TORONTO – The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has announced the launch of the UWC International Observation Mission for Ukraine’s 2019 elections.
The mission will assess the pre-election environment and the election process in the context of Ukraine’s domestic law, commitments to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe, as well as other international standards for democratic elections.
The mission will also monitor efforts by foreign governments to influence the elections through disinformation, cyberattacks, provocations and other attempts to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and legitimacy of Ukraine’s democracy.
The Mission will deploy both long-term and short-term election observers throughout Ukraine and to Ukraine’s diplomatic missions around the world.
The Mission will monitor and provide assessments of the presidential elections slated for March 31 and, in the event of a second round of voting, on April 21, as well as parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27.
The UWC’s immediate past president, Eugene Czolij, was appointed as head of the International Observation Mission.
The UWC is calling for volunteers to participate in the work of the mission as long-term and shortterm observers. The deadline for submitting applications for shortterm observers is March 10; the deadline for long-term observers was February 7.
The application package of documents, including the form required for registration with Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, is available on the main page of the UWC website (www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/index.php/id/846/lang/en).
“The Ukrainian World Congress is committed to supporting democracy in Ukraine and those institutions that are its guarantors,” stated UWC President Paul Grod. “The UWC has for the past two decades actively observed Ukraine’s elections as the largest non-government funded international election observation mission in Ukraine. Today Ukraine faces serious external threats to undermine the legitimacy of its real democracy and manipulate its electorate, and the mission will monitor this critical aspect. I am particularly grateful to Eugene Czolij for accepting the leadership of this mission and wish him and his team much success.”