The Committee for Open Democracy is deploying over 90 observers in seven Ukrainian oblasts to
monitor the October 26th Verkhovna Rada elections. Eleven countries are represented in the delegation that will deploy in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, Zaporizhya, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk.
“We will focus on competitive majoritarian districts in those oblasts,” said Brian Mefford, The Committee’s Executive Director. “Our objective is to prevent fraudulent activity and it is our experience that international observers in majoritarian districts with a history of electoral fraud, can make the difference between honest elections deserving of the voters’ respect and fraudulent elections which contribute to voter apathy and bad governance.”
Following the Ukrainian Presidential election in May which meet democratic standards according to all major observation organizations including the Committee for Open Democracy, the Parliamentary elections are “are crucial as Ukraine continues its transition to Euro-Atlantic values, traditions and procedures” said Mefford.
“Ukraine is at a crossroads and, the Rada that emerges from these elections is crucial to Ukraine developing decent governance which will contribute to the prosperity of all Ukrainians in all parts of the country, including the Donbas where democracy is under assault from outside influences.”
The Committee’s delegation will include five current and former Members of Parliament from the region. “We are honored and proud to once again participate as observers to Ukrainian democratic development,” said Mefford. “The Committee has been observing elections and providing concrete electoral recommendations to Ukraine for over four years now at the national and local levels.”
The Committee for Open Democracy is a nonprofit organization specializing in election observation. Established in 2010 by professionals in the election observation and broader democracy and governance field, the Committee seeks to improve the pre-electoral environment with concrete recommendations, prevent election fraud in the pre-election period and on election day and contribute to the overall electoral environment in developing democracies.
The Committee has observed 13 elections in Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Slovenia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. COD is a 501(c)(3) (U.S. Internal Revenue Service code) nonprofit organization headquartered in Bradenton, Florida with a base of operations in Kyiv.
The Committee for Open Democracy is an objective, non-profit organization that monitors and observes elections internationally for adherence to democratic standards of fairness, reflecting the will of the voters. More information can be found at www.committeeforopendemocracy.org, or their Facebook page.
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