Ukraine Presidential Election Former Soviet Union Observer Delegation

About this grant

The 2004 Ukrainian presidential election provides a critical opportunity for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs to support democracy in Ukraine. International monitors will play a vital role, not only in post-election reporting, but also in helping to prevent and deter fraud by their presence. Election commissioners and other Ukrainian officials will be more likely to address problems pointed out by international observers.Funding will enable the institute to recruit 25 experienced Russian-speaking leaders of nonpartisan citizen election monitoring groups from throughout the former Soviet Union to monitor the presidential election in Ukraine. The groups will arrive in mid-October 2004 for a two-day orientation. Each observer will then travel to one of 25 oblasts (or regions), where he or she will reside for the next six weeks and report on the pre-election period, election day October 31 and the runoff November 21. Additional funding will enable the institute to retain 23 long-term observers to continue to observe the election and report on any abuses or violations in light of massive falsifications on November 21, after which Ukraine’s Supreme Court ordered a repeat of the runoff election on December 26. The institute, founded in 1983, is a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. It provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions.