Early Parliamentary Elections, 26 October 2014

Press Conference

On 1 September 2014, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine invited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) to observe the 26 October early parliamentary elections. In accordance with its mandate the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for these elections.

The OSCE/ODIHR last observed the parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2012 and early presidential election in May 2014. This will be the eleventh election observation activity in Ukraine.

ODIHR has also issued a number of joint opinions on current and draft election legislation, together with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

Long-term Observation

The OSCE/ODIHR EOM, headed by Tana de Zulueta (Italy), started its work in Ukraine on 18 September. The EOM has a core team of 16 international staff at the head office in Kyiv, drawn from 10 OSCE participating States. Eighty long-term observers are expected to arrive in the country on 25 September and will be deployed in teams of two throughout the regions.

The mission will assess the entire election process in terms of its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation. Observers will follow campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the legislative framework, and the resolution of election disputes. As part of the observation, the EOM will conduct comprehensive monitoring of the media.

Short-term Observation

ODIHR will request the secondment of 600 short-term observers from OSCE participating States for election day. Short-term observers will be deployed in teams of two throughout the country to monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results at all levels.

For election day observation, the OSCE/ODIHR will join efforts with a delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and other parliamentary delegations.

The day after the election, the election observation mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the electoral process.

The OSCE/ODIHR requests participating States to second six hundred (600) short-term observers (STOs) to observe voting, counting and the tabulation of results. Please consult information sheet request for short-term observers for more information and register on the Short-Term Observers Database: http://stodb.odihr.pl