[Ohio UZO News] Ukraine Elections: HC; State; OSCE; WSJ; WP; WoE

[Deychak, Orest]

Note:  Below you will find some of the official State Department and OSCE international observer mission statements about the election.  My partner, Netherlands Senator Eric Smaling and I observed voting day in Kharkiv for the OSCE.  Our largely positive observations at 12 polling stations of both the voting and the vote count were consistent with those of OSCE and other international observers spread throughout the country  (for specifics, see the OSCE Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions included below).  The biggest problem we witnessed on election day itself was confusion  at several polling stations regarding procedures to add voters on the voter lists and over the documents required to apply for homebound voting.  The vote count at the polling station where we observed was one of the most thorough I've ever witnessed.

 

There was considerable coverage of the election in major U.S. newspapers.  See the New York Times website for especially extensive coverage:  www.nytimes.com, as well as Financial Times:  www.ft.comand Eurasia Daily Monitor: http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/, as well as articles below.

 

Orest Deychakiwsky

 

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)

CO-CHAIRMAN HASTINGS STATEMENT ON UKRAINIAN ELECTIONS

 

KYIV,UKRAINE--U.S. Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), released the following statement after observing the Ukrainian presidential elections Sunday in Kyiv. 

As deputy head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly election observation mission in Ukraine, Rep. Hastings this week helped lead one of the largest election observations to any former Soviet country. He previously served as an election observer in Ukraine during the Orange Revolution in 2004 and led the OSCE observer mission to the 2006 parliamentary elections. 

"Sunday's Ukrainian presidential elections were run fairly and were an improvement on the last two major elections I observed here in 2004 and 2006. 

"Several campaigns' claims against opponents of fraud appeared unfounded come Election Day. 

"The fact voters truly did not know who would win this election tells us democracy is thriving in Ukraine. The people have a real choice in this country. The candidates display a healthy competition and are able to freely engage with the citizens. 

"I was glad to see new voters added to registration lists and granted ballots through a fair and swift non-partisan process Sunday. Unfortunately, the country's incomplete and unclear election law left poll workers without a uniform standard to handle new registrants and led some people to be denied the vote. 

"Despite the need to address the election law and certain aspects of candidates paying for coverage in the country's pluralistic media, the Ukrainian people should be very proud of their democratic development. This election met international standards. 

"Regardless of the outcome in Ukraine's runoff election, I look forward to the United States continuing our engagement with this important country, and I hope the Ukrainian people will continue to play an active role in their young democracy."


 


U.S. Department of State


Conduct of Ukraine's Presidential Election


Mark C. Toner
Director Office of Press Relations

Washington, DC

January 19, 2010

 

________________________________

We congratulate the Ukrainian people on the successful conduct of their Presidential elections on January 17. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), deemed them to have been "high quality," showing "significant progress over previous elections." This is an important demonstration of the development of democracy in Ukraine.

The United States looks forward to similarly successful conduct of the runoff election on February 7 and with working with whomever the Ukrainians choose as their President.


OSCE Parliamentary Assembly


Ukraine's presidential election meets most international commitments


KYIV, 18 January 2010 - 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, concluded the international election observation mission in a statement published today.

The 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 subject of permanent 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.

"This was a good and competitive election and very promising for the future of Ukraine's democracy. I look forward to the continuation of this positive experience in the second round of the election," said João Soares, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observers.

"Ukraine has proven that it can hold a clean election, even under an incomplete and unclear election law, confirming the desire of the Ukrainian people to freely choose their leaders. However, a major challenge ahead for Ukraine's politicians is to play by the rules rather than with the rules," said Matyas Eörsi, Head of the delegation of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.

