Election in Nikopol
During the recent election I have been the head of district election commission No. 19 in notorious election circuit No. 35, where, during the last parliamentary election, the competition between O. Zhir and head of the criminal militia of Dnepropetrovsk Mr. Drachevskiy, a protégé of Mr. Pinchuk, took place. K. Lishchenko, an empowered person of V. Yushchenko, turned to me with the entreaty to occupy this post, when my predecessor got to a hospital with infarct after the first sitting of the district election commission.
The power made everything to guarantee the places in the election process to the cadres that took part in the last parliamentary election: Mr. Shvets, the head of the TEC, came from Kyiv, his deputy Lopatko appeared too, and in the district commission, where I came, the complete composition of «professionals» of the previous convocation were sitting under the placards of the pro-power candidates. So, the secretary of the commission became a representative of Kozak, the deputy – of Baziluik, and so on. As early as at the first sitting they had occupied all paid posts, so I became the head-volunteer with the frank wish to serve the truth.
It was not easy to establish order in the commission, but I acted firmly and spent the greatest part of my time for that. It appeared that in fact the commission was ruled not only by curator from the town executive committee, but also from the regional educational department, since the commission worked in the building of the technical lyceum (a former vocational school). I had to prohibit categorically to the paid members of the DEC to fulfill any orders of those, who illegally meddled into the election process.
The lists of voters were the main problem, as well as throughout Ukraine. I directed three petitions on this problem to the TEC and the organs of local self-government.
During the work of the commission, before the voting, we considered and satisfied the complaints of more than 300 voters (out of 2156 registered in the lists), who found various mistakes in surnames, etc. Yet, about 40 persons, who had not come to the election station for checking of the lists, could not vote on the day of election. Some of them -- 17 persons went, after long suasion, to the TEC and the local court, and then returned and voted. Others did not do that, since, by words of the TEC head Mr. Shvets, on this day more than 3000 voters stood in queues in court and the TEC in Nikopol.
On the eve of the election we got the information that four carriages with persons with the off-list tickets arrived to the town. We were waiting for them and thought how to oppose this crowd, but nobody came except 12 persons.
1434 voters (65%) voted at our election station. There were no complaints from observers, except the act from a representative of candidate Boyko, who wrote that an observer from Yushchenko had a bag with the slogan «TAK!» («YES!», the slogan of V. Yushchenko – Translator’s note) thus carrying out the agitation for Viktor Yushchenko.
Yanukovich got 45% of votes, Yushchenko – 28%. These numbers are typical for the entire region. Yet, I am glad that I personally rejected 20 bulletins, which were classified by a teller-member of the commission as votes for Yanukovich, although there were different marks on these bulletins.