The Committee for Open Democracy was the largest accredited observation mission from abroad with 96 observers from 14 countries.We focused our efforts on Odesa (Odessa) due to its’ history of problematic and competitive elections.
For example, the 2002 election results there were later overturned by the courts due to fraud and use of administrative resources. Our official statement criticized the intentionally slow vote counting process, hostility to some international observers, use of administrative resources, and wide scale use of technical parties (parties that exist only on paper) to staff commissions.Simply put, the Odesa election was a setback for democracy and free elections in Ukraine.
For only the second time in Ukraine’s history, the U.S. Embassy said that the election ‘did not meet standards for openness and fairness.’
The oldest and largest domestic observation organization, the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, characterized the Odesa election as “chaotic” and resembling “the 2004 presidential election.” They added that the Odesa election “represents a big step backwards.”
A report published in the Kyiv Post referred to the Odesa election as “the dirtiest” in Ukraine due to agitation materials that were widely used.The highly respected Economist magazine cited the anti-Semitic tone of the campaign.The French newspaper Le Figaro also criticized the conduct of the Odesa election.
Finally, for only the second time in Ukraine’s history, the U.S. Embassy said that the election “did not meet standards for openness and fairness,” the other time being the November 2004 runoff that sparked the Orange Revolution and was later overturned by the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
Where is the election now? The results from thousands of separate regional contests remain fuzzy, and are hard to find as there is no central agency making them public. What is clear is that dozens of lawsuits and complaints are currently being investigated by the local courts.
The comments of some of our observers were quite telling about the whole election. A Lithuanian member of Parliament said: “On the morning of the Election, I had hope that Ukraine had truly become a European country.That hope was destroyed in the evening due to the intentionally slow vote count.”
A Georgian opposition activist said: “I am no fan of how [Georgia President Mikheil] Saakashvili runs elections, but after seeing the election in Odesa, Misha is a practically a saint.”
A member of parliament from a Balkan nation added: “We don’t have good elections in my country, but what I saw in Odesa is simply criminal.”
Several American and Canadian observers with extensive observation in Ukraine agreed that it was one of the worst elections they had observed in Ukraine.While
not all of our observers noticed violations or experienced hostility, there were far too many instances not to cite in our statement.
We hope that given the international and domestic criticism of the Odesa election, that the Ukrainian authorities will take action to cancel the Odesa election and other unfair ones, and conduct them soon in a truly open, transparent and free manner.
That is not to say that there were no positive attributes about the election, but after 19 years of independence, Ukrainians and the citizens of Odesa simply deserve better.When the oblast state administration can make use of administrative resources without repercussions, it directly defies President Viktor Yanukovych’s decree to prohibit their usage.
When election commissioners can be allowed to prevent observers from immediately entering a polling station, it directly defies international observation standards as well as their accredited mandate.
When polling stations can be allowed to intentionally slow the vote counting process (in some cases for days after the election) it defies transparency and the spirit of the law.
Local authorities and commissioners should be held accountable so that their actions meet the letter and spirit of Ukrainian law as well as international, democratic standards.
We hope that given the international and domestic criticism of the Odesa election, that the Ukrainian authorities will take action to cancel the Odesa election and other unfair ones, and conduct them soon in a truly open, transparent and free manner.
Brian Mefford has lived in Ukraine since 1999, spending much of his time working for a US-funded non-governmental organization that assists the development of democracy . During his stay in Ukraine, he has observed 13 Ukrainian elections as well as multiple elections in the United States, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, and Mongolia.
