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National Democratic Institute 2030 M Street, NW, Fifth Floor Washington DC 20036 Tel: 202.728.5500 Fax: 202.728.5520 www.ndi.org |
November 23, 2004
Jean Freedberg (202) 728-5527
email: jfreedberg@ndi.org
FUNDAMENTAL FLAWS IN UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PROCESS
SUBVERT ITS LEGITIMACY, SAYS NDI
Calls on Ukraine's political leaders to enter into an urgent dialogue to consider how to rectify the corrosive effects of the abuses in the election process.
SUBVERT ITS LEGITIMACY, SAYS NDI
Calls on Ukraine's political leaders to enter into an urgent dialogue to consider how to rectify the corrosive effects of the abuses in the election process.
Kyiv, Ukraine,—An international delegation organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to Ukraine's November 21 presidential run-off election today concluded that: "Fundamental flaws in Ukraine's presidential election process subverted its legitimacy. The cumulative effects of systematic intimidation, overt manipulation and blatant fraud during the campaign and particularly on election day were designed to achieve a specific outcome irrespective of the will of the people."
The delegation, totaling 35 observers from Europe, Canada and the United States, visited Ukraine from November 17-23. It was led by: Abner Mikva, former member of the United States Congress, White House Counsel and Chief Judge of a U.S. Court of Appeal; David Collenette, former Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport of Canada; Alexander Longolius, former President Pro Tem of the Berlin House of Representatives; and Kenneth Wollack, President of NDI. The delegation also included members of parliament, other former members of Congress, former ambassadors, elections and human rights experts, civic leaders and regional specialists.
The delegation emphasized that at this point NDI does not intend to render a conclusive assessment of the process, given that the tabulation of results is not complete and that any electoral challenges and complaints will require monitoring through their completion.
The delegation said: "Ukraine's political leaders should enter into an urgent dialogue to consider how to rectify the corrosive effects of the abuses in the election process. A full range of remedies should be considered, including partial or new elections under democratic conditions. In addition, the election authorities and the courts should immediately provide relief for electoral violations. The delegation urges that, as redress is sought, all sides respect the rights of others and refrain from the use of violence."
Critical flaws in the election process noted by the delegation included the following:
- Suspiciously high incidence of voting by the use of mobile ballot boxes in certain parts of the country;
- Incidents of intimidation and limited incidents of violence at polling stations, including unauthorized presence of police and other unauthorized persons inside the polls, as well as the presence of threatening groups of men outside polling stations;
- Widespread pressures against public sector employees and students to obtain absentee ballot certificates for themselves and members of their families and to turn the certificates over to employers or school officials, thus disenfranchising large numbers of voters;
- Organized movement of other persons to vote away from their homes, thus controlling their movements and creating the possibility for multiple voting by using numerous absentee ballot certificates;
- Disenfranchisement of significant numbers of voters due to their names being omitted from the voter lists or errors appearing in their personal information;
- Last minute dismissals by Territorial Election Commissions (TECs) of Precinct Election Commission (PEC) members representing opposition candidates;
- Refusal to admit international and domestic observers into PECs and TECs;
- Invalidation of polling site results under illegal or questionable circumstances;
- Failure of the law to accredit domestic nonpartisan election monitors, contrary to Ukraine's OSCE commitments under the 1990 Copenhagen Document.
The delegation concluded that: "While Ukraine has the capacity to organize democratic elections, the government and electoral authorities have failed to demonstrate the political will to do so. The process surrounding Ukraine's presidential elections has failed to meet minimum international standards, many of the country's commitments through the OSCE and European organizations and the requirements of Ukrainian law. Since independence, Ukraine has held four presidential elections, most of which experienced problems similar to those identified in this one. The failures of the present election, therefore, represent a major step backward for the country's democratic development."
The full text of the delegation's statement can be found on the NDI website at www.ndi.org