OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, Central Election Commission start nationwide training seminars for election commission members

KYIV, 28 December 2009 - The first of 800 planned training seminars for precinct election commission (PEC) members ahead of the 17 January presidential election has started in Ukraine, announced the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine (PCU) and the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) today.

The training seminars are taking place in the framework of co-operation between the PCU and the CEC. During the next three weeks, until 12 January, approximately 80,000 precinct commission members will be trained.

The seminars focusing on voting procedures on election day will target the heads, deputy heads and secretaries of PECs. For other election commission members, the PCU and the CEC have developed a special educational film that will be delivered to every PEC.

"Further capacity building of election commission members is a key recommendation of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and is thereforeone a priority of the co-operation between the OSCE and the CEC," said Rene BeBeau, Senior Project Officer of the PCU.

The PCU and the CEC have already conducted training sessions for more than 2,600 district elections commission members. This is the third election for which the OSCE PCU has organized seminars for the CEC to train election commission members.

In future the PCU aims to support the CEC in conducting seminars on its own and will provide training materials and methodology.

"As a result of the co-operation between the CEC and the OSCE, we now have high quality study materials and training methodology that can help election commission members understand their responsibilities during the elections as stipulated by Ukrainian legislation," said Andriy Magera, Deputy Head of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine.

The training seminars are part of a project to further strengthen election processes in Ukraine that is implemented by the OSCE PCU with the support of the European Union, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency, Irish Aid and the Strategic Programme Fund of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.