The Maidan Monitoring Information Center has analyzed the violations of the electoral law during the presidential elections in Ukraine
The Maidan Monitoring Information Center has analyzed the violations of the electoral law during the presidential elections in Ukraine. The monitoring was supported by the Democratic Practice Initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Monitoring consisted of: 1) compiling reports of election law violations submitted by concerned citizens, reported by the media and relevant public authorities; 2) making an interactive map of violations; 3) verifying reports through crowdsourcing; 4) legal analysis.
More than 200 reports of violations were collected in one month.
Categories of violations:
– attempts to disrupt the elections (21,07%);
– campaign advertising violations (17,21%);
– violence (13,65%);
– interference in campaigning (11,87%);
– irregularities in the work of election commissions (11,87%);
– coercion (6,23%);
– deceit (5,04%);
– administrative resource (2,67%);
– violation of the principle of equality (2,08%);
– irregularities in voter lists (2,08%);
– voter bribery (1,48%);
– violation of information support (1,48%);
– violation of media rights (1,48%);
– violation of financing rules (1,19%);
– restriction of appeal (0,30%).
Most violations fell under article 159 of the Criminal Code (Interference in the work of election commissions) due to the situation in the Donbas, where separatists prevented the organization of the elections through violence, threats, destruction, and damage to property.
The second most common violations had to do with campaigning on the day before and on election day (article 212-10 of the Administrative Code). This was widespread in the capital and beyond, and mostly involved campaign materials for the top two candidates – Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko.
Conclusion
Although the snap 2104 presidential elections in Ukraine were not free of violations, they did not have a significant impact on the results of the vote (with the exception of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts). In most regions of Ukraine (except the ones mentioned), serious violations that would have made impossible a free choice or disruption of the electoral process were not systematic or significant. Therefore, according to experts, the 2014 presidential elections in Ukraine should be recognized as free and their results the reflection of the free will of the voters.
Contacts:
Maidan Monitoring Information Center
Olexander Severyn
olexander.severyn@gmail.com
