Assessing Ukraine's Parliamentary Elections

The Helsinki Commission and a panel of experts assessed Ukraine's October 28, 2012 parliamentary elections as representing a step backwards compared to its recent national elections. According to the OSCE's post-election preliminary statement, there was a lack of level playing field, caused primarily by the abuse of administrative resources, the lack of transparency, of campaign and party financing and lack of balanced media coverage.

Orest Deychakiwsky, policy advisor at the Commission, describes the many shortcomings during and after the elections but highlights that they were not the noncompetitive, farcical, rigged elections often seen in former Soviet states. He was joined by experts from three key organizations working on the ground – Ukrainian citizen network OPORA, National Democratic Institute, and the International Republican Institute – who examined the conduct and results of the election and their implications for Ukraine's democratic future.