OSCE Says Registered Malpractices, Vote-Buying In Ukraine's Snap Election

Ukraine's snap parliamentary election was administered effectively and competently, but the campaign featured numerous malpractices, including vote-buying and intertwined business and political interests, the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement on Monday

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2019) Ukraine's snap parliamentary election was administered effectively and competently, but the campaign featured numerous malpractices, including vote-buying and intertwined business and political interests, the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement on Monday.

On Sunday, Ukraine held a snap election to its legislature, the Verkhovna Rada. The minimum threshold to win a seat is 5 percent. The ballots are currently being counted, and the final results are expected to be announced on August 5.

"Generally, the electoral administration was competent and effective despite short time available to prepare the elections, which were seen as an opportunity to consolidate reforms and changes in politics that Ukrainian voters are hoping for. In sharp contrast, the campaign was marked by wide-spread vote-buying, misuse of incumbency, and the practice of exploiting all possible legislative loopholes, skewing equality of opportunity for contestants. Intertwined business and political interests dictate media coverage of elections and allow for the misuse of political finance, including at the local level," the OSCE said in its Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions.

Last month, the OSCE announced plans to send 96 long-term and 750 short-term observers to monitor Ukraine's snap parliamentary vote. Following their regular procedure, the OSCE observers issue two statements with findings and conclusions: a preliminary one the day after the election and a final one approximately two months later.

In the meantime, Ukraine revoked its invitation to observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) after the latter decided to restore the Russian delegation's voting rights at the assembly's latest session. PACE President Liliane Maury Pasquier in response pointed that Ukraine, as a Council of Europe member, is obligated to admit observers to its snap parliamentary vote.

In February, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law banning Russian observers within monitoring missions in other international organizations to work in Ukraine. As a result, Russian observers were denied access to monitoring the presidential election in Ukraine past spring.