Since 1999, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has been organizing observer missions from the Ukrainian diaspora to ensure fair and transparent elections in Ukraine.
On the occasion of the Ukrainian Presidential elections held on January 17, 2010, the UWC appealed to Ukrainians in the diaspora, through the UWC member organizations in more than thirty countries, to participate in the elections as international observers. Representatives of the Ukrainian communities in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, and the United States responded to the UWC appeal. In addition, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA) and the Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF), in cooperation with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), also organized international observer missions that coordinated their activities with the UWC.
The Central Election Commission of Ukraine registered 227 international observers from the UWC, UCCA and CUF/UCC. Tamara Gallo-Olexy, UCCA President and member of the UWC Board was the UWC Chief Observer.
On January 17, 2010, observers from the UWC, UCCA and CUF/UCC monitored the first round of the elections held in Ukraine and in the diaspora. According to information obtained from the international election observers in the various regions of Ukraine, the elections were generally conducted in accordance with international standards for free and democratic elections, and there were no major violations that could have influenced the results. Also, information obtained from international observers monitoring the elections outside Ukraine, and from the UWC member organizations in various countries, indicated that the first round of the presidential elections at polling stations in Ukrainian embassies and consulates proceeded generally in accordance with legal requirements.
Based on the information provided by these international observers on this first round of the presidential elections, the UWC notes that there has been a significant improvement in the electoral process, as compared with the previous presidential elections held in 2004. Five years ago, the violations of the Election Law were so blatant that the Supreme Court of Ukraine cancelled the results of the presidential elections held on November 21, 2004 and ordered new elections, which were held on December 26, 2004.
