The Voters’ Committee of Ukraine has noted a considerable improvement in the atmosphere surrounding the preparations for the elections in the sense of securing citizens’ political rights, KVU chairman Ihor Popov told a news conference on Nov. 24. He added that in October-November the KVU registered an insignificant number of infringements of these rights. Ukrainska Pravda (www.pravda.com) quotes Popov as saying: “A few lone cases have been registered, but unless this practice is terminated, the democratic parliamentary and local elections are at risk.” He stressed that these conclusions were reached on the basis of the results of monitoring the situation that has developed in the course of preparing for the election campaign. The KVU launched this monitoring in all regions of Ukraine in October.
According to Popov, the central and local authorities as well as the Central Election Commission and political parties are making significant preparations to organize the election process. Work is underway to create and update voters’ lists. At this stage the work of government bodies to prepare for the elections is mainly restricted to ensuring the activity of working groups engaged in formulating voters’ lists. Although in many cases lists were submitted late, the KVU generally regards the process as satisfactory; voters’ lists are accessible practically everywhere, and local newspapers are reminding readers to check their names on these lists.
Popov also notes a substantial improvement in the quality of voters’ lists compared to those that were made during the 2004 election campaign. Yet certain shortcomings point to negligence on the part of some officials.
