So were the Ternopil elections fair?

The Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] has issued a statement regarding the Ministry of Internal Affairs initiative to check for possible infringements during the elections of deputies to the Ternopil Regional Council. It fully endorses the initiative put forward by the Minister of Internal Affairs Yury Lutsenko to check for possible vote-rigging during the early elections. “CVU points out that already on 16 March, the day after the elections, the Committee called on the law enforcement bodies to investigate any information which could relate to possible violations or bribing of voters.” It says that it is pleased its call is now being heeded. It assumes that in investigating possible infringements, MIA will use testimony from all police officers present at polling stations on voting day. “CVU trusts that the investigation will be carried out at a high professional level in accordance with current legislation. CVU has confidence in the impartiality of Ukrainian law enforcement officers despite the unpleasant incident when Ternopil region police withdrew from accompanying members of electoral commissions during the transportation of voting papers to the polling stations in breach of the Law on the elections. CVU understands the full responsibility on the bodies of Internal Affairs during the future electoral campaign and looks forward to ongoing cooperation”.