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Preliminary statement on the 1999 presidential election in Ukraine
KYIV 1 November 1999
KYIV, 1 November 1999 - A preliminary statement of the observation of the first round of presidential elections, held 31 October 1999 in Ukraine, was released by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). No final assessment can be reached until the counting and aggregation of votes have been completed and the official results published.
The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission will remain in Ukraine until the election process is completed. A second statement will be released after the second round of voting, scheduled for 14 November 1999.
In its preliminary statement, the International Election Observation Mission reported the first round of the Ukrainian Presidential Election failed to meet a number of OSCE commitments. The coverage of the campaign by the media and the widespread involvement of public officials in the campaign breached both the legal framework governing these elections and the relevant OSCE commitments. Although the laws showed improvement, implementation and enforcement was often selective and did not provide a level-playing field for all candidates in the pre-election period. Moreover, the election disputes and appeal procedures generally did not provide the complainants with effective means to seek redress prior to the election.
The Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine was adopted on 25 March 1999 and amended on 8 September 1999. Despite significant improvements, drawbacks remain. The Presidential Election Law and the Law on the Central Election Commission have increased transparency. However, the legal framework continues to fall short of adequate provisions on a number of critical issues. Moreover, it is also the selective interpretation and enforcement of the legal provisions at the various levels of the state structure that prevented the uniform application of the law.
Both the publicly funded electronic and print media, and private broadcasters comprehensively failed to meet their obligations and it can be concluded the media coverage of the campaign and of the candidates in the first round did not live up to the required legal provisions and OSCE commitments.
The ODIHR Election Observation Mission received numerous verified reports that public officials in state institutions were campaigning in favour of the incumbent President. Allegations were raised about state security forces actively involved in politically-motivated interventions.
During the campaign period, the election commissions, and the CEC in particular, received a large number of complaints, mostly concerning the campaign coverage of candidates in the media and abuse of public office by state officials for campaign purposes.
Observers reported that election day procedures were carried out in a peaceful and orderly manner, despite minor irregularities in very few polling stations. The OSCE/ODIHR received several reports of wrongly printed/stamped ballots, which seem to reflect poor organization rather than intentional misconduct in these locations. Although most reports are still being processed, particularly those on counting procedures, the ODIHR has not been informed of any widespread irregularities at this stage.
The ODIHR Election Observation Mission will continue to monitor the aggregation procedure until the official results have been published and will monitor any complaints submitted.
MEDIA CONTACT: For further information, please contact Mr. Simon Osborne, head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission in Ukraine, tel.: (380-44) 220 14 69, fax: (380 44) 229 77 77; or Elsa Fenet, ODIHR-Warsaw, (+48-22) 520 06 00, or fax: (+48-22) 628 6967, or Mr. John Hartland or Pawel Chevtchenko, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, (+33-3) 88 41 38 35, or fax (+33-3) 88 41 27 17.
The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission will remain in Ukraine until the election process is completed. A second statement will be released after the second round of voting, scheduled for 14 November 1999.
In its preliminary statement, the International Election Observation Mission reported the first round of the Ukrainian Presidential Election failed to meet a number of OSCE commitments. The coverage of the campaign by the media and the widespread involvement of public officials in the campaign breached both the legal framework governing these elections and the relevant OSCE commitments. Although the laws showed improvement, implementation and enforcement was often selective and did not provide a level-playing field for all candidates in the pre-election period. Moreover, the election disputes and appeal procedures generally did not provide the complainants with effective means to seek redress prior to the election.
The Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine was adopted on 25 March 1999 and amended on 8 September 1999. Despite significant improvements, drawbacks remain. The Presidential Election Law and the Law on the Central Election Commission have increased transparency. However, the legal framework continues to fall short of adequate provisions on a number of critical issues. Moreover, it is also the selective interpretation and enforcement of the legal provisions at the various levels of the state structure that prevented the uniform application of the law.
Both the publicly funded electronic and print media, and private broadcasters comprehensively failed to meet their obligations and it can be concluded the media coverage of the campaign and of the candidates in the first round did not live up to the required legal provisions and OSCE commitments.
The ODIHR Election Observation Mission received numerous verified reports that public officials in state institutions were campaigning in favour of the incumbent President. Allegations were raised about state security forces actively involved in politically-motivated interventions.
During the campaign period, the election commissions, and the CEC in particular, received a large number of complaints, mostly concerning the campaign coverage of candidates in the media and abuse of public office by state officials for campaign purposes.
Observers reported that election day procedures were carried out in a peaceful and orderly manner, despite minor irregularities in very few polling stations. The OSCE/ODIHR received several reports of wrongly printed/stamped ballots, which seem to reflect poor organization rather than intentional misconduct in these locations. Although most reports are still being processed, particularly those on counting procedures, the ODIHR has not been informed of any widespread irregularities at this stage.
The ODIHR Election Observation Mission will continue to monitor the aggregation procedure until the official results have been published and will monitor any complaints submitted.
MEDIA CONTACT: For further information, please contact Mr. Simon Osborne, head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission in Ukraine, tel.: (380-44) 220 14 69, fax: (380 44) 229 77 77; or Elsa Fenet, ODIHR-Warsaw, (+48-22) 520 06 00, or fax: (+48-22) 628 6967, or Mr. John Hartland or Pawel Chevtchenko, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, (+33-3) 88 41 38 35, or fax (+33-3) 88 41 27 17.