Elections in Mukachiv cause for concern about transparency in Ukrainian elections (05/30/04)

Elections in Mukachiv cause for concern about transparency in Ukrainian elections

by Orysia Kulick

MUKACHIV, Ukraine - The mayoral by-elections of April 18 in Mukachiv, on the western border of Ukraine near Hungary, were hailed as a litmus test for the state of democracy in Ukraine, as well as an indicator of what to expect during the upcoming presidential elections this October. What happened in this city of 90,000 presents significant concerns about the transparency, validity and conduct of any and all elections in Ukraine.

As an international observer from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America accredited by the Central Election Commission, I witnessed journalists being barred access to sites and meetings related to the election. There also was harassment of voters and election committee members reportedly by criminal elements, brawls, the physical expulsion of deputies, observers and journalists from polling stations - and ultimately the outright falsification of the election results.

The trouble starts

At the door of each polling station stood anywhere from five to 10 young men dressed in black leather jackets with closely cropped hair. These "bratky" or "brato-holovky," are widely considered to be linked with criminal gangs; rumors circulated that a number of them were brought in from various parts of Ukraine, specifically for the purpose of intimidation.

Just after 9:30 a.m., I witnessed two young observers being physically thrown out of polling station No. 9. A group of five observers from the NGO Pora Holosuvaty (Time to Vote) entered the facility, and questions immediately arose about the validity of their credentials and their right to observe. By law, journalists and observers have the right to be present at any site and meeting that relates to the election, including polling stations, the territorial electoral commission and the courts. However, there is also a process of accreditation that must be fulfilled and proper identification must be provided by the journalists and observers. The misunderstanding between the members of the election commission and these observers quickly escalated and began disrupting the voting process in the room.

The observers were accused of agitation, forcibly pushed out of the room and pinned to the wall in the corridor by 15-20 "bratkys." Five of them cornered the youngest member of the group, who was not only punched in one kidney but was ultimately thrown down two flights of stairs and out the building. He then was kicked from behind in the Achilles' heel of his left foot. While he was hauled to the hospital with severe bruising of internal organs, the conflict continued outside the building. A national deputy with a camera to document the events arrived, and there was an attempt to seize his camera.

I moved on to polling station No. 32, where there were more confrontations and violence. Here there were attempts to throw out not only an observer, but also the national deputy from Our Ukraine Borys Bezpalyj, who was monitoring the station. Deputies are allowed to be present without question, however, challenges arose regarding the credentials of one observer with a camera, who was reportedly asked to leave after capturing one unwilling individual on film. He claims to have hidden behind National Deputy Yevhen Chervonenko from Our Ukraine and amidst the chaos all observers were asked to leave.

By 8 p.m. the polls were closed, and I arrived at polling station No. 3 to observe the counting of votes because an observer from the Committee of Voters of Ukraine was thrown out earlier in the day. Polling station No. 3 was one of several (also 1 and 15) in a wider "pogrom" of breaking into polling stations reportedly to steal the ballots and intimidate the voting committees in order to falsify the results.

The violence continues

At around 10:45 p.m. the first wave of five to 10 bratky arrived at polling station No. 3. The doors had been locked at 8 p.m., when the counting began, however those of us inside noted more bratky were arriving in several waves. By midnight it was clear that a significant number of them had gathered around the building, which heightened the tension in the room. The police captain made no less than three calls to headquarters to ask for back-up, which arrived just as the bratky stormed the building. National Deputy Mykola Polischuk of Our Ukraine was reported to have made a similar call.

Just after midnight the committee had paused to take a short break before signing the protocol with the official results. Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of something shattering below - everyone in the room knew the bratky had broken into the building and were heading for the second floor, where the counting had been taking place. The committee and observers scattered and gathered in the corner of the room farthest away from the doorway. The 10 unarmed policemen present quickly erected a barricade of chairs and five small tables to the doorless entrance to the room. These were insufficient and as the bratky threatened to break through this makeshift barricade the policemen started throwing chairs at them. Deputy Polischuk apparently tried to stop them in the hallway and was beaten as a result.

The protocol from polling station No. 3 was ultimately signed and delivered to the territorial election commission. However, results from stations 7, 14, 26 and 32, among others, were either not delivered or disappeared in transit.