"These elections consolidated the progress achieved by Ukraine since 2004. We were impressed with the overwhelmingly orderly process conducted in polling stations acrossthe country on election day. Shortcomings remain, particularly with regard to the electoral legal framework and its implementation. This undermines public confidence. Still, the Ukrainian voters won these elections. They have once more demonstrated their strong commitment to freedom and democracy," said Assen Agov, Head of the delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

"The people of Ukraine had a genuine democratic choice between a large number ofcandidates. Open access to information about the candidates and their programmes allowed the Ukrainian voters to make a well-founded choice. Looking back to the last presidential elections, democratic standards and mechanisms have made a great stepahead and have stabilized democracy in Ukraine," said Pawel Kowal, Head of the delegation of the European Parliament.

"This election was organized overall efficiently and with respect for fundamental freedoms, despite challenges such as an incomplete and inconsistent legal framework. We commend the tireless efforts of countless election workers to ensure a smooth functioning of the electoral process," said Heidi Tagliavini, Head of the election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights(ODIHR).

OSCE

I NTERNAT I ONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION M I S SI O N

Ukraine - Presidential Election, 17 January 2010

STATEMENT OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS

Full report:  http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2010/01/42386_en.pdf

 


 


The Wall Street Journal


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704541004575010390901914042.html


 


Ukraine Poll Leaders Set Sights on Swing Voters 


By JAMES MARSON <http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=JAMES+MARSON&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND>  


KIEV-Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, bitter foes since Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, began a three-week scramble for new support Monday after first-round voting in the country's presidential election thrust them into a runoff.

Supporters rally Monday for Viktor Yanukovych, top vote getter in Ukraine's presidential election's first round.

Near-complete returns from the Central Election Commission gave 35.3% of Sunday's vote to Mr. Yanukovych, the dour but resilient politician whose tainted victory in the 2004 race was overturned after massive street protests against alleged fraud. 

His margin over Ms. Tymo shenko, who polled 25%, wasn't wide enough to make him the runoff's clear favorite, political analysts said. Ms. Tymoshenko, a former natural-gas tycoon known for her sharp tongue and crown of braided hair, is considered the more charismatic and aggressive campaigner.

But she shares the burden of the political and economic turmoil that has stymied the country under the pro-Western Orange Revolution and its principal leader, President Viktor Yushchenko, who finished fifth among 18 contenders with 5.5% of Sunday's vote.

With 40% of the first-round vote up for grabs, the question is whether Ms. Tymoshenko can persuade swing voters who are ideologically closer to her to overlook her part in the leadership's failures and support her in the Feb. 7 runoff.

Staking out her battle line, she assailed her opponent, a former prime minister, as a tool of corrupt oligarchs. She called on "democratic forces" to help her keep Ukraine on a path toward integration with Europe. 

"To vote for Yanukovych is to choose the Stone Age," she said in televised remarks late Sunday.

Mr. Yanukovych declared Monday that Ukrainians had turned against their leaders. His rival, he said, "has not learned to accept her mistakes and correct them. People sense that, and don't trust her."

Ms. Tymoshenko got most of her support in the nationally minded, pro-European west and center of Ukraine. Mr. Yanukovych polled heavily in the eastern and southern regions culturally close to Russia.

The geopolitical tone of the 2004 race, in which Russia backed Mr. Yanukovych and was humiliated by the outcome, is largely absent this time. Both major candidates have vowed to repair ties with Russia while pursuing European Union membership. The economy and corruption mattered more to voters.

Nor did allegations of fraud and voter intimidation weigh on Sunday's results as they did in 2004. Western electionobservers reported that the voting generally met international standards, despite some confusion over who was eligible to vote from home.

Supporters of banking millionaire Serhiy Tihipko and former parliament speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk could hold the key to the runoff outcome. They finished third and fourth, respectively, polling about 20% between them on similar reform messages branding Ukraine's traditional politicians as ineffective and corrupt. Messrs. Tihipko and Yatsenyuk said they will support neither candidate in the runoff.

