Panelists in D.C. discuss parliamentary elections (02/22/98)

Panelists in D.C. discuss parliamentary elections

by Lori Tatkovsky
Ukrainian National Information Service

WASHINGTON - Tom Garrett of the International Republican Institute (IRI), Michael Conway of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), and Nadia Diuk of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on January 14 discussed the upcoming March 29 parliamentary elections in Ukraine at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

All three participants offered insight into the difficulties posed by the upcoming elections and suggested solutions. In addition, they offered an analysis of the positive and negative impacts expected from the results of these elections.

Mr. Garrett specifically discussed the role political parties will play in the upcoming elections. He noted that 30 political parties have qualified to be on the ballot, one-half of which will probably win a seat in the Verkhovna Rada. Mr. Garrett gave a brief breakdown of these political parties, highlighting the ones, which are expected to win seats. Among these were the Communist Party; the Socialist Peasant Bloc led by the chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament, Oleksaner Moroz; the National Democratic Party led by the current Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko; Hromda led by ex-Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko; and the national-democratic party Rukh.

The new election law was the focus of Mr. Conway's remarks. Mr. Conway stated that the development of a politically structured Parliament, which would encourage the "politicization of Ukraine," is a very positive step. However, the amount of information available to the voter regarding the platforms of various political parties is minimal.

Mr. Conway said 39 percent of Ukrainians see political parties playing a stronger role in the upcoming elections while only 24 percent of Ukrainian voters claim to have adequate information regarding economic and political events in Ukraine which would enable them to become educated voters. Mr. Conway's said he is most concerned that the vast majority of voters will go to the polls without substantial information. This leads to the conclusion that the people of Ukraine are not quite prepared for this crucial political race, he added.

Dr. Diuk addressed explained why these elections are so important to political and economic reform in Ukraine. She stated that it is hoped the development of elections and political parties in Ukraine will help the population of Ukraine begin to feel that voting for specific parties will serve as a way for them to express their needs and interests. According to Dr. Diuk, the upcoming elections will be focused mostly on "bread-and-butter issues," such as payment of wages, and will not revolve around such complex issues as foreign policy and Ukraine's relations with NATO.

However, one potentially serious problem pertaining to the outcome of the parliamentary elections is the role of the media. Dr. Diuk stated that the independent media in Ukraine have a long way to go, because the Ukrainian media are not "watchdogs" of political activity but promote the individuals and or parties that can pay for their services.

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