Politieke partijen Oekraïne moeten verkiezingsuitslagen gebruiken voor creëren stabiliteit

MEPs who observed Sunday's election in Ukraine have called on the country's political leaders to use the election results as building block for a more stable and consensual political environment. The elections, they said, were mostly in line with international standards, despite some problems which will need to be addressed in the future.

Adrian Severin (PES, RO), who chaired the 14-strong delegation which followed the events of election day across the country, said: "We have observed that during the electoral campaign all main political parties in Ukraine expressed the desire to see their country fully integrate into the EU, to positively contribute to Europe's relations with Russia, as well as to carry out a comprehensive constitutional reform at home. In order to accomplish these goals, it is essential for all Ukrainian political forces to respect the free will expressed by the Ukrainian people, to form a stable government respecting the pre-electoral consensus for power-sharing between coalition and opposition, and thereby start realising an ambitious national reform agenda."

As usual for electoral observation missions within the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) area, the EP delegation cooperated closely with the longer-term electoral observation teams from the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), as well as delegations from the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE, NATO and the Council of Europe.

The MEPs, who were present in Kyiv, Donetsk, Odessa and the Crimea, say in their preliminary conclusions, together with the other observer teams, that the election was mostly in line with international standards, despite some issues which caused concern. These included the poor quality of voter lists and the possible disenfranchisement of voters who crossed borders after 1 August.

List of Members:

Adrian SEVERIN, Chairman, PES, Romania

Laima ANDRIKIENE, EPP-ED, Lithuania

Thijs BERMAN, PES, Netherlands

Adam BIELAN, UEN, Poland

Sarunas BIRUTIS, ALDE, Lithuania

Michael GAHLER, EPP-ED, Germany

Milan HORACEK, Greens/EFA, Germany

Jiri MASTALKA, GUE/NGL, Czech Republic

Rihards PIKS, EPP-ED, Latvia

Marek SIWIEC, PES, Poland

Boguslaw SONIK, EPP-ED, Poland

Grazyna STANISZEWSKA, ALDE, Poland

Marcello VERNOLA, EPP-ED, Italy

Barbara WEILER, PES, Germany

The joint press release on the preliminary conclusions can be found on the website of the ODIHR via the link below.