On 24 October 2014, at 11:30 am, the press-conference titled "Two days before the elections: Donbas situation, threats of vote rigging and preliminary results of OPORA's observation" will be held by the Civil Network OPORA in the UNIAN Information Agency (4 Khreshatyk St., Kyiv). Experts will compare the course of this year parliamentary election campaign to elections in 2012 and 2007; analyze the influence of voter bribery and misuse of administrative resource on possible election outcom...

On 18 October, the Lysychanks City Department of Militia received a report from the Head of DEC concerning disappearance of a seal of precinct election commission #440944, located in Lysychansk Professional Lyceum. The fact was registered in the Lysychanks City Department of MIA. We conduct further verification.

Today, on 21 October, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine conducted a conference call concerning investigation of violations related to the election process during early parliamentary elections scheduled for 26 October 2014, and cooperation with NGOs. The Minister of Internal Affair Arsen Avakov, higher officials of the MIA, and representatives of the Civil Network OPORA participated in the conference. Olha Aivazovska, Electoral and Parliamentary Programs Coordinator at the Civil Netw...

To continue the topic of information portraits of MP candidates in Early Parliamentary elections scheduled for 26 October 2014, OPORA made a joint portrait of party list candidates.  

Despite candidates and parties bribe voters and misuse administrative resources less than in 2012[1], the reported incidents show that many candidates are ready to gain the victory by illegal means. OPORA has already detected [2]63 incidents having features of voter bribery and 35 incidents characterized as misuse of administrative resources during the official election process. As long as the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine related to strengthenin...

Despite the scale of voter bribery and misuse of administrative resources is not as wide as in 2012, these violations remain major issues of the election process in Ukraine. 

Overall, formation of election commissions went without major violations and within the time limits prescribed by the law. Preparations for the election remain persistently difficult in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, where formation of PECs is not completed in some constituencies due to the constant armed aggression on the part of pro-Russian terroristic groups.

Only 7 of 21 districts in Donetsk oblast and 6 of 11 districts in Luhansk oblast have almost completed the procedures, related to the formation of PECs. Precinct election commissions (PECs) are still not formed in some districts of Donbas due to the constant armed aggression of pro-Russian terrorist groups. Nevertheless, PECs were formed without major violations and within time constraints established by the law on the whole territory of Ukraine. With the exception of some incidents (in Dnipr...