Thursday, October 25, 2012

Blog 9: Ukraine's Troubling Trends


In its twenty-one years of independence, Ukraine has successfully modernized and reformed itself. Just a few years ago, the citizenry of Ukraine elected a new president, and the election was described as “the country’s freest and fairest national election.” Yet, Ukraine’s upcoming election may not share these same elements of freedom and fairness. With this upcoming election, citizens hold high expectations of the people in power. However, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE) has predicted a less than favorable outcome from recent trends including reports of administrative resources being used to favor ruling party candidates, media complications, a lack of representation for some political parties on district and precinct election commissions, the Central Election Commission’s closed pre-session meetings and the distribution of material or financial benefits to voters. Perhaps most significant is the convictions of opposition leaders in trials under par of international standards. Their convictions prevent them from the elections.
To ensure that the election is free and fair, the United States and the European Union are supporting voters with education, trying to train election officials and protecting both the rights of the candidates and voters. However, it’s not their election; this election belongs to Ukraine. The government’s officials and leaders currently in power will ultimately determine the freedom and fairness of the election. The United States and the European Union can only impose their values of freedom and fairness to a certain extent at which they can’t go beyond. It’s also up to the citizens of Ukraine to join together and demand that the election be fair and free.  
"Ukraine's Troubling Trends"

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