The delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) visited Kyiv on March 6-7 and declared that the situation in Ukraine is acceptable for holding democratic elections.

“It acknowledged the efforts made by the Ukrainian authorities to have a genuine election process and urged them to continue to operate in accordance with European standards and best practices. The legislative framework for the presidential elections is good and, if applied in good faith, should lead to democratic elections. It also hopes that the authorities will have sufficient means to protect the electoral process against abuses and interferences of any kind,” read the statement on the PACE website.

At the same time, the delegation pointed out some possible improvements to the Ukrainian election campaign.

PACE believes that the Central Election Commission is well prepared for the elections, but an unprecedentedly large number of presidential candidates and observers can lead to difficulties on the Election Day.

European delegates noted that some media outlets, mostly owned by Ukrainian oligarchs, do not provide balanced election information, but function more like the press services of individual candidates.

The delegation welcomed civil society's active involvement in the elections but noted that some public organizations may be affiliated with parties or candidates. In addition, the Europeans were alarmed by the scandalous statement of the Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN) about their readiness for military action on Election Day.

During the meetings, Europeans delegation heard complaints about the misuse of administrative resources, President Petro Poroshenko’s election campaign trips, and learned about the existence of "vote-buying systems".

The delegation also regretted the low number of women among the presidential candidates as there are only four women candidates.

  PACE, Ukraine

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