OSCE Chairman welcomes Ukraine Supreme Court decision, pledges full support for new elections

SOFIA, 4 December 2004 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to declare the second round of the presidential elections invalid and pledged the full support of the Organization when the vote is re-run.

"The court decision echoed the findings of international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and other bodies that both rounds of the election had been marred by serious shortcomings," he said. "Moreover, this decision will make it possible to find a peaceful outcome to the present political crisis."

"Re-running the second round of the elections will provide an opportunity for Ukraine to demonstrate that its people's undoubted commitment to democracy can be translated into well-organized, free and fair elections," the Chairman-in-Office said.

He called on the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that the next vote is conducted in full accordance with OSCE commitments. "In particular, we expect to see a fair campaign and unbiased reporting in state-controlled media," he added.

The OSCE/ODIHR is ready to deploy a full observation team for the re-run of the second round of election. It will ask the 55 OSCE participating States to provide an increased number of long-term and short-term observers as well as the necessary budgetary resources.

"I call on OSCE participating States and other international actors to launch a major election observation mission in this very short timeframe," Minister Passy said.

The Chairman-in-Office expects that the observers will be given full access to the election process, including the counting and tabulation of votes, and allowed to do their work unhindered.

The situation in Ukraine will be among the major issues to be discussed at the OSCE Ministerial Council which will be held in Sofia on 6 and 7 December.