PACE gives negative evaluation to political situation in Ukraine (10/03/04)

PACE gives negative evaluation to political situation in Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - A special delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe gave a negative evaluation of the current political situation surrounding upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine on September 29, but noted that some corrective action had taken place and that hope remains that more could still occur before election day.

The statement was issued after a three-member PACE delegation - consisting of rapporteur for Ukraine Hanne Severinsen of Norway, who represented the Liberal group within PACE; Abdulkadir Ates, representative of the Socialist group from Turkey; and delegation head, Doros Christodoulides of Cyprus, Conservative group representative - concluded three days of meetings in Kyiv with presidential candidates, government officials, journalists and representatives of Ukrainian non-governmental civic organizations to determine the extent to which Ukraine was geared for a free and fair presidential election on October 31.

"The delegation has received extensive information indicating that the upcoming presidential election may be conducted in a manner not meeting Council of Europe standards," noted the statement issued by the three PACE representatives, which added that it expected that "corrective action will be taken in Ukraine in time for the election."

Ms. Severinsen, the speaker for the group, said during a press conference that the PACE representatives were concerned with unequal access to the mass media for presidential candidates and with how local and regional election commission officials had been elected, noting that the appointments didn't reflect the political make-up of the presidential candidate list. She also said that the election law had a major flaw in that it did not allow for monitoring of the vote count by NGOs.

"We pointed out that it would of great help if the election law could be amended so that the Committee of Voters of Ukraine could be election observers," explained Ms. Severinsen. "They have much experience and would help to ensure that the election monitoring was thorough."

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine had tried to have the current Ukrainian election law changed, but did not receive support from the Central Election Commission, with which it has a strained relationship. The CVU has a nationwide network of operatives on the ground in most every raion. In past elections it has gained access to the vote count in precinct and district voting centers by registering its observers as journalists of a newspaper it publishes. Journalists are allowed by law to observe elections.

Ms. Severinsen also pointed out that in her estimation the strategy of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to abstain from campaigning was not fair to the Ukrainian voter, who wanted to hear all the candidates debate and discuss the issues.

The PACE rapporteur pointed out that some candidates had told her that an effort was under way to create so much confusion and turmoil in the run-up to the elections that they would have to be canceled. She warned that such a result would be a benefit to no one.

PACE has designated an observer team of 30 individuals to monitor the conduct of the presidential vote in Ukraine on October 31. Ms. Severinsen said that the teams would be assigned to outlying areas, where vote fraud is more likely.

On the heels of the visit by the PACE delegation, the European Union issued a statement appealing to Ukrainian state authorities, "to ensure free and fair presidential elections."

The statement called for "maintaining the independence of the media and freedom of expression for a fair and transparent campaign," as well as impartial access to the mass media for candidates and the "absence of interference from authorities, including the sending of instructions or indications to the media (so-called 'temnyky')."

The EU statement, issued by the government of the Netherlands, which has assumed the rotating chair of the EU presidency, acknowledged that it would respond to the offer of the Ukrainian side and send a group of observers to track the elections.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has already established an observer mission in Kyiv and has agreed to send 600 short-term election observers.

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