On 15th of March 2009 early local elections were conducted in 85 administrative units of 23 regions of Ukraine. The largest number of candidates was nominated by Yedynyj Center, BYuT and the Party of Regions. The Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) was conducting general monitoring of the process. A special attention of CVU observers was attracted to Ternopil oblast Council elections and Rozdilna city mayor elections (Odessa oblast). 5 CVU mobile groups were working in Ternopil oblast during the Election Day.

As a result of the observation CVU states that, in general, the elections were held without significant violations which could influence the elections result.

52% of the voters took part in the elections to Ternopil oblast Council. According to CVU assessment it is quite a high turnout, taking to account that a usual turnout for early local elections in Ukraine is about 30-40%. Preliminary results of the elections in Ternopil oblast are the following:

«Svoboda» - 35%

«Yedynyi Center» - 14%

Oarty of Regions - 10%

BYuT - 8%

Ukrainian people’s party - 8%

“Nasha Ukraina” - 5%

Lytvyn Block - 4%

Elections to Ternopil oblast Council were accompanied by the events which attracted attention of all the country. According to the decision dated by 3rd of March, the Parliament canceled its own resolution about calling the election. It resulted into series of court cases and only on the eve of the Election Day Kyiv and Lviv Courts of Appeal deployed the election process.

CVU considers that technologies aimed for derangement of the elections were used during the elections to Ternopil oblast Council. Elements of this process were the following: biased courts’ decisions, abusing law-enforcement bodies for political needs (the police retired from their duties to guard election ballots), withdrawing polling station election commissioners aiming to disrupt quorum in the commissions. However, joint efforts of election commissioners, political forces and the public didn’t allow deranging the elections.

CVU hasn’t registered significant violations which could influence the result of the elections to Ternopil oblast Council. The biggest violation was a presence of the campaign materials in time when election agitation was prohibited. However, CVU received information about attempts of bribing voters by one of the political forces. CVU calls law-enforcement bodies to investigate all such cases. At present, CVU doesn’t see grounds to appeal against the election result.

Analyzing the election results CVU is pointing a fact that political and economic crisis in Ukraine has resulted into disappointment of the voters in the parties in power. Firstly, it influenced on the decreasing of the rate of the major parties, represented in the Parliament. Recently their actions show that big parliamentary parties are trying to avoid direct elections. The attempt to cancel Ternopil oblast Council elections was made, the initiative to extend term of city mayors’ offices for one year was announced, and abolition of direct Presidential elections through Constitutional reform is discussed. In the case if all this initiatives are realized the next general elections in Ukraine can be held only in two years, it will be local elections in March 2011.

CVU recognizes that elections create additional tension under conditions of the political and economic crisis, however citizens’ right for periodical democratic elections is a fundamental principle fixed in many international documents. Illegal extension of the terms of office and abolishing of direct elections is violation of different international standards and commitments.

Early local elections held on 15th of March one more time showed a need to hasten election reform in Ukraine. It’s necessary to make more active preparations of the Voter Register, since there is a threat that the next elections (if the campaign starts in autumn 2009) will be again conducted with numerous mistakes in the lists of voters. The election system for the parliamentary elections should be changed through introducing open regional lists. All the election legislation should be united in general Code about elections and referendum, which eliminate many problems in preparations for elections.