REFLECTIONS OF ELECTION OBSERVERS

Kyiv to Cherkasy and back

by Marko W. Kipa

I was an observer at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington for the second round of the presidential election and was invited on December 8, 2004, to serve as a delegate for the International Republican Institute's (IRI) Ukraine Presidential Election Observation Mission. My decision to accept and serve as an election observer for the repeat second round meant that I would not be home for Christmas for the first time in my life, but my family never expressed any reservation about my decision. My parents, having been born in Ukraine and maintaining active roles in matters Ukrainian, fully supported my decision even after reading numerous reports warning of unrest during and after the election. This scene was not uncommon - it played itself out several thousand times as aspiring observers informed their families of their "observer" intentions.

I arrived in Kyiv early in the afternoon on Friday, December 23. A wintery greyness hung over the city and would remain there for the duration of my stay. The trip from Kyiv's Boryspil airport took longer than usual because traffic had clogged the city's thoroughfares due to the "tent city" on Kyiv's main street, the Khreschatyk. The extra time gave me the opportunity to better observe what was taking place on the streets. I gazed in amazement at the ubiquitous orange propaganda splattered about town: ribbons on arms, banners and posters on buildings, and political billboards. Students from the group Pora fervently waved their flags as our convoy passed one of their rallies. The city was energized by the developments of the previous weeks and the awareness of the historical significance of the upcoming election.

* * *

The next day, the delegations parted ways and each team began its journey to its appointed region. My team would be traveling two and a half hours southeast from Kyiv to Cherkasy. Approximately half an hour after leaving Kyiv, the landscape changed dramatically. The "highway" narrowed to two lanes, one in each direction, and the dark-soiled, lightly snow-covered fields extended as far as the eye could see. The grandiose vistas of Kyiv gave way to small, drab deteriorating villages, and roadside carts replaced the Besarabskyi Bazaar. We passed a makeshift memorial which still marked the exact place where the popular and fiery leader of the Rukh movement, Vyacheslav Chornovil, lost his life on a tragic night five years ago.

Early Sunday morning, armed with our questionnaires, we began our work. Over the course of the day, we visited 14 polling stations: in the city, in the surrounding villages, and even in a jail. For the most part, the reception from newly appointed election commission members was non-hostile, even cordial. We were permitted to enter every polling station we visited and representatives from both sides were eager to answer our questions. Although there were some minor problems with the voting list, they were not as pronounced as in the previous two rounds.

One episode we encountered had been the subject of several recent rumors and involved a reporter affiliated with the Yanukovych camp. The reporter had a stack of alleged violations in her hand and was seeking to have the head and secretary of the election commission at the polling station sign the complaints. When they refused to sign her complaints, she turned to us and asked us to tell the commission members to sign the complaints or to sign the complaints ourselves. We informed her that we were only there to observe and that we were not authorized to sign any documentation. Although she would eventually let the issue rest, she did not do so before devoting approximately 20 minutes to trying to persuade us of her position. After she finished speaking with us, I noticed that she had an extended conversation with our facilitator. He later told us that the reason she was so adamantly seeking to have the complaints signed was that she would be paid 10 hrv for every complaint that was endorsed.

We observed the vote count and accompanied the final tally to the Territorial Election Commission. We contacted IRI Kyiv to provide them with our final tally, and IRI Kyiv would verify the numbers once they arrived at the Central Election Commission. This procedure was employed in all the oblasts where IRI deployed its delegates. Our day had officially come to an end.

* * *

We returned to Kyiv mid-afternoon on Monday. Not surprisingly, political discourse dominated every discussion and even filled the air. The "Tak!" movable TV trucks, which were parked on the Khreschatyk were already broadcasting a Yushchenko victory. The people gathered around the TV screens to catch the latest news. The tenants of tent city milled about and talked with anyone who would listen or had anything to say. The maidan began to slowly fill with people in anticipation of a Yushchenko victory speech and celebration. Unfortunately, 100 percent of the precincts had not yet reported, and no speech was forthcoming. We received word, however, that Yushchenko would be speaking the next day at 7 p.m.

On Tuesday, December 28, shortly before the appointed hour, we arrived at the maidan. It was an ocean of people with more than its share of flags. The crowd encompassed every generation. Grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren filled the square. They eagerly awaited their candidate, their president-elect. They would not be disappointed.

