OPORA observer prevented from watching receipt of ballot papers

On 23 October an official observer from the civic network OPORA, Olha Martynovska was not allowed to attend the meeting of District Electoral Commission No. 59 (centre: Maryinka, Donetsk oblast). This was the meeting where the DEC was to receive the ballot papers from the authorized representative of the Central Election Commission.

Ms Martynovska arrived at 13.45 and was stopped from being present by the Head of the DEC, Vira Blyostkina (from the “Bratstvo” Party).  The latter said that the official observer should not arrive a minute later than the beginning of the session. The OPORA was thus forced to leave the session where the procedure for accepting the ballot papers was carried out.

In fact, Article 34 § 3 of the Law on the Parliamentary Elections gives official observers from civic organizations the right to be present at electoral commission sessions without permission or invitation from the relevant commission.

The obstruction from the Head of DEC No. 59 thus prevented an official observer from carrying out independent observation of the procedure for receiving ballot papers.