President's Secretariat compromises OSCE's independence by unilaterally claiming OSCE support for the presidents actions

By Online Editor -

Ukraine's Presidential secretariat has seriously compromised the independence of the OSCE in a recent press release published on Friday.

Ms Maryna Stavniychuk, President Victor Yushchenko's deputy chief of staff , in her recent media statement claimed "their (The OSCE) arrival in Ukraine to monitor the snap election showed that this poll was legal and that the international community "realizes that it is inevitable and should be held in an honest, open and fair manner."

This is a huge quantum leap in belief, just because the OSCE has agreed to monitor the conduct of the election does not translate into support let alone endorsement of the Presidents actions. To the contrary.,

It is one thing to monitor the conduct of an election and another to be seen to be endorsing the presidents actions.

The OSCE must clarify its position and not allow the statements of the President's press office to speak on its behalf.

For the OSCE to seen to endorse the actions of the President would seriously compromises its independence and undermine confidence in its ability to act impartially, Clearly the OSCE must distance itself from the statement of the President's secretariat or run the risk of being seen to be partisan and open to the allegation of extreme bias.

If the OSCE is in fact supportive of the President's actions then the OSCE must outline exactly on what basis it considers the holding of the elections to be legal and under what provisions of Ukraine's constitution the President has the authority to dismiss Ukraine's democratically parliament.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dissecting the vote: Zakarpattia and Ternopil

By Online Editor -
Two interesting outcomes in the final round vote that have not been widely discussed in the English media is the outcome in Zakarpattia and Ternopil. We are not sure if it has been been discussed in the Ukrainian media 1. Viktor Yanukovych was the highest polling candidate in Zakarpattiia previsoully Our Ukraine/Yushchenko were the highest. (See 2004,2006 and 2007 election results ) District 74 місто Берегове (Beregove - a Hungarian community located near the border) 2. The other interesting observation is that Yanukovych actually went backwards between the first round and the second round in Ternopiil.  In the first round Yanukovych received 6354 (0.26% of the national vote) in the second final round, with less number of candidates, Yanukovych recorded only 5370 (0.21% of the national vote)  Why Yanukovych went backwards in the second round is any ones guess but we think this  would make interesting reading.
<Additional Information>

Averting a Post-Orange Disaster - Andreas Umland

By Online Editor -
"As Ukraine's economic, social and political crisis sharpens, more and more Ukrainians may question the wisdom of conducting a costly presidential election when the Ukrainian state is almost bankrupt--if not on the brink of collapse." Constitutional Reforms and Political Stability in Ukraine by Dr. Andreas Umland Source: Harvard International Review June, 2009 After several years of impressive economic growth and encouraging political change, Ukraine has recently entered troubled waters. The democracies west of Ukraine are institutionally consolidated and internationally embedded enough to circumscribe the political repercussions of their so far relatively mild economic contractions. While being hit almost as hard as Ukraine by the world financial crisis, Russia has managed to build considerable financial reserves thanks to the enormous cash inflow into her state budget during the years of rocketing energy prices, allowing her to soften the social repercussions of the eco
<Additional Information>

History repeats: Victor Yushchenko interferes with Ukraine's judicial process.

By Online Editor -
The Kyiv Administrative court has issued a injunction suspending the Presidents decree dismissing Ukraine's democratically elected parliament. In what is reminiscent of events unfolded last year, Victor Yushchenko has again interfered with the independence of Ukraine's judiciary . In April 2007 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( PACE ) passed a resolution in consideration of a report titled Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine . (Items 13 and 14) stated: “The Assembly deplores the fact that the judicial system of Ukraine has been systematically misused by other branches of power and that top officials do not execute the courts’ decisions, which is a sign of erosion of this crucial democratic institution. An independent and impartial judiciary is a precondition for the existence of a democratic society governed by the rule of law." The associated explanatory report under the sub-heading of Pressure on the courts expressed concern that &qu
<Additional Information>