President-elect Yushchenko, building on his speech which proclaimed Ukraine "independent and free," told the crowd that "we are living in a different world." He expressed gratitude to his supporters for enduring hardship and yet remaining on the maidan during those tense days that followed the November 21, 2004, second round of voting. While he indicated that democracy was about to triumph in Ukraine, he cautioned that the struggle was not over. Mr. Yushchenko noted that the current government continued to function despite the Parliament's vote of no-confidence. He asked his supporters to prevent an "illegal" government meeting, which Mr. Yanukovych was supposed to attend, from occurring at the Cabinet of Ministers by blockading the building. Mr. Yushchenko concluded his remarks by inviting everyone to the maidan for New Year's Eve and also for his upcoming public inauguration.

That evening on the maidan was special for me. I was allowed to listen to Mr. Yushchenko's speech backstage and to greet him afterwards. I had met him two years ago in Washington. At the time, the former prime minister and chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine was a national deputy and was merely contemplaing a run for president. This time around would be quite different. He was now the unofficial president-elect of Ukraine and security was tight. As he approached, I saw in person what I had seen in the media over the last several months - the face that reflected the price of democracy. A handshake, a quick "congratulations" and "thank you" in response became a memorable encounter, a highlight of my trip.

The poisoning did not cripple him; it emboldened him! It did not cause him to abandon the campaign trail; it caused him to seize it with even greater resolve and conviction! His tone reflected the sentiments of an individual who realized that the long-term danger to Ukraine and its citizens outweighed any danger to his own well-being, should he have chosen to abandon his campaign for president. His words demonstrated his commitment to core democratic beliefs, the conviction that an individual governs not for personal gain, but for the benefit of his people. While it is commendable to voice this principle in a developing democracy, it is heroic to do so in the face of grave danger to one's life.

As I left the backstage area, I walked down a corridor artificially created by Mr. Yushchenko's security detail. Dressed in all green with orange arm bands, they stood in long rows linked at the arms. They were holding back thousands of people. Suddenly, as Mr. Yushchenko was being ushered to his car, the loudspeakers on the maidan began blaring one of the unofficial campaign songs "I've Broken Through The Wall." The entire crowd began to sway back and forth, and the rows of security could not stand still against the force of the crowd swinging to the music. The image of walking down that corridor, several steps behind the president-elect, the music blaring, the crowd reacting to the music, the guards struggling to hold the line, is one that is permanently etched into my memory.

* * *

As I left Kyiv several days later on another cold, snowy January morning, it was pitch black outside and the city was still sound asleep. I reflected on my trip and pondered whether international election observers had truly made a difference in the repeat second round of Ukraine's presidential election. Although our team received information about fraud, we did not personally witness any unlawful activity when we went to investigate the allegations. The thought raised several questions: Was the fraud sophisticated enough to evade our detection? Was the fraud so well concealed that we simply failed to see it? Were the perpetrators "tipped off" that we were coming and temporarily ceased their activity? Were we misinformed and was there actually no fraud?

We will never know the true import of our actions. It simply is not possible to accurately assess what may not have occurred. I believe that our presence in and of itself, however, did make a difference. The continued and unannounced arrival of international election observers at a minimum reduced the extent of the fraud, for even if the fraud only ceased during our physical presence at the polling station, it would have occurred during that time had we not visited that polling station. While the individual visits may seem insignificant, their cumulative effect over the course of the day and into the night cannot be overlooked. Moreover, we can take solace in the reports issued by international monitoring organizations which concluded that the repeat second round was exponentially more democratic and transparent than the original second round.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the people of Ukraine believed that our presence had made a difference. Whether it came from a member of an election commission in Cherkasy, from a taxi cab driver in Kyiv, or from strangers with whom I had struck up a conversation on the maidan, they all expressed thanks and gratitude for the sacrifices we had made to observe the election and for simply being there. They believed that our presence deterred fraud. In turn, this belief will transform itself into the knowledge that their president was elected "by the will of people" - the very principle which, when denied, inspired and set off the Orange Revolution. As I fell asleep on the plane, I was content that international election observers played a role in securing, in Mr. Yushchenko's words, "an independent and free Ukraine."

Marko Kipa, an attorney licensed to practice in Maryland and in the District of Columbia, is a law clerk for Judge Bohdan A. Futey at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He was a delegate for the International Republican Institute's Ukraine Presidential Election Observation Mission, serving as an observer at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington for the second round and in Cherkasy, Ukraine, for the repeat second round of the Ukrainian presidential election.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 13, 2005, No. 7, Vol. LXXIII

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