"Tymoshenko needs to convince voters for Tihipko and Yatsenyuk to come out, and she needs to persuade them ...that the alternative represented by Yanukovych is much worse," said David J. Kramer, a Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington, who observed the election. "That's going to be hard...A lot of Ukrainians voted for those candidates because they are not Tymo shenko."

Mr. Yanukovych hopes to pick up votes from Mr. Tihipko, who scored well in the front-runner's strongholds. But some who voted for Mr. Tihipko said they couldn't abide Mr. Yanukovych, a former factory manager who served jail time for assault and robbery in his youth and gained attention for declaring himself a "proffesor"-misspelling the word in Ukrainian-in his 2004 presidential declaration.

"I will never vote for an illiterate leader. I would be embarrassed to have him as president," said Olha Kovalchuk of Kiev, who voted for Mr. Tihipko in the first round and now supports Ms. Tymoshenko.

Both candidates sprang into action Monday after an explosion caused by oxygen tanks killed at least seven people at a hospital in the eastern town of Luhansk. Ms. Tymoshenko rushed there in her capacity as prime minister. Mr. Yanukovych promised his Party of Regions party would give $3,000 to the families of each victim.

Whoever wins the runoff will inherit an economy that shrank 15% last year, according to the World Bank. The new president will have to persuade the International Monetary Fund to resume a $16.4 billion bailout program, suspended after Mr. Yushchenko signed wage and pension increases into law in October.

Getting parliament to pass the required austerity measures will be difficult. Mr. Yanukovych has said that if he wins he might call parliamentary elections this year to secure a legislative majority.

The Washington Post

Ukraine president backs neither candidate in vote

By YURAS KARMANAU
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 20, 2010; 9:58 AM 

KIEV, Ukraine -- Outgoing Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko said Wednesday he will not support either candidate in the country's presidential runoff, saying they both were alienated from democratic principles. 

Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych is running against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the Feb. 7 second round of voting. 

Yanukovych won 35 percent of Sunday's vote compared with 25 percent for Tymoshenko, but analysts said Tymoshenko may easily make up the difference by gaining support from voters who cast first-round ballots for the 16 other candidates. 

Yushchenko, who came in fifth with just 5.5 percent, bemoaned the result Wednesday, saying Ukraine "does not have a decent choice" for his replacement. 

"Both candidates ... are alienated from national, European and democratic values," Yushchenko told journalists. "I don't see a principal difference between them." 

The president nevertheless praised the transparency of the election, which international observers said met democratic standards and was free of the fraud that has marred previous polls in the country. 

Yushchenko himself was elected in 2004 after massive protests against alleged vote fraud led to a court order for a revote. The initial vote had given victory to Yanukovych. 

The protests, dubbed the Orange Revolution, had encouraged Ukrainians' hope of swift integration into Western Europe, but Yushchenko's presidency has been stymied by political skirmishing that paralyzed government and deepened the nation's economic problems. 

Both Yanuukovych and Tymoshenko have pledged to improve Ukraine's ties with Russia, its biggest trading partner and the region's dominant military power. 

Yanukovych, a former electrician and factory manager, has pledged to scrap Ukraine's NATO bid and elevate Russian to the status of a second official language alongside Ukrainian. 

Tymoshenko, a leader of the Orange Revolution, has once criticized what she called Russia's imperial ambitions, but has recently made peace with the Kremlin on energy and security issues. 

The two were courting support Wednesday from former economy minister and banking magnate Sergei Tigipko, who came in third in Sunday's first round of voting with 13 percent. 

Tymoshenko offered Tigipko the post of prime minister, telling journalists "our programs coincide by 90 percent." 

Yanukovych also said his campaign platform was similar to Tigipko's, and that the two had "like-minded" supporters. 

Tigipko said he wouldn't back anyone in the runoff. 

