The head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration Vasyl Hubal met with Karen Benedict Skipper and John Michael Landry – long-term observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on the early election of deputies of Ukraine that will take place on October 26, 2014.
According to the press service of the administration, Vasyl Hubal clearly outlined principles: firstly, the regional government should not interfere in the process unless there are violations that require their response within the authority. The head of the region said: “We consider any use of administrative resources impossible.” Thirdly, the election must be transparent. Here, the head of the region believes, the role of all observers, as well as election commission members is very important, and it is hoped that only experienced and, most importantly, responsible people will work there. For now, Vasyl Hubal said, there have been no significant complaints about the electoral process in the region – no gross violations of electoral legislation that would put into question the legitimacy of the elections have occured.
“As to the actual election process, in my opinion, the problem is that there is very few time for preparation” – Vasyl Hubal said. Mrs. Skipper and Mr. Landry, in turn, said that they were preparing several reports on the election process in the region. Mr. John Michael said that he was pleased to work in Transcarpathia – a relatively quiet region, as he had had a difficult experience during previous missions in Kharkiv. The observer expects the westernmost region to have the image of the most European one, and elections to be held in accordance with the laws of Ukraine and international standards. The “messengers” of the OSCE also stressed: “We are just observers, we are not election police”, implying that their primary objective is to record violations rather than to eliminate them. In turn, the head of the RSA asked to report all problems that may arise before the election so that the regional state administration could influence – of course, within the limits of their powers.
