PACE Monitoring Committee issues statement on election in Ukraine (10/03/04)

PACE Monitoring Committee issues statement on election in Ukraine

The Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), meeting in Paris on September 15, adopted the following statement on the forthcoming presidential election in Ukraine.

The October 31 presidential elections are an opportunity for Ukraine to ensure full respect for the principles of pluralist democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A credible democratic election could give the country a chance to anchor itself more firmly in the family of European democracies.

The committee recalls that, in January this year, the assembly asked the Ukrainian authorities to abstain from unconstitutional acts or actions in view of the constitutional reform and carry out free and fair presidential elections in October, or face a challenge to the credentials of the Ukrainian delegation and, possibly, questioning of the country's status as a member of the Council of Europe. It also recalls its statement adopted on June 22, 2004, urging the Ukrainian authorities to conduct the election process with absolute impartiality and respect for Council of Europe standards and to allow all candidates to compete on fair and equitable grounds.

It regrets that its calls seem to have been ignored. The committee's co-rapporteurs for Ukraine, Mrs. [Hanne] Severinsen and Mrs. [Renate] Wohlwend, have recently returned from another fact-finding visit to Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk and their findings with regard to the current pre-election environment remain a cause for great concern.

The committee therefore once again calls on the Ukrainian authorities to:

urgently amend the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine in order to grant domestic non-partisan organizations whose statutory aim is election observation a right to observe the elections equal to that of international observers and candidates' representatives;
ensure that the composition of leadership positions in territorial election commissions and polling station commissions respect a fair balance between candidates;
define in the electoral law the consequences to be drawn from candidates' withdrawal as regards their representation in election commissions; guarantee timely updating of voters' lists all over the country;
adopt regulations clarifying the rights of Ukrainian voters living abroad and relevant voting procedures;
ensure that no candidate is restricted in presenting his/her views and qualifications to the citizens, including conducting public meetings and events throughout the country as well as billboard advertising, and that all candidates enjoy unimpeded access to television, radio and print media on a non-discriminatory basis; organize impartial debates between the candidates on state television;
guarantee that there are no harassments of media and journalists, and in particular that the moratorium on media inspections is maintained by all controlling bodies during the election campaign;
stop the practice of participation of civil servants in the campaign, and the use of public resources for the purpose of campaigning;
provide election commissions with necessary equipment, premises, training, etc. according to the Law;
refrain from any interference in the process of election disputes consideration by courts and provide judges with sufficient training on the electoral law.

Convinced that the respect for the above issues is an essential guarantee for the forthcoming elections to meet democratic standards, the committee encourages the assembly delegation participating at the pre-electoral visit to Kyiv from September 26 to 29, to raise these points with the relevant Ukrainian authorities during their visit and to report back to the bureau of the assembly upon progress made in these areas at the opening of the PACE's October part-session.

Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe: it has about 33,000 polling stations. It is therefore to be regretted that the issue of the legal status of domestic non-partisan observers has not been placed on the agenda of the current session of the Verkhovna Rada. The committee is also very concerned by the small number of international observers to be deployed by various international organizations and foreign states (around 800 for the whole country).

The committee will be looking closely at the results of an independent nationwide exit-poll which in the past, in the committee's view, had offered reliable indication of election results.

The committee wishes to reiterate that the result of the presidential elections and the findings of the international community as to the way they have been conducted will be the major test for Ukraine's determination to really abide by European standards and values.

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