Window on Eurasia: Yushchenko Transformed Ukraine, Moscow Analyst Says

 

Paul Goble

 

            Vienna, January 19 - Even as most Russian commentators are focusing on which of the two remaining candidates will become Ukraine's president, one Moscow analyst is arguing that it is important to recognize that the incumbent leader, Viktor Yushchenko, played a critical role in transforming Ukraine into a very different country than the one it was when he came to power.

 

            Indeed, Konstantin Krylov, argues on the APN.ru portal, Yushchenko's administration, with all its problems, was for Ukraine if not fateful then extremely remarkable.  After it, Ukraine became a different place. In reality, during [his much-criticized administration of the country], it actually arose (www.apn.ru/column/article22289.htm).

 

            And because that is so, Krylov continues, Yushchenko's impact will continue to be felt in Ukraine and elsewhere long into the future, even though he failed to attract enough votes even to get into the runoff that will now take place between Viktor Yanukovych, the man he ousted, and Yuliya Timoshenko, the woman with whom he collaborated and then broke.

            This impact is especially important for Russians to focus on, the Moscow commentator says, because that country in the eyes of many of them "plays the role of 'the other Russia,' a different variant of our own historical fate which could have happened 'if it hadn't been for Putin.' Some like that; others don't, but all are interested."

 

            At a formal bookkeeping level, Yushchenko was a failure, Krylov says. "Not one promise" which he gave electors in 2005 was he able to keep, and that failure is in no way mitigated even if it is partially explained by the obstacles he faced at home from a fractious political system and abroad from the divide between Moscow and the West. 

 

            "Nevertheless," the APN.ru columnist continues, "it must be repeated: Ukraine after Yushchenko has changed.  In a radical way, and in the most important: Not one president before Yushchenko did so much for the total Ukrainianization of the country," in ways and at a pace that surprised "even ethnic Ukrainians."

 

            And the Ukrainian president did this - and this is "the most interesting thing," Krylov says, without "attacking the basic freedoms of [his country's] citizens but even just the reverse expanding them" - exactly the opposite of what President Vladimir Putin was doing at the same time in the Russian Federation.

 

            Indeed, in comparison with Russia today,  Krylov suggests, "Ukraine looks like some kind of flowering garden of liberty and fraternity, an oasis where everything is permitted," thus creating "for the first time over all the post-Soviet period" a sense of "frustration," "resentment," and even "envy" among Russians about one of their neighbors.

 

            The reason for that is easy to identify: "A free and openly national state looks more attractive than a shameful anti-national dictatorship." That does not mean that everything was perfect in Ukraine or even that Yushchenko's regime was itself not based on a certain "falsification."

 

            But if "Putin's Russia is a SUCCESSFUL project, in certain respects very successful," Krylov continues, "it is very UNATTRACTIVE." And consequently while "Yushchenko's Ukraine is not so successful a project, it is on the other hand a much more attractive one, despite all its shortcomings."

 

            The Putin-Medvedev regime will be supported "while they are in power and successful, partially out of fear and partially in the hopes of getting some benefit. But if the system they have constructed suddenly falls apart and the 'power vertical' shakes - no one will defend these monstrous formations," unlike in Ukraine, after Yushchenko's time in power.

 

            Krylov provides two epigraphs to his article, which together underscore his point. The first is the latest update of an old East European anecdote and the second a common by Boris Nemtsov, the longtime Russian liberal politician who served as one of Viktor Yushchenko's advisors.

 

            According to the anecdote, "a dog runs from Ukraine to Russia.  The border guard asks - what are you running from? The dog replies, in Ukraine, there is a crisis, everything is terrible.  After a certain time, the dog returns to Ukraine. Why did he do that, the dog is asked. He replies because in Ukraine I can bark." 

 

            And according to Nemtsov, "Yushchenko is the Ukrainian Yeltsin. He defended the independence of Ukraine and did everything so that Ukraine could become a free democratic country. Now, [the Ukrainian president] is very unpopular, with many [in Ukraine itself] even cursing him for what he always was trying to do."

            

 

 

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