UCCA monitors report on voting (04/02/06)

UCCA monitors report on voting

NEW YORK - More than 200 international observers from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) fulfilled their duties at various polling stations in 16 oblasts of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as five polling stations in the United States. The UCCA finds that the 2006 parliamentary elections in Ukraine were conducted in a free, open and transparent manner.

International observers from the UCCA have registered insignificant technical problems, mainly, misspellings or other minor inconsistencies in the voter lists and the lack of space, which interfered with the voters' ability to cast their votes in secret. It is necessary to note the following organizational issues:

Some members of the electoral commissions did not possess sufficient legal knowledge.
Polling stations were not adequately equipped.

All these difficulties, in the UCCA's opinion, occurred because the parliamentary elections were combined with the elections to the municipal organs. All observers, without exception, noted the extremely long lines the voters had to endure in order to register; some people had to wait for hours to receive their ballots(s).

The 2006 parliamentary elections demonstrated that Ukraine continues to move along the road of reforms and the significant voter turnout provides evidence that the civic community, which ensures that every vote matters in deciding the future of the country, continues to strengthen.

In addition, UCCA observers, who have a long-time experience of observing parliamentary and presidential elections (1994, 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2004), underscored that the pre-electoral campaign and the atmosphere in Ukraine on the whole were democratic. All political forces had equal access to the media, and there was no evidence of government interference, as opposed to the previous campaigns.

In order to minimize the time needed to count the votes as well as to simplify the voting process for the Ukrainian electorate, the UCCA proposed that parliamentary and local elections be held separately. The UCCA also recommended including professionals familiar with the electoral legislation and elections procedures on electoral commissions.

The UCCA expressed sincere gratitude to the Central Elections Commission of Ukraine, headed by Yaroslav Davydovych, for overall cooperation and the chance to observe the elections. This allowed the UCCA to be part of establishing Ukraine's democracy yet again.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America also congratulated the people of Ukraine, noting that it "joins them in celebrating a new victory of democracy."

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