For the Parliamentary elections in the Ukraine, held on March 26th
2006, 35
international observers from AEGEE (European Students' Forum) took
part in
a mission for monitoring the elections in cooperation with the
DiDEE
foundation, in order to contribute to free and fair elections.
The
observers were accredited by the Ukrainian Central Election
Commission.
AEGEE observers rated the conduct at polling
stations as being
between 'good' and 'very good' in the majority of cases. No
substantial,
systematic misuse or fraud was observed. However there were
still serious
issues regarding voter lists, over-crowded polling stations,
improperly
sealed ballot boxes, and a large amount of posters of candidates
where the
information was improperly displayed , or was
incomplete.
AEGEE believes that major steps have been taken in the
Ukraine to
consolidate democracy, and that in Odessa these elections have
greatly
fallen within the purview of fulfilling OSCE guidelines, and have
generally
conformed to national legislation.
AEGEE’s Election
Observation Missions project (EOM) functions within the
framework of AEGEE's
Flagship Project of 2006: "Take Control - Ways to
Democracy in Europe". The
project will contain a series of training events,
conferences, campaigns to
promote citizens’ initiative, educational and
media activities all intended
to increase the involvement and engagement of
young people in the European
political process.
AEGEE is one of Europe's largest interdisciplinary
and voluntary student associations, operating without being linked to any
political party, promoting a unified Europe, cross-border co-operation,
communication and integration in academic environment, and at the same time
striving to create an open and tolerant society by involving students and young
graduates in valuable projects and discussions over the topics of importance for
the communities they live in. It is represented in 260 university cities, in 42
countries all around Europe and has about 15000
members
Should you have any further questions, please do
not hesitate to contact us at: