relations Experts Washington, D.C., Monday, November 01, 2004, 1:26 PM
11. "UKRAINE VOTE PANNED, PRAISED"
By Natalia A. Feduschak, The Washington Times Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 2, 2004
12. "WINNING UKRAINE"
The polls themselves were marred by widespread falsification.
The authorities ceated at almost every turn EDITORIAL, Financial Times, London, UK, November 2 2004 ========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 206: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE ========================================================
1 PRELIMINARY STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATION REPUBLICAN
INSTITUTE (IRI) ON THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
IRI, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 1, 2004
KYIV - IRI has worked to promote democracy in Ukraine since 1992.
Through work with political parties, women's and youth organizations, IRI's contribution to the October 31 Presidential election was broad and substantial. In addition to providing nationwide campaign training to political parties and pollworker training to many parties fielding candidates in yesterday's election, IRI has also actively assisted in increasing the professional capabilities of locally elected officials.
In 2003 and 2004, IRI trained thousands of political party activists in 14 oblasts. In addition, IRI provided legal training to attorneys representing political parties. By focusing on grassroots political party development and encouraging coalition building and legal advocacy, IRI's aim has been to strengthen the ability of parties to communicate to a broader cross-section of society based on substantive issues which voters care about. In doing so, IRI hopes to increase public confidence and participation in Ukraine's political institutions.
IRI fielded a twenty-five member delegation representing a number of political parties in the United States and Europe and comprised of election experts who have observed multiple elections in numerous countries around the world, including the following: Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Germany, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Mongolia, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Albania, Taiwan, Croatia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan.
The delegation Co-Chairmen are Michael Trend, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom and Vice Chairman of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Honorable Bohdan A. Futey, United States Federal Judge.
In the two months prior to Election Day, IRI deployed staff members to conduct extensive regional pre-election assessments in nine oblasts.
Furthermore, IRI fielded a team of domestic election monitors in each of Ukraine's 25 oblasts who reported weekly on the general political environment, especially focusing on state interference in the election, the adherence of the election commissions to the election law, and one-sided media coverage. Based upon these assessments and reports, it is clear that a systematic and coordinated use of government resources on a national scale created an atmosphere of intimidation and fear designed to pressure people into supporting the government-backed candidate.
The assessment reports also found massive problems with voter lists, unfair practices in the creation of the election commissions and credible reports of voter intimidation. In Sumy Oblast, for example, elected members of local town councils were threatened on multiple occasions with the loss of their jobs if they attended IRI training programs designed to raise awareness of their rights as pollworkers under the election law.
The delegation found that Ukraine's electoral process and its quest for democracy, have taken a step backward. This is the eighth national election since independence. Although all countries experience election problems in the transition to democracy, Ukraine's are greater than they should be given the opportunities it has had to correct many of these problems. The Government of Ukraine must take immediate steps to improve the administration and conduct of the second round of voting.
In addition to its pre-election assessment, the delegation documented the following problems during the election:
. government power structures use of state resources such as schools,
state factories, hospitals and public transport systems to force students, state workers, and citizens who rely on state services for their livelihood to campaign against their will for the government-backed candidate;
. the partisan engagement of the state security service, military and
local police in support of the government backed candidate;
. failure of national and local state owned and private electronic media
to provide impartial and fair coverage of or access to opposition candidates;
. the dismissal of election commission members just prior to Election
Day
. collaboration with a foreign government to allow a foreign president
to appear in Ukraine and express his opinions on one of the candidates on a three-day visit just days before Election Day, in an effort to influence the vote. In addition, a military parade, which was held in Kyiv three days prior to the election, was clearly an effort to intimidate the voters.
On Election Day, IRI observed many problems including:
1) badly maintained voter lists, not previously seen on this scale,
which resulted in people being denied their right to vote, and many additional names on voter rolls for which no accounting could be made.
This problem was widespread and appeared systemic
2) interference by unauthorized persons into the electoral process was
also prevalent throughout the country
3) credible reports of busing of voters among oblasts and polling
stations for the purpose of multiple voting
4) the wide disparity in exit polling results raises serious concerns.
In summary, an election is evaluated both on Election Day, as well as throughout the actual campaign period. In both cases, IRI has found that Ukraine has fallen well short of international standards.
Based upon the foregoing, IRI urges the government to take the following steps in preparation for the November 21 runoff election:
. replace any polling station or Territorial Election commission members
found to have engaged in fraud
. begin a complete review of voters lists in each polling station in
order to correct inaccuracies
. allow the two runoff candidates equal time on state media and equal
access to private media
. immediately prosecute individuals who have violated the election law
. facilitate the accreditation of additional international observers for
the second round
In addition, considering the very important role that the courts must play in resolving election disputes, and in view of the recent decision on the election of the Mayor of Mukacheva, the judiciary must act independently
and adhere to the rule of law. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO =======================================================
2. UKRAINIAN ELECTION CHIEF ACKNOWLEDGES MASS
ERRORS ON VOTER REGISTERS
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, Monday, 1 Nov 04 BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, Nov. 1, 2004
KIEV - The head of the Central Electoral Commission, Serhiy Kivalov, has acknowledged widespread irregularities regarding electoral registers in the presidential poll. The following is an excerpt from an exclusive interview with Kivalov by private Era TV broadcasting on Ukrainian state-owned television UT1 on 1 November:
[Presenter] Are you analysing the way the election has passed, I mean the first round as we are already talking about a runoff? There have been problems with the electoral register and ballot papers. Can this situation be repeated in the second round or will you try to rectify it?
[Kivalov] You know, the biggest problem has been the electoral register, everybody is talking about it. Indeed there is a problem. There are citizens who have appealed to courts, territorial commissions, the Central Electoral Commissions, district commissions. Some had their problems solved and were entered on the register, while others remained outside and were denied their constitutional right.
After we finish the vote count, we will analyse each situation and we will call to account those executives who failed to ensure true and accurate information on voter lists. We have a third copy [of the voting register], and we received this copy from local governments, we practically bought it two months ago for money, and it is kept here at the Central Electoral Commission. [Passage omitted: closing remarks] -30- =======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE =======================================================
3. WIDESPREAD CAMPAIGN IRREGULARITIES OBSERVED IN
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, 1 November 2004
KYIV, 1 November 2004 - The first round of voting in the 31 October presidential election in Ukraine did not meet a considerable number of OSCE, Council of Europe and other European standards for democratic elections, concluded the International Election Observation Mission in a preliminary statement today.
Nevertheless, the very high participation of the electorate and civil society in the election process show encouraging signs for the evolution of Ukrainian democracy.
The mission included some 600 observers from the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
It reported a number of concerns about the electoral process, including bias by the state media, interference by the state administration in favour of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the disruption or obstruction of opposition campaign events by the state authorities, and inadequacies in the Central Election Commission's handling of complaints.
"With a heavy heart, we have to conclude that this election did not meet a considerable number of OSCE, Council of Europe, and other European standards for democratic elections," said Bruce George, President emeritus of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator for the short-term observers. "Consequently, this election process constitutes a step backward from the 2002 elections."
Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR's long-term observation mission, said: "Although we are grateful to the Ukrainian authorities for their co-operation during our mission, we regret that they did not create equal campaign conditions. The election also came up short on other counts, such as the failure to allow Ukrainian civil society to directly observe the process." We will remain in the country, and we call on the authorities, including the Central Election Commission, to address existing deficiencies prior to the second round."
Doros Christodoulides, head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said: "Ukraine now has three weeks to show that it is willing to organize democratic elections in accordance with its commitments. The authorities should ensure that both candidates have equal access to, and unbiased coverage by, the media. Both the authorities and political forces should refrain from any undue interference in the electoral process and fully respect the provisions of the electoral law and international standards. Any violations committed during the first round should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Marek Maciej Siwiec, head of the delegation from the European Parliament,
said: "The elections represent a significant test for democracy in the country, and we welcome the high participation of voters on polling day. The conclusions of this report must be taken on board in order to ensure that the second round is free, fair, and transparent and that the people of Ukraine can elect the President of their choice. The European Parliament stands ready to co-operate with the next President of Ukraine and looks forward to fruitful dialogue as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the agreed Action Plan."
