UCCA's International Election Observer Mission - 2010
19 January 2010
Kyiv, Ukraine (UCCA) - The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), which has a long history of observing Ukraine’s elections (1991, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007) once again took an active part in monitoring Ukraine’s fifth presidential elections.
The UCCA registered 104 International Election Observers from the United States, as well as several observers from Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Australia and Poland. On Election Day, January 17th the UCCA observed the Elections in various oblasts (regions) of Ukraine, including: Cherkassy, Crimea, Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Poltava, and Kyiv. The UCCA also monitored polling sites in the United States at the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, DC and at the Consulates in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
Observing in more than 227 polling sites, the UCCA Delegation of International Election Observers can state, that despite some minor violations, the January 17th presidential election was conducted in a free and fair manner.
Not withstanding the overall evaluation, there were some violations during the election process, including:
- Presidential candidate billboards were still hanging in Kharkiv city on Election Day, which is in violation of the Election law.
- Not all Election Commission members were adequately trained and educated in the Law of Elections of the President of Ukraine, which proved problematic during the election process.
- The procedure to add voters to the voter’s list varied from polling site to polling site.
- The UN Commission on Human Rights recommendations on changing to the Election Law to reflect international standards were not implemented.
That being said, UCCA’s Delegation of International Election Observers believes that these minor violations, did not change the outcome of the election results.
The UCCA will continue its election observer mission during the second round of elections, which will take place on February 7, 2009.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) – is the national umbrella organization in the Untied States representing the interests of over 1 million Americans of Ukrainian descent for 70 years.
January 19, 2010
