EDITORIAL: For elections free and fair (03/10/02)

EDITORIAL

For elections free and fair

Only three weeks from now, Ukraine will hold the third parliamentary election since its re-established its independence in 1991. Most observers agree that Ukraine is at a crossroads: these elections will demonstrate whether Ukraine is moving ahead on the path toward democracy and integration with the West, or sliding backwards.

Gerard Stoudmann of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (ODIHR/OSCE) stated: "The upcoming elections will be an important indication of the progress Ukraine has made in consolidating the democratic process. They will provide an opportunity to assess where Ukraine stands within the family of European democracies."

Significantly, however, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), in a statement released last month in Kyiv, said: "At this moment it is unclear whether the March 31 elections will mark a step forward for Ukraine's democratic future." The NDI's observers and others have cited intimidation of journalists, denial of access to the media, abuse of power, illegal use of public funds and other problems in Ukraine's election campaign. And then there are such matters as government employees being pressured to work on certain campaigns or to join certain blocs.

One of the largest issues to emerge in the 2002 contest is the use of what is called "administrative resources" - that is, unfair use of various resources controlled by the presidential administration and those in power, including the broadcast media - much of it controlled by the state or by persons affiliated with "the party of power." For example, the OSCE-ODIHR noted that the state-owned television station UT-1 was devoting 40 percent of its prime time news to the pro-presidential bloc and 25 percent to the president himself. Those administrative resources also encompass such seemingly mundane things as meeting halls, local newspapers and even utilities.

The OSCE/ODIHR, for one, says there still is time to remedy such shortcomings and to guarantee equal treatment for all parties and candidates, and thereby "to increase trust and confidence by the electorate in the election process." The NDI explains that the responsibility for addressing many of the problems "lies disproportionately with government authorities." The government, the NDI says, should compel officials and state institutions "to comply with the letter and spirit of provisions of the law that require strict impartiality toward all political parties, blocs and candidates, that prohibit interference with the election process and that bar the use of state resources for the advantage of particular electoral contestants."

As Ambassador William Green Miller, who characterizes the U.S.-Ukraine relationship as that of friends, pointed out at a recent briefing sponsored by the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: "Friends point out crucial problems when they see them. Ukraine's international reputation is at stake, and we have to be honest if we truly want to help Ukraine's democratic evolution."

And so, we, as friends of Ukraine, add our voices to those calling on President Leonid Kuchma and the government of Ukraine to ensure free and fair elections on March 31. Give all parties and candidates a level playing field, give voters the information they need to make informed choices, and guarantee citizens that their ballots will be counted accurately. That would be evidence of Ukraine's commitment toward true democracy that would back up all the fine words emanating from Kyiv.

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