Jane Cordy, Head of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly delegation, said:
"We stand by the findings of the long-term observation mission and those of the short-term observers deployed on election day. A true democracy thrives on the freedom of its citizens to express a plurality of opinions and ultimately to express their will in the election of their representatives.
The irregularities observed in the election are a disappointment for the international community, and, above all, they must be a disappointment for the Ukrainian people, especially for those we saw working so hard on election day itself."
A final report will be released four to six weeks after the completion of the electoral process. -30-
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Curtis Budden, Public Affairs Officer, Public Affairs Unit OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Aleje Ujazdowskie 19, 00-557, Warsaw, Poland
Tel.: +48 22 520 06 00 ext. 3123; +48 609 522 266 (mobile) ========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Your comments about the Report are always welcome ========================================================
4. COURTS IN UKRAINE EXAMINED 42,600 COMPLAINTS
RELATING TO PARTICIPATION IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
VOTING ON OCTOBER 31
Number of complaints were relating to elections is unprecedented
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov 1, 2004
KYIV - Ukrainian courts examined 42,561 cases on the day of the presidential elections, October 31, which were linked to the right of citizens to take part in voting in the presidential elections.
Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court and Head of the Judicial Division for Civil Cases, Anatolii Yarema, disclosed this to journalists.
In his words, courts examined 42,292 cases of complaints in the first instance and 269 cases in the appeal instance.
Yarema said that the bulk of these complaints were related to citizens not being included in the lists of voters, incorrect specification of surnames, names and patronymic names.
In the words of Yarema, the election commissions refused to issue ballot papers to citizens and sent them instead to the court, despite the fact that voters had their passports with them along with registration for the corresponding polling stations.
Yarema said that on October 31, courts in the Crimea examined 2,238 complaints, in Vinnytsia region - 2,534, in Dnipropetrovsk region - 3,329 complaints, in Kyiv region - 2,899 complaints, in Odesa region - 2,085 cases, in Lviv region - 2,683 cases, in Cherkasy - 2,814 cases and in Khmelnytskyi region - 2,139 cases.
He said that such number of complaints were relating to elections is unprecedented for the Ukrainian judiciary system. "We have never had such," he said.
Yarema assumed that during the time of voting in the expected second round of the presidential elections - re-voting, in which voters will be asked to choose between two the candidates that took the most number of votes in the first round of voting - there will not be such problems.
The deputy chairman of the Supreme Court also said that the highest court in the land had checked the complaints that it had received against the poor working of the courts in the provinces, and such information was not confirmed.
Since the start of the electoral process, the Supreme Court examined 134 cases of complaints in the first instance that were linked to the elections, and 53 complaints at the appeal stage. In Yarema's words, even several judges of the Supreme Court were not in the lists of voters. -30- ========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE ========================================================
5. EU CALLS ON UKRAINE TO CURE DEMOCRACY BREACHES
BEFORE NEXT ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tues, Nov 2, 2004
KIEV- The Presidency of the European Union calls on the Ukrainian authorities to address the deficiencies of democracy norms in time before the second round of the elections.
Ukrainian News has obtained a copy of this statement that the Netherlands, a presiding country in the EU, has made on behalf of the European Union.
"The Presidency urges the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that in the remaining period till 21 November 2004 conditions will be created to allow for free and fair elections," the statement reads.
The Presidency regrets that the presidential elections in Ukraine did not meet a considerable number of OSCE, Council of Europe and other European standards for democratic elections.
The Presidency bases this opinion on the statement of preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR International Election Observation Mission (IEOM).
The Presidency in particular regrets the pressure reported by IEOM on voters, the hampering of free movement to campaign events, the non- respect of freedom of assembly, the biased media coverage, including through temnyky (media guidelines) issued by unspecified authorities, the dissemination of inflammatory campaign material of unclear origin, the significant problems with voters lists, the insufficient number of polling stations, and the lack of transparency during tabulation.
Nevertheless, positive aspects, such as the high participation of voters in the elections and the existence of an active civil society during the pre-election campaign, are encouraging elements for the further development of democracy in Ukraine, the statement reads further.
