Multiple European Countries Monitor Ukraine Elections to be Closely Watched Parliamentary Election

Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

28 Countries Monitor Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine

On October 22nd the Central Election Committee of Ukraine registered the final batch of 666 international observers for the parliamentary elections in Ukraine, which will take place on October 28th. The total number of foreign monitors reached 3,797 persons – they represent 28 countries and 35 international non-governmental organizations. Moreover, more than 130,000 domestic observers will also work at the elections.

Ukrainian parliamentary elections draw increased international attention with such organizations as OSCE and the European Parliament (EP) sending observing missions to the country. Observers only watch the process, highlighted in his interview with Deutsche Welle EP’s member Michael Gahler, who also observes the Ukrainian elections. He explained that, should any violation of the voting process occur, an observer would register it in the report without interfering with the process. The EP observers will pay special attention whether Ukrainians are enabled to exercise their right to vote and the vote count is transparent, he said.

There will be short-term and long-term observers at the Ukrainian elections. Some of the long-term observers have been monitoring media and providing reports in Ukraine since September 2012. CANADEM, CIS-EMO, and OSCE have already released their preliminary findings.

On October 22, 2012, CIS-EMO concluded that the election process in Ukraine was competitive and had no obvious leader. Therefore, so far, the elections correspond with the principles of democracy despite violations CIS-EMO observers identified.

Ukrainian parliamentary elections will be held on October 28, 2012. The voters will visit nearly 34,000 polling stations across the country and abroad to cast their votes through two lists – for one of the 87 political parties running for parliament and a single-district candidate they support.

The 2012 elections are regulated by the new election law adopted by the parliament in November 2011. The bill reintroduced mixed electoral system in Ukraine. Now 225 members of the Ukrainian parliament will be elected through party lists and 225 MPs – through single-member constituencies. Election threshold is five percent. Another innovation is the installation of webcameras at all polling stations. The devices will broadcast the signal online.