International Observers: Elections in Ukraine Were Fair and Transparent

KYIV, Ukraine, October 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

International observers recognized Ukraine's parliamentary elections of October 28, 2012, as fair, transparent and democratic. The head of the European Parliament Observer Mission in Ukraine MEP Pavel Kowal believes that the elections can stimulate the signing of Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.

"We need a new impetus for the signing and ratification of the Association Agreement [between Ukraine and the EU]," said Kowal, adding that the recent parliamentary elections could become such a driving force. "I personally believe that Ukraine is a European democracy," he added. Kowal pointed out that cooperation between the government and opposition forces, as well as involvement of new parties in the parliament will be of outmost importance for Ukraine.  

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine were fair, the voting process was organized more efficiently than in a number of western countries, stated another European Parliamentarian and the European Center for Geopolitical Analysis observer Daniel van der Stoep. The vote demonstrated progress in Ukraine, he added. MEP and observer Vojtech Minar stated that there were no mistakes recorded in the elections process and the vote took place in accordance to the law. MEP and observer Nick Griffin made a similar statement: "The election system [in Ukraine] was even more transparent and fair than the one of the United Kingdom."

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine were democratic, stated the Observation Mission of the European Academy of Election Observation Chairman Thierry Mariani. He pointed out that the mission noticed isolated cases of organizational and technical problems; however, there were no systematic violations. All the 56 parliamentarians and experts from 14 European countries, members of the Observation Mission, anonymously approved the mission's report. A number of international non-governmental organizations such as CIS-EMO, For Fair Elections, ICES, etc. voiced similar observations.  

On the other hand, the Mission of Civil Society spokesman Markus Meckel stated, that the administrative resources were significantly abused at the parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The mission's report also highlighted the "controversial" trial and imprisonment of the opposition leaders, namely Ukraine's Ex-prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, which harmed the electoral process.

Full reports of the most of the observation mission will be available starting October 30, 2012. The Central Election Committee of Ukraine will announce official results by November 12th or earlier.