Press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

VIENNA, 4 November 2009 - The following is a press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today. The views expressed in this press release do not necessarily reflect those of the OSCE Chairmanship, nor of all OSCE participating States.

OSCE PA President urges stabilization of election legislation in Ukraine

KYIV, 4 November 2009 - Concluding a two day visit to Kyiv today, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Joao Soares called on the Ukrainian authorities to finalize reforms of the electoral legislation in advance of the upcoming Presidential election on 17 January 2010.

"Ongoing struggles over the election legislation have left the Ukrainian people, candidates and authorities unsettled in advance of the January election. Clarity is absolutely vital if the upcoming election is to proceed smoothly and if the voters are to have confidence in the system," said President Soares.

The visit to Kyiv was undertaken to continue preparations for the OSCE PA's observation of the 2010 Presidential election, which President Soares will personally lead. The visit included meetings with the Central Election Commission Chairman Volodimir Shapoval and with presidential candidates including the incumbent President Viktor Yuschchenko; Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko; Chairman of the Parliament Volodymyr Lytvyn; and Viktor Yanukovych; Inna Bogoslovska; Anatoliy Hrytsenko; and Arseniy Yatseniuk.

Mr. Soares also met with representatives of the Supreme Court, media and civil society, including domestic observer groups.

The OSCE PA President expressed his hope that the upcoming campaign would enable all candidates to campaign freely on an equal basis, and that the election would be conducted in a transparent manner. He underlined the importance of effective and careful implementation of the new State Voter Register, particularly in regard to any addition of voters to voter lists on election day.

"I was pleased," he said, "to hear about the planned training of election commissions members, including by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. However, important programmes such as this are complicated by the continuing uncertainty of legislation regulating the election."

Mr. Soares, who has extensive experience in politics and in monitoring elections in the OSCE area, will return to Ukraine in January to lead the delegation of OSCE parliamentarians that will be deployed across the country. The OSCE PA observation mission will work closely with other observers, including from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and other parliamentary bodies.

Since 1993, the OSCE PA has deployed more than 3000 parliamentarians to observe elections across the OSCE region. The visit was undertaken with the support of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine.