[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 339 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 339

 Urging the Government of Ukraine to ensure a democratic, transparent, 
      and fair election process leading up to the March 31, 2002, 
                        parliamentary elections.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2002

 Ms. Slaughter (for herself, Mr. Hoeffel, and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                       on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Urging the Government of Ukraine to ensure a democratic, transparent, 
      and fair election process leading up to the March 31, 2002, 
                        parliamentary elections.

Whereas Ukraine stands at a critical point in its development to a fully 
        democratic society, and the parliamentary elections on March 31, 2002, 
        its third parliamentary elections since becoming independent more than 
        10 years ago, will play a significant role in demonstrating whether 
        Ukraine continues to proceed on the path to democracy or experiences 
        further setbacks in its democratic development;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine can demonstrate its commitment to democracy by 
        conducting a genuinely free and fair parliamentary election process, in 
        which all candidates have access to news outlets in the print, radio, 
        television, and Internet media, and nationally televised debates are 
        held, thus enabling the various political parties and election blocs to 
        compete on a level playing field and the voters to acquire objective 
        information about the candidates;
Whereas a flawed election process, which contravenes commitments of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on democracy 
        and the conduct of elections, could potentially slow Ukraine's efforts 
        to integrate into western institutions;
Whereas in recent years, government corruption and harassment of the media have 
        raised concerns about the commitment of the Government of Ukraine to 
        democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, while calling into 
        question the ability of that government to conduct free and fair 
        elections;
Whereas Ukraine, since its independence in 1991, has been one of the largest 
        recipients of United States foreign assistance;
Whereas $154,000,000 in technical assistance to Ukraine was provided under 
        Public Law 107-115 (the Kenneth M. Ludden Foreign Operations, Export 
        Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2002), a 
        $16,000,000 reduction in funding from the previous fiscal year due to 
        concerns about continuing setbacks to needed reform and the unresolved 
        deaths of prominent dissidents and journalists;
Whereas Public Law 107-115 requires a report by the Department of State on the 
        progress by the Government of Ukraine in investigating and bringing to 
        justice individuals responsible for the murders of Ukrainian 
        journalists;
Whereas the disappearance and murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze on September 
        16, 2000, remains unresolved;
Whereas the presidential election of 1999, according to the final report of the 
        Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE on 
        that election, was marred by violations of Ukrainian election law and 
        failed to meet a significant number of commitments on democracy and the 
        conduct of elections included in the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document;
Whereas during the 1999 presidential election campaign, a heavy proincumbent 
        bias was prevalent among the state-owned media outlets, members of the 
        media viewed as not in support of the president were subject to 
        harassment by government authorities, and proincumbent campaigning by 
        state administration and public officials was widespread and systematic;
Whereas the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, signed by 
        President Leonid Kuchma on October 30, 2001, was cited in a report of 
        the ODIHR dated November 26, 2001, as making improvements in Ukraine's 
        electoral code and providing safeguards to meet Ukraine's commitments on 
        democratic elections, although the Law on Elections remains flawed in a 
        number of important respects, notably by not including a role for 
        domestic nongovernmental organizations to monitor elections;
Whereas according to international media experts, the Law on Elections defines 
        the conduct of an election campaign in an ambiguous manner and could 
        lead to arbitrary sanctions against media operating in Ukraine;
Whereas the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) on December 13, 2001, rejected 
        a draft Law on Political Advertising and Agitation, which would have 
        limited free speech in the campaign period by giving too many 
        discretionary powers to government bodies, and posed a serious threat to 
        the independent media;
Whereas the Department of State has dedicated $4,700,000 in support of 
        monitoring and assistance programs for the 2002 parliamentary elections;
Whereas the process for the 2002 parliamentary elections has reportedly been 
        affected by apparent violations during the period prior to the official 
        start of the election campaign on January 1, 2002;
Whereas monthly reports for November and December of 2001 released by the 
        Committee on Voters of Ukraine (CVU), an indigenous, nonpartisan, 
        nongovernment organization that was established in 1994 to monitor the 
        conduct of national election campaigns and balloting in Ukraine, cited 
        five major types of violations of political rights and freedoms during 
        the precampaign phase of the parliamentary elections, including--

    (1) use of government position to support particular political groups;

    (2) government pressure on the opposition and on the independent media;

    (3) free goods and services given in order to sway voters;

    (4) coercion to join political parties and pressure to contribute to 
election campaigns; and

    (5) distribution of anonymous and compromising information about 
political opponents:

 Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges the strong relationship between the United 
        States and Ukraine since Ukraine's independence more than 10 
        years ago, while understanding that Ukraine can only become a 
        full partner in western institutions when it fully embraces 
        democratic principles;
            (2) expresses its support for the efforts of the Ukrainian 
        people to promote democracy, the rule of law, and respect for 
        human rights in Ukraine;
            (3) urges the Government of Ukraine to enforce impartially 
        the new election law, including provisions calling for--
                    (A) the transparency of election procedures;
                    (B) access for international election observers;
                    (C) multiparty representation on election 
                commissions;
                    (D) equal access to the media for all election 
                participants;
                    (E) an appeals process for electoral commissions 
                and within the court system; and
                    (F) administrative penalties for election 
                violations;
            (4) urges the Government of Ukraine to meet its commitments 
        on democratic elections, as delineated in the 1990 Copenhagen 
        Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe (OSCE), with respect to the campaign period and election 
        day, and to address issues identified by the Office of 
        Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE in its 
        final report on the 1999 presidential election, such as state 
        interference in the campaign and pressure on the media; and
            (5) calls upon the Government of Ukraine to allow election 
        monitors from the ODIHR, other participating states of OSCE, 
        and private institutions and organizations, both foreign and 
        domestic, full access to all aspects of the parliamentary 
        election process, including--
                    (A) access to political events attended by the 
                public during the campaign period;
                    (B) access to voting and counting procedures at 
                polling stations and electoral commission meetings on 
                election day, including procedures to release election 
                results on a precinct by precinct basis as they become 
                available; and
                    (C) access to postelection tabulation of results 
                and processing of election challenges and complaints.
                                 <all>