[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 91 (Tuesday, July 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          UKRAINIAN ELECTIONS

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                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 9, 2002

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my 
colleagues to bi-elections in three parliamentary districts of Ukraine 
that will take place on July 14.
  Ukraine's parliamentary elections were held on March 31 of this year. 
The House of Representatives closely observed developments related to 
those elections; on March 20 we passed a resolution urging 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).
  Conditions surrounding the March 31 elections were far from free and 
fair. There were hundreds of documented instances of fraud, 
intimidation of voters, and blocked access to the media. A few races 
were declared invalid, which is why bi-elections will be held on July 
14.
  Mr. Speaker, unfortunately it appears that these bi-elections are 
being run no better than the parliamentary elections; in fact they may 
be worse. There are reports that local officials are under pressure of 
losing their jobs to guarantee that candidates loyal to the President 
win. This seems to be the case particularly for incumbent Alexander 
Zhyr. As the former head of the parliamentary committee that 
investigated the murders of Ukrainian journalists, including Georgiy 
Gongadze, Zhyr is not favorable to the party of power.
  Mr. Speaker, Ukraine has expressed its desire to become a full 
partner in Western institutions. To do so, it must uphold its 
commitment, as a member of the OSCE, to democratic values and human 
rights, including free and fair elections. I urge the Government of 
Ukraine to conduct these bi-elections in accordance with international 
standards, and to grant unfettered access to all election observers, 
foreign and domestic.

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