Both voters and the members of the electoral commissions are frequently violating measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 during local elections on Oct. 25, according to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine.
The non-governmental organization, which closely follows every election in Ukraine, sent 1,000 observers to polling places across the country to see how well electoral legislation is being obeyed and to what extent the polling stations are equipped with protective gear.
Their verdict? Polling stations are doing a bad job following anti-epidemic measures, Oleksiy Koshel, head of the organization, said at a briefing in Kyiv on Oct. 25.
According to him, the state failed to provide many members of the local electoral commissions with protective suits, face screens and protective glasses. The Committee of Voters also discovered that commission members often weren’t supplied with masks.
One such polling station was in Vinnytsia Oblast.
“The head of this electoral commission spent her own money to purchase protective costumes and gowns for those members of the commission who are helping with the so-called ‘vote from home,’” Koshel said.
During these local elections, Ukrainians can vote from home if they have COVID-19 or are self-isolating. That means that election workers will come to their homes with ballots and a ballot box. These workers are supposed to be equipped with personal protective equipment.
But, in many regions, the workers received the protective gear, but it was of low quality. Sometimes, members of the electoral commissions had to fix the broken items with scotch tape.
Koshel described the process of supplying protective gear to members of the electoral commissions as “chaotic.”
Another widespread problem was broken thermometers. Poll workers are supposed to check voters’ body temperature at the entrance to the polling stations.
“In Kamyanets-Podilsky in Khmelnytsky Oblast, the temperature of our observer was measured as 32 degrees (Celsius). He is alive, healthy and everything is alright with him,” Koshel said.
“Another observer’s temperature in Rivne was measured as 28.5 degrees (Celsius). What does it mean? It indicates a complete supply failure for members of the election commissions. The thermometers are of inadequate quality,” he added.
More broadly, the Committee of Voters observed widespread violations of social distancing at polling stations.
