Goldring Concerned about Undemocratic Practices during Ukrainian Parliamentary Election

Volyn, UKRAINE – Edmonton East Member of Parliament Peter Goldring, who has monitored the past 6 elections in Ukraine dating back to before the Orange Revolution, is voicing his concern on the legitimacy of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Election, which occurred on October 28, 2012. Mr. Goldring is currently in Ukraine as part of a Canadian delegation acting as election monitors for the Ukrainian Parliamentary Election.

“One of the biggest concerns I noted during Election Day was the lack of transparency from election officials,” Mr. Goldring stated. “After all of the votes had been cast at my station, the election official would not bag the ballot information, waiting for my colleagues and I to retire for the evening. After an hour and a half stalemate in which we wouldn’t leave, the official finally conceded and bagged the ballot information. This secretive behavior is merely one instance of many that are being reported from election observers across Ukraine.”

As election results continue to come in, it seems evident that the ruling Party of Regions, led by Viktor Yanukovych, will have the plurality of votes from this election.

Preliminary reports of Election Day concerns from international observers of the Ukrainian Parliamentary elections include: transparency issues during voting; tampering with Precinct Election Commission (PEC) election material; and incomplete PEC protocols.