STATEMENT on results of observation conducted by OPORA

Elections in Ukraine were held in correspondence with the legislation and democratic standards. The result of vote count is fair, and no violations which could have influenced the final election result were detected. All candidates were provided equal opportunities. However, the campaigning was complicated in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and, therefore, it's difficult to say that is was absolutely free.

OPORA's summary is based on the results of long- and short term observation[1], criteria and principles of democratic elections, established by documents of the Venice Commission, Copenhagen Conference, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) OPORA's observers adhered to the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations[2].

Preliminary observation summary

• Presidential elections were held during temporary occupation of the AR Crimea and illegitimate activities of terroristic groups in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. In result, activities of state's enemies hindered realization of voting rights of citizens. Despite such context has decreased the national turnout, its total level was quite representative – around 60%.
• The Parliament has amended the Law of Ukraine on Election of the President of Ukraine on the basis of recommendations from local NGO experts and international observation missions. Besides that, after activities of terroristic groups in the East of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada has introduced a number of innovations for additional security of commissions and transportation of election documentation. Thus, the Parliament has adequately reacted to the demands of experts and worsening of safety in the country.
• Activities of terroristic groups were aimed to create a system of intimidation, threats, and pressure upon the voters and commission members, in order to prevent their free participation in the elections. The disruption of voting in 14 of 22 districts of Donetsk oblast and 10 f 12 districts of Luhansk oblast is the direct result of such criminal activities of these persons. There were 213 district election commissions created, 24 of which didn't manage to fulfill their duties on the election day because lives and health of Ukrainian citizens were under threat.
• The violations, reported by OPORA's observers, considerably differ from violations reported in 2010 and 2012. While the most common violations of the last campaigns were: abuse of administrative resources and voter bribery, in 2014 the most common are: disregard of campaigning rules and obstruction to the electoral process. While the first common violation appeared in result of candidates' abuses and don't have considerable influence on election results, the second is directly related to confrontations in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
• The candidates didn't manage to provide enough qualified candidates for members of election commissions, what resulted in constant personnel rotations in commissions. Thus, not all members of DECs and PECs were ready to organize the electoral process on high level. In result, OPORA's observers reported 168 procedural violations on the election day.
• Simultaneous conduction of presidential, mayoral, and local council elections with small number of commission members at precincts became the reason of long queues at polling stations. In some polls in Kyiv, the voters had to wait for hours to vote. According to the legislation, all voters who entered the polling station until 8:00 PM have the right to vote. However, because of long queues and crowds in some ED in Kyiv, the voting continued to 11:40 PM. The Law wasn't violated, but the vote count was delayed.
• Law-enforcement bodies in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts failed to secure due safety during special elections of the President. Thus, official investigations should be started and personnel decisions should made. Law-enforcement system needs to be reformed and personnel must be re-attested.
• The Vybory Information System had suffered a cyber attack on the eve of election day. In result, it functioning wasn't stable and data from vote count protocols was entered very slowly at most of DECs. IT safety should become one of the topical issues in the election process, what will help to secure data retention, verify the protocols, and quickly provide information about the course of electoral process and voting results to the public.