OSCE and Central Election Commission of Ukraine launch online training system for election officials

KYIV, 18 October 2012 – A web portal to help train election officials created with support from the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) and the country’s Central Election Commission was launched today.

The web portal www.vyborkom.org is already being used in preparation for parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 October in Ukraine. 

The new online training system will enable election commission members to familiarize themselves with important information on election-related procedures, including legal recommendations related to the application of election law, regulations by the Central Election Commission and samples of documents used by commission members with instructions on their completion.

“We believe that this online training system will help election commission members better prepare already for this year’s elections,” said Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.  “Furthermore, we hope that work done in close co-operation with the Central Election Commission will become a first step towards introducing modern technologies in helping to prepare and train election administration personnel.“

According to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, the online training system will become a basis for enhancing capacity building for those involved in the election process in Ukraine.

"We hope that this information source will enable commission members to carry out election procedures on a high professional level and in accordance with Ukrainian legislation,” said Oleksandr Chupakhin, a member of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. ”This new training system jointly developed with the OSCE shall also create a basis for building the capacity of heads, deputy heads and secretaries of the district election commissions.”

The web portal was created as part of a PCU-supported project aimed at assisting the Central Election Commission of Ukraine to enhance voters’ awareness ahead of elections and develop election training capacity. This project is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine and the election observation mission in Ukraine of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights operate separately under their specific mandates.