The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, is requesting 850 monitors from its 57 participating states as it prepares a monitoring mission for Ukraine’s upcoming presidential elections.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or ODIHR, told the Kyiv Post on Jan. 16 that the number of monitors it was requesting for the election observation mission stems from a “needs assessment” study that it had carried out in Ukraine towards the end of 2018.
Of the 850 ODIHR monitors needed – to be deployed “well in advance of election day” – 100 would ideally be long-term observers to monitor the election process countrywide, reinforced by 750 short-term monitors for the election day itself, the organization has said.
Presidential elections will be held across Ukraine on March 31, with second-round votes taking place on April 21 if no candidate get over 50 percent in the first round.
ODIHR has already started recruiting the 850 observers that it says it needs for an effective monitoring mission.
“ODIHR has sent a request for the secondment of observers to all OSCE participating states, except for the country in which the election is being held,” said Thomas Rymer, a spokesperson for the Warsaw-based ODIHR.
“This is in line with the OSCE commitments made by all 57 OSCE participating States,” he added.
Citing passages from a pre-election needs assessment report, Rymer said that ODIHR monitors would be paying attention to plenty of factors as Ukrainians prepare to vote and eventually head to the polls on March. 31.
The efficiency of election administration could merit specific attention from monitors, including on Election Day, as could the legal framework and its implementation, according to ODIHR experts. Campaign finance oversight will also be monitored, as could media coverage of the campaign, possible voter intimidation, vote-buying, and the potential misuse of administrative resources.
The number of registered voters in Ukraine is around 35.9 million, according to the ODIHR, whose experts have already noted some concerns about the accuracy of voter lists, specifically when it comes to internally displaced persons, internal labor migrants and Ukrainian citizens living abroad.
ODIHR has also noted in its pre-election report, ahead of the arrival of its election monitors in Ukraine, that the Ukrainian authorities are responding to “a range of potential cyber-security threats” to its electoral process, and is upgrading its IT infrastructure in response.
On Jan. 15, Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that it had established a special working group that would co-operate with the monitors and “ensure public security” during the upcoming elections.
The same working group would “guarantee safety of OSCE representatives”, the ministry said in a statement, as later cited by the UNIAN news agency.
“The relevant authorities in the country where the election is taking place are responsible for providing security during the election process, including for foreign and domestic observers,” said Rymer.
“While I’m not aware of the particular working group mentioned in the article, election observation missions generally enjoy good co-operation with authorities in the countries in which they work, including in providing information necessary for a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process,” he added.