The European Union reiterates that the conduct of these elections will be indicative of Ukraine's commitment to the democratic values of the Council of Europe and the OSCE and bears great significance for EU-Ukraine relations.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the European Parliament's election observation mission that observed the first round of the elections called for the expected second round of the presidential elections to be conducted freely.
The observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that observed the October 31 presidential elections in Ukraine has negatively assessed the conduct of the elections.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has expressed disappointment with the Ukrainian presidential election campaigning.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the Ukrainian presidential elections were not in conformity with democratic standards.
The Election Observation Mission of the Commonwealth of Independence States mainly gave a positive assessment to the conduct of the elections.
Voting in this year's presidential elections took place on October 31, and the next round is scheduled for November 21. -30- =======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206 ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Additional names for the distribution list are always welcome ========================================================
6. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S ELECTION OBSERVATION
MISSION CALLS CHANGES SO SECOND ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE CAN BE FREE, FAIR AND TRANSPARENT
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 1, 2004
KIEV - The European Parliament's election observation mission that observed the first round of this year's Ukrainian presidential elections has called for the expected second round of the presidential elections to be conducted freely.
Marek Maciej Siwiec, the head of the delegation from the European Parliament, announced this to journalists in Kyiv.
Siwiec said that the Ukrainian authorities needed to take into consideration the preliminary conclusions about the Ukrainian presidential elections that were made in a report jointly issued by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament.
"The conclusions of this report must be taken on board in order to ensure that the second round is free, fair, and transparent..." Siwiec said.
According to him, the European Parliament stands ready to cooperate with the next president of Ukraine and looks forward to fruitful dialogue as part of the European Union's Neighborhood Policy and the Action Plan agreed by Ukraine and the European Union.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the election observation missions of PACE and NATO have negatively assessed the while NATO has expressed disappointment at the election campaign.
Meanwhile, the election observation mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has said that the conduct of the elections was generally positive.
Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, the head of the long-term observation mission of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and Vladimir Rushaylo, the head of the CIS observation mission, have discussed the observation of the Ukrainian presidential elections.
Ahrens said he did not know the extent to which the OSCE and CIS observation missions' conclusions about the results of the Ukrainian presidential elections would coincide. -30- ========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Suggested articles for publication in the Report are always welcome ========================================================
7. NATO DISAPPOINTED BY CAMPAIGNING IN UKRAINIAN
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 1, 2004
KYIV - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has expressed disappointment with the Ukrainian presidential election campaigning.
Jane Cordy, the head of the delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, disclosed this to journalists in Kyiv.
"NATO is in agreement with the findings of observers... and is disappointed," said Cordy.
In her words, the Ukrainian presidential election campaign is not only disappointing to the international community, but it is disappointing first and foremost for the Ukrainian people.
Cordy stated that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly sent its delegation to monitor the presidential elections so as to express with this action it's the commitment of the international community to the Ukrainian people.
Cordy extended thanks to Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn for the invitation that was given to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to take part in the Ukrainian presidential elections.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 206: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Letters to the editor are always welcome ========================================================
8. PACE OBSERVATION MISSION NEGATIVELY ASSESSES
THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Represent a step back for Ukraine in terms of democracy
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, November 1, 2004
KYIV - The observation mission of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that observed the October 31 presidential elections in Ukraine has negatively assessed the conduct of the elections.
The mission's leader Doros Christodoulides announced this to journalists.
According to him, the negative assessment applies primarily to the election campaign. He stressed that this year's presidential elections represented a step back for Ukraine in terms of democracy.
Regarding the elections themselves, Christodoulides said that they took place in a calm atmosphere although significant problems involving voter lists were observed. He expressed the hope that a single register of voters would have been compiled in Ukraine before the 2006 parliamentary elections. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, 40 PACE rapporteurs arrived in Ukraine on October 28. -30- ========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE ========================================================
9. FORMER SOVIET COUNTRIES CIS OBSERVERS BELIEVE
UKRAINIAN ELECTION FREE AND FAIR
ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 1 Nov 04 BBC Monitoring, UK, in English, November 1, 2004
KIEV - [Presenter] The mission of observers from CIS countries today reported on the results of their work. The guests from the near abroad noticed serious problems with voter lists. District electoral commission members were ill-prepared. But the CIS observers believe that the elections were quite democratic and that all candidates got equal access to the media. But not all candidates treated each other in a proper manner.
