Preparations for Ukraine’s parliamentary elections on Oct. 28 are taking place in an environment of widespread vote-buying, pressure on candidates and campaign staff, procedural irregularities and restrictions on media freedom.
These are
the main findings in an interim report released by Mission Canada after a month
of intensive monitoring by 65 long-term observers in all oblasts of Ukraine.
Taking into
account the importance of the next parliamentary elections in Ukraine and its
impact on democracy in the nation, the Canadian government sent the
largest-ever deployment of election observers to the country. The team already
in place will be joined by 365 short-term observers two weeks ahead of Election
Day. In addition, Canada is sending 10 long-term and 60 short-term observers
attached to the multilateral mission organized by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. So, the total number of trained observers from
Canada amounts to 500.
Speaking
about the overall findings in the interim report, Ann Szyptur, coordinator of
Mission Canada said: “While it is too early to make overall conclusions about
election process, with less than a month to go before voters head to the polls,
the findings rose in our report about procedures and irregularities are cause
for concern.”
A
widespread problem noted by observers is the prevalence of indirect vote-buying.
Cases were noted in almost all regions of Ukraine, with over 20 incidents
verified. Indirect vote-buying takes on many forms including handing out
presents and bribing voters.
Observers
have noted some 30 cases of violation of citizens’ human rights. They have
reported 35 cases of candidates reporting harassment and threats, both against
them and their campaign staff. In addition, the abuse of administrative
resources is increasingly evident and taking place in many forms.
The
selection process used for membership for both the district election
commissions and precinct election commissions was a single “winner-take-all”
lottery. This resulted in issues in representation when some oppositional
forces did not get their representatives in the commissions.
In
addition, Ukraine’s legal framework establishes a complex and formalistic
process for adjudication of election-related complaints and appeals,
undermining access to justice. Moreover, the manner in which disputes have been
handled by election administration and courts has not been in full accordance
with transparency and rule of law. There has been little evidence of law
enforcement bodies actively investigating and prosecuting electoral offences.
Also,
observers pointed at alleged ongoing restrictions on media freedom, harassment
of journalists, and general lack of pluralism.
Canadian
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Minister of International Cooperation
Julian Fantino have stated that they are concerned about the irregularities in
the electoral campaign in Ukraine noted by the Canadian observation mission,
Interfax-Ukraine reported.
“The
Canadian election observation mission’s initial findings regarding the
parliamentary election campaign under way in Ukraine are troubling,” reads
the statement of the ministers distributed by the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine
on Wednesday.
The
document reads that “free and fair elections that represent the will of
the Ukrainian people are still possible. It is not too late.”
The
ministers called on the Ukrainian authorities to address all irregularities in
the electoral process thoroughly and as a matter of immediate priority.
The Canadian
observer mission expects to submit a preliminary report within 24 hours of the
closing of polls on Election Day.
Kyiv Post staff writer
Oksana Faryna can be reached at [email protected].
