FOR THE RECORD: House Concurrent Resolution 16 (02/06/05)

FOR THE RECORD

House Concurrent Resolution 16

Following is the full text of House Concurrent Resolution 16, congratulating the Ukrainian people and President Viktor Yushchenko, which passed the House of Representatives on January 25 by a vote of 392 to one. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Henry Hyde, with the support of Reps. Tom Lantos, Jo Ann Davis, Dan Burton, Robert Wexler and Marcy Kaptur.

Concurrent Resolution

Congratulating the people of Ukraine for conducting a democratic, transparent, and fair run-off presidential election on December 26, 2004, and congratulating Viktor Yushchenko on his election as President of Ukraine and his commitment to democracy and reform.

Whereas the establishment of a democratic, transparent and fair election process for the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine and of a genuinely democratic political system have been prerequisites for that country's full integration into the international community of democracies;

Whereas the government of Ukraine has accepted numerous specific commitments governing the conduct of elections as a participating state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);

Whereas the election of Ukraine's next president was seen as an unambiguous test of the extent of the Ukrainian authorities' commitment to implement these standards and build a democratic society based on free elections and the rule of law;

Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires government and public authorities to ensure that candidates and political parties enjoy equal treatment before the law and that government resources are not employed to the advantage of individual candidates or political parties;

Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires the full transparency of laws and regulations governing elections, multi-party representation on election commissions, and unobstructed access by candidates, political parties, and domestic and international observers to all election procedures, including voting and vote-counting in all areas of the country;

Whereas efforts by national and local officials and others acting at the behest of such officials to impose obstacles to free assembly, free speech, and a free and fair political campaign took place throughout Ukraine during the entire 2004 presidential election campaign without condemnation or remedial action by the government of Ukraine;

Whereas on October 31, 2004, Ukraine held the first round of its presidential election and on November 21, 2004, Ukraine held a run-off presidential election between the two leading candidates, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko;

Whereas a consensus of Ukrainian and international election observers determined that the run-off election did not meet international standards for democratic elections, and these observers specifically declared that state resources were abused in support of Viktor Yanukovich, and that illegal voting by absentee ballot, multiple voting, assaults on electoral observers and journalists, and the use of counterfeit ballots were widespread;

Whereas following the run-off presidential election on November 21, 2004, tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens engaged in peaceful demonstrations in Kiev [sic] and elsewhere to protest the unfair election and the declaration by the Ukrainian Central Election Commission that Viktor Yanukovich had won a majority of the votes;

Whereas the Ukrainian Supreme Court blocked the publication of the official run-off election results, thus preventing the inauguration of the next president of Ukraine until the Supreme Court examined the reports of voter fraud;

Whereas on November 27, 2004, the Parliament of Ukraine passed a resolution declaring that there were violations of law during the run-off presidential election on November 21, 2004;

Whereas on December 1, 2004, the Parliament of Ukraine passed a no confidence motion regarding the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich;

Whereas European mediators and current Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma began discussions on December 1, 2004, to attempt to work out a resolution to the standoff between the supporters of both presidential candidates;

Whereas on December 3, 2004, the Ukrainian Supreme Court ruled that the run-off presidential election on November 21, 2004, was invalid and ordered a new presidential election to take place on December 26, 2004;

Whereas on December 8, 2004, the Parliament of Ukraine passed laws to reform the Ukrainian electoral process, including to reform the Ukrainian Central Election Commission, and to close loopholes for fraud in preparation for a new presidential election;

Whereas on December 26, 2004, the people of Ukraine again went to the polls to elect the next president of Ukraine in what the consensus of domestic and international observers declared as a more democratic, transparent, and fair election process with fewer problems than the previous two rounds;

Whereas on December 28, 2004, the election victory of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was certified by the Ukrainian Central Election Commission; and

Whereas the run-off presidential election on December 26, 2004, signifies a turning point for Ukraine which offers new hope and opportunity to the people of Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress:

(1) commends the people and government of Ukraine for their commitment to democracy and their determination to end the political crisis in that country in a peaceful and democratic manner;

(2) congratulates the people and government of Ukraine for ensuring a free and fair run-off presidential election which represents the true choice of the Ukrainian people;

(3) congratulates Viktor Yushchenko on his election as President of Ukraine;

(4) applauds the Ukrainian presidential candidates, the European Union and other European representatives, and the United States government for the role they played in helping to find a peaceful resolution of the crisis;

(5) acknowledges and welcomes the strong relationship formed between the United States and Ukraine, and expresses its strong and continuing support for the efforts of the Ukrainian people and the new government of Ukraine to establish a full democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights; and

(6) pledges its assistance to the strengthening of a fully free and open democratic system in Ukraine, the creation of a prosperous free market economy in Ukraine, the reaffirmation of Ukraine's independence and territorial sovereignty, and Ukraine's full integration into the international community of democracies.

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