Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights - Elections

The OSCE/ODIHR deployed an Election Observation Mission in Ukraine for the 31 October 2004 presidential election. As none of the candidates obtained an absolute majority of the votes on 31 October, a second round of voting took place on 21 November.

Following a ruling of the Supreme Court of Ukraine on 3 December and a subsequent decision of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine on 4 December, a re-run of the second round has been scheduled for 26 December 2004.

The OSCE/ODIHR will remain in Ukraine and observe the electoral process until its completion.

Long-term observation

The ODIHR conducted a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 9 to 12 June 2004 in order to assess the conditions and preparations for the elections and to advise on the level of ODIHR involvement in these elections. The NAM recommended that a standard EOM be deployed in early September.

From early September until the beginning of December, the Mission, headed by Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens (Germany), included 14 international staff based at the Kyiv head office and 45 long-term observers deployed in the regions.

To observe the re-run of the second round of the election, the size of the Mission was increased. Since 8 December, it has included a core team of 21 international experts based in Kyiv and 55 long-term observers in the regions. The international experts and long-term observers are drawn from 20 OSCE participating States.

The Mission will assess the entire election process in terms of its compliance with international standards for democratic elections and national legislation, focusing on the election campaign, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

Short-term observation
 
First round of voting

Shortly before the 31 October polling, the OSCE/ODIHR deployed more than 600 short-term observers from 34 OSCE participating States across Ukraine in teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results at all levels.

On 1 November, the Election Observation Mission issued a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on the 31 October poll.

On 10 November, the Central Election Commission adopted a resolution announcing the results of the first round. As no candidate obtained an absolute majority, the CEC decided to hold a second round of voting on 21 November. The candidates in the second round were Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, who obtained 39.87 per cent and 39.32 per cent of the votes, respectively.

Second round of voting

Shortly before the 21 November polling day, the OSCE/ODIHR deployed 600 short-term to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results at all levels of the election administration.

On 22 November, the Election Observation Mission held a press conference in Kyiv and issued a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions on the second round of the election.

On 3 December, the Supreme Court invalidated a resolution of the Central Election Commission of 24 November announcing that Mr. Yanukovych had won the election. The Supreme Court ordered the Central Election Commission to adopt a resolution calling for a re-run of the second round on 26 December.

Previous elections

The ODIHR has observed a number of elections in Ukraine, including the 1999 presidential election and the 2002 parliamentary elections.