Certain candidates, whom the CIS observers did not name today, used dirty tricks and stirred up hatred. Our election law is not ideal either, so our neighbours are going to come up with amendments for us in order to improve the quality of the election process. Yet CIS observers believe that these elections have been generally democratic and fair.
[Volodymyr Rushaylo, head of the CIS mission of observers, in Russian] The omissions and drawbacks committed by specific electoral commissions during preparation of the elections and during voting, as well as those committed in campaigning by representatives of certain registered presidential candidates, did not significantly affect the free expression of will by voters. -30- ========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN ========================================================
10. REMARKS BY THE U.S. ON THE UKRAINIAN ELECTIONS
Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman
United States Department of State
Washington, DC, Monday, November 1, 2004
WASHINGTON - Mr. Ereli: We would first note that this presidential election certainly represents one of the most important events in Ukraine since independence and it is our desire to see Ukraine develop as a free, independent, democratic and prosperous member of the European community of nations.
We note that the OSCE observer mission has said the presidential campaign and October 31st election did not meet a considerable number of international standards for democratic elections. We are disappointed in this, and we share the OSCE's assessment that this election "constitutes a step backward" from Ukraine's 2002 elections.
In particular, we would note that the campaign was marked by serious violations, and that there were significant irregularities on election day, although high participation levels of the electorate and civil society were encouraging.
Looking ahead, we see the second round of the election on November 21st as an opportunity for Ukraine to affirm its commitments to democratic principles, and we urge the Ukrainian authorities to allow the people of Ukraine to choose freely and to adhere -- and for the government to adhere scrupulously to international accepted standards for tabulating and registering results. -30-
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LINK: http://usembassy.kiev.ua/infocentral_eng.html
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Additional names for the distribution list are always welcome ========================================================
11. "UKRAINE VOTE PANNED, PRAISED"
By Natalia A. Feduschak, The Washington Times Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 2, 2004
KIEV - International observers criticized Ukraine's presidential election yesterday, saying the race did not meet standards, but a group of former U.S. congressmen said they had found the vote to be free and fair.
The Central Election Commission (CEC), meanwhile, quit counting ballots for the day with 5.6 percent of the polling places still to report and the two leading candidates within one percentage point of each other. With 94.4 percent of the precincts counted, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych had
40.12 percent of the vote and opposition leader Victor Yushchenko had
39.15 percent.
The opposition leader led in 17 of Ukraine's 26 regions, including the capital, Kiev, where most of the uncounted ballots were cast. Mr.
Yanukovych led in the remaining nine regions, mostly in the largely industrialized, Russian-speaking east. Because neither candidate won 50 percent of the vote, the two will meet again in a runoff on Nov. 21.
Oleksander Zinchenko, Mr. Yushchenko's campaign manager, accused the CEC of stopping its count for fear that the remaining Kiev ballots would
have put his candidate ahead. "It's understood how Kievites voted. And
then the CEC would be forced today to say that Yushchenko won the election.
That's why the CEC needed to take a pause, to figure out what to do now."
Bruce George, a special coordinator for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which sent 600 observers to Ukraine, said the election had failed to meet "a considerable number of OSCE, Council of Europe and other European standards for democratic elections."
Many of the violations concerned electors' names not appearing correctly on voter lists or other technicalities, such as their names being misspelled. Some Ukrainian lawmakers said the mistakes affected 30 percent of voters.
Natalia Plotnyk, a resident of Kiev's affluent Pechersk region, was nearly denied the right to vote because her family's last name appeared on the voter list using the Russian transliteration, rather than the Ukrainian.
Elections officials allowed Miss Plotnyk's mother to vote, but said she could not. It was only after she involved senior election officials and neighbors vouched for her identity that Miss Plotnyk was allowed to cast her ballot. In other regions of Ukraine, many voters waited for hours to win court approval to vote because of similar problems.
U.S. federal Judge Bohdan Futey, an observer with the International Republican Institute, said such incidents marked "a step back" for Ukraine's democracy.
