KYIV – On March 31, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Election Observation Mission (EOM), consisting of 78 officially registered observers, monitored Ukraine’s presidential election process and vote tabulation in nine oblasts – Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Ternopil and Zakarpattia – as well as at three diplomatic posts in the United States.
Throughout the day, UCCA’s EOM, working in concert with the Ukrainian World Congress EOM, reported that the voting process was being conducted in a peaceful, transparent and democratic manner. In fact, with reports from over 700 polling stations, the short-term observation teams reported 96 percent of precincts performed with a rating of “good” or “very good” – a high standard of performance for any election cycle.
The UCCA EOM noted very few irregularities. Those that were reported were not systemic in nature nor did they impact the results of the election. The minor procedural errors included:
• the presence of campaign advertisements in a few municipalities;
• information for voters not being displayed correctly; and
• the location of polling stations on the second and third floors, making it difficult for older and handicapped voters to access the polling station.
Based on the reports submitted, the UCCA’s EOM affirmed that the March 31 presidential election in Ukraine met international standards for a free and fair election that accurately reflects the will of the electorate.
The UCCA expressed its sincere gratitude to the members of its delegation, who volunteered their time and money to participate as international election observers. The UCCA noted that these volunteers’ commitment to democracy must be commended.
The UCCA, the largest representative organization of Americans of Ukrainian descent, is one of the few NGOs and the only Ukrainian American organization registered with Ukraine’s Central Election Commission.