Brussels, 12/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 12 October, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle said: “We encourage the Ukrainian authorities to follow up on the early findings of the OSCE/ODIHR Elections Observation Mission. The significant lack of political pluralism on television is very worrisome and requires immediate action to define clear procedures for media to ensure a balanced coverage as well as a body which is competent to monitor the compliance with rules and to provide for timely remedies. There is also an immediate need to ensure full transparency of the activities of the Central Election Commission, to clarify issues related to the composition of the District Electoral Commissions and Precinct Electoral Commissions and to address the matter of overlapping competences in the election dispute resolution process. The electoral law adopted in November 2011 must be fully respected and applied in a way that maintains confidence in the fairness of the electoral process. All parties and candidates must benefit from a level playing field and from a conducive election environment … Furthermore, we reiterate our regret that the consequences of trials which did not respect international standards are preventing opposition representatives from standing in parliamentary elections.”
On 11 October, international observers expressed their concern at the European Parliament. Kataryna Wolczuk of Birmingham University in the UK said that the Batkivshchyna/Homeland party of Iulia Timoshenko is being undermined by the legal system, while Sarah Birch of Essex University in the UK said that the fact that the opposition party leaders could not campaign was holding the parties back. Wolchzuk said that the views of party leaders were the most important and if they are in prison, the parties are at a disadvantage. The problem of being able to organise an effective campaign is even more serious than whether or not one can present candidates. Wolczuk added that failings in the new electoral laws had caused technical problems. Birch said the use of webcams for elections was problematic. In addition to the costs, there are necessarily places the cameras cannot film and therefore they cannot cover the entire election process. Cameras will not do what they are claimed to do - prevent cheating - but they will prevent some people from going to vote at all. (CG/transl.fl)