"This didn't happen before," said Judge Futey, referring to Ukraine's two previous presidential elections, which received high marks. "The government needs to take immediate steps" to resolve these issues before the second round.
But observers from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States said Ukraine's race was free and fair. So did a group of former U.S.
congressmen who visited 75 polling places in Odessa, Donetsk and Kiev.
"The elections took place within the framework of the law," said Bob Carr, a former Democratic congressman from Michigan, according to the Unian news agency. "They were transparent and the violations that were reported don't put in doubt the wishes of the voters."
Mr. Yanukovych, who welcomed the results from Sunday's race, said it was important to rectify issues before the runoff. -30-
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LINK: http://washingtontimes.com/world/20041101-104314-7985r.htm
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FOOTNOTE: It is not known who organized, implemented and paid for the election monitoring trip to Ukraine by several former members of the U.S. Congress mentioned in the article above.
A press release issued in Washington, D.C. on Monday by the DBC Public Relations Experts firm about the election findings of the former members of the U.S. Congress delegation mentioned there were seven members in the delegation. This public relations firm is known to have been retained by the Prime Minister of Ukraine or his close associates and to have undertaken certain work assignments on behalf their client. They are reported to have been doing election polling in Ukraine that have produced unusual results.
It has been verified that the delegation composed of former Democrat members of the U.S. Congress is NOT in anyway related to the several bipartisan delegations of U.S. congressmen who have been in Ukraine organized by the U.S. Association of the Former Members of Congress in cooperation with the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF), delegations that received no financial or other support from any candidiate. The other delegations have all found serious irregularities.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.206: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE ========================================================
12. "WINNING UKRAINE"
Opposition must resist authorities' efforts to steal election
EDITORIAL, Financial Times, London, UK, November 2 2004
The first round of Ukraine's crucial presidential election on Sunday was hardly free or fair. The pre-election media coverage was biased in favour of Viktor Yanukovich, the establishment candidate backed by the current authoritarian president Leonid Kuchma and his entourage. The polls themselves were marred by widespread falsification. The authorities cheated at almost every turn.
And yet Viktor Yushchenko, the main opposition challenger, won sufficient votes to show that he has a chance of winning when the two men compete in a run-off on November 21. This in itself is a victory for democracy. By voting in larger numbers than the authorities seem to have anticipated, Ukrainians have turned the election into a real contest.
The contrast with most of the rest of the former Soviet Union could not be greater. Only in the small Baltic states, now members of the European Union, are there regular contested elections. They may be joined by Georgia, following the success of democratic forces in last year's overthrow by President Mikheil Saakashvili of his predecessor, Eduard Shevardnadze. But Georgian democracy remains fragile. Everywhere else, there is authoritarian rule, notably in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin steadily has strangled the potential sources of dissent. By these standards, Ukraine's attempts to follow the democratic road are heroic.
Unfortunately, the authorities still have the power to rig the run-off in Mr Yanukovich's favour. They control the media, the election machinery and the security forces. Behind them stands most of Ukrainian and Russian big business. Mr Putin has interfered blatantly and personally, backing Mr Yanukovich in a television interview broadcast throughout Ukraine.
Mr Yushchenko's only weapon is public support. To win, he must show overwhelming popular backing. His aides believe the authorities could fix the result by up to 10 per cent of the vote. So that is the margin Mr Yushchenko must secure for victory. It is difficult but not impossible.
Mr Yushchenko should call his supporters out on the streets in peaceful demonstrations. But he must take care to avoid giving the ruthless Mr Kuchma the slightest excuse for a violent crackdown. Mr Yushchenko has a hard game to play. Too aggressive and lives could be lost. Too cautious and the opportunity could slip away.
The stakes are high. Mr Yushchenko would almost certainly pursue liberalisation and bring Ukraine closer to the west and the EU. Mr Yanukovich would reinforce the authoritarian status quo and cement Russia's influence. A Yushchenko victory would be good for the west, just as a Yanukovich win would benefit Russia.
The west should redouble demands for free and fair elections. But it should not overplay its hand. Mr Yushchenko cannot win if he is seen as a stooge.
The power to bring political change rests, as it should, with the voters.
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