  |
|
|
On January 17, 2010, Senator Consiglio Di Nino led a Canadian delegation composed of Mr. David Christopherson, M.P., Mr. Peter Goldring, M.P., Ms. Monique Guay, M.P. and Ms. Martha Hall Findlay, M.P. to take part in the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) of the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election. The following report is mainly based on the “Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions”, as published by the IEOM on January 18, 2010. Over 800 short-term observers were deployed as part of the IEOM, including a 117-member delegation from the OSCE PA. In total, there were observers from 47 OSCE participating States. The IEOM observed voting in over 2,100 polling stations out of a total of 33,695, counting in 134 polling stations and tabulation in 157 District Election Commissions (DECs). The Mission was deployed at the invitation of the Government of Ukraine, pursuant to commitments made by all OSCE participating states. The first round of Ukraine’s presidential election was of high quality and showed significant progress over previous elections, meeting most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments. Observers noted that the election demonstrated respect for civil and political rights, and offered voters a genuine choice between candidates representing diverse political views. Candidates were able to campaign freely, and the campaign period was generally calm and orderly. The legal framework remained unclear and incomplete, and was the subject of continuous discussion. Nevertheless, the election was generally administered efficiently, and commissions mostly worked in a collegial and non-partisan manner. A pluralistic media offered voters a variety of information about candidates, although electronic media reporting was often influenced by candidates paying for news coverage. Voting and counting on election day was assessed overwhelmingly positive by observers. People were calm and voting was conducted in an orderly and transparent manner. IEOM observers assessed the voting process as good or very good in 97 percent of polling stations visited. The counting process was assessed as good or very good in 95 percent of reports, without regional variations. Reconciliation and tabulation procedures at DECs were rated positively in 98 per cent of reports. However, in 48 DECs observers were not given access to the room where preliminary results were entered into a computer for transmission to the Central Electoral Commission. Transparency was noted as a problem in every sixth DEC. The reconciliation of Precinct Election Commission protocols was generally correct and only resulted in a few recounts. The Canadian delegation attended an all-day briefing session in Kiev on January 15 as well as area specific briefings in their respective deployment places on January 16. Senator Consiglio Di Nino was deployed in Kiev, M.P. David Christopherson in Donetsk, M.P. Peter Goldring in Kharkiv, M.P. Monique Guay in Sevastopol and M.P. Martha Hall Findlay in Lviv. Most delegates were also able to attend either their regional debriefings or the Kiev debriefing on January 18. The full preliminary report prepared by the IEOM is available in English at www.oscepa.org Respectfully submitted,
|
|
 |