The results are announced

Early Monday morning around 4:30 a.m. the territorial election commission announced that Ernest Nuser of the Social Democratic Party-United had defeated Viktor Baloha of Our Ukraine by a margin of roughly 5,000 votes. These numbers were entirely contrary to what exit pollsters from the Razumkov Center, Democratic Initiatives and Socis-Gallup, observers and national deputies had been reporting throughout the day. Deputies from Our Ukraine and their supporters organized an impromptu demonstration at the doors of the territorial election commission to protest the results, but their efforts proved fruitless.

Some 10,000 people took part in an unauthorized rally in Mukachiv on April 21 to support the Our Ukraine mayoral candidate, Mr. Baloha, who, according to the opposition, was robbed of a decisive victory in the April 18 election.

A postscript: media moratorium

Despite the recently declared moratorium on investigations of Ukrainian media outlets, concerns over press freedoms in Ukraine have not abated. Recent events in the city of Mukachiv suggest that problems facing journalists extend well beyond disruptive financial audits and licensing investigations, including barred entry, petty harassment and limited access to sources.

President Leonid Kuchma's decision on March 15 to ban law enforcement agencies from reviewing the financial records and licensing agreements of the mass media was followed by a similar resolution in the Verkhovna Rada, reported the UNIAN news service. Both were widely perceived as a positive step in the right direction, but many still question whether the political will exists to uphold these decisions, which are not legally binding, and whether they will significantly improve the media climate before the pre-election campaign.

Yurii Yakymenko of the Razumkov Center, a Kyiv-based think-tank, noted that "it goes without saying, that the issuance of these normative acts is positive. Their implementation with regard to mass media, especially oppositional media, is another issue entirely." In order for these acts to have an effect, he added, "There needs to really be a logical legal approach in settling these kinds of questions. The political will necessary to uphold laws and normative acts equally with respect to all political forces and mass media orientations is key."

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) also welcomed the declared moratorium as "an attractive gesture by the president, who is trying to demonstrate, domestically and internationally, his commitment to engage more positively with mass media." On the other hand, Oleksander Chernenko, CVU's press secretary, noted that "many key mass media outlets, who articulate their own independent positions, have already faced considerable pressures. Shutting down one radio station appears to have been relatively easy, in fact, four or five stations were deprived of their listeners. Unfortunately, this moratorium is not a 100 percent guarantee that independent mass media will not continue to be targeted."

Recent events in Mukachiv illustrate the cause of continuing concern over press freedoms in Ukraine. On March 23, Volodymyr Aryev and Oleksander Pronine of Channel 5 were barred from access to a local administrative building and now face charges of hooliganism, the Ukrainian Institute of Mass Information reported. This occurred when the reporters tried to meet with local officials to cover the by-election.

The closure of M-Studio, a popular and reportedly oppositional television station is widely considered to be a politicized decision. M-Studio's transmission was suspended on March 12 and it has since been barred access from City Council sessions that discussed the upcoming by-election, IMI reported. The Mukachiv city government claims that M-Studio's taxes are in arrears and that its insolvency means that it essentially does not exist.

Oleksander Chernenko of CVU notes that it is possible to agree with this logic to a point, but that radio stations in similar situations in Zakarpattia continue to operate - "only M-Studio was shut down," he noted. The pre-election campaign has become absolutely lawless and so sharp that "any laws and legislative acts are no longer paid attention to." Mr. Chernenko said he "would not be surprised if M-Studio was closed without any warning and without an explanation. The main goal here was not to give people information from this channel. For these reasons, one can talk with relative certainty about an order from someone."

When asked about the closure of M-Studio, Mykola Veresen, a well-known journalist stated, "The situation in Mukachiv is marasmic because everything that is happening there from beginning to end has an unpleasant odor. I would not direct attention solely to the media climate. Everything in Mukachiv, from the courts to the election committees, is a barrier not an advancement. There is a colossal battle for power taking place, which on the watch of this government has not been fair."

Mukachiv is the most recent example of declining press freedoms in Ukraine, and the most pressing given the mayoral by-elections (which took place on April 18). The case of Mukachiv illustrates that, even if the moratorium on investigations of mass media takes root, the possibility to bar or limit access to information still needs to be addressed. Moreover, the even-handed application of the moratorium remains to be seen.

Orysia Kulick is a graduate student at the University of Michigan who is working toward a dual master's degree in Russian and East European studies and public policy. She was awarded a Fulbright grant to Ukraine this year to follow election processes and the role of students and younger people in those processes.

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