Joint statement by HR/VP Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Štefan Füle on the parliamentary elections in Ukraine (28 October 2012)
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, and Štefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, issued today the following statement: "After our initial statement following 28 October election day in Ukraine, we have followed closely the vote count, tabulation and the announcement of the consolidated results. We express our concern about the conduct of the post electoral process, which was marred by irregularities, delays in the vote count and lack of transparency in the electoral commissions. This comes in addition to the lack of response to the shortcomings and problems identified already earlier by the OSCE-ODIHR interim reports. Taken together, this represents deterioration in several areas compared to standards previously achieved.
There can be no complacency about electoral irregularities. In line with the public commitment to follow-up on electoral complaints made last week by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, we expect to see swift and determined action by the government and all other relevant state authorities, including by addressing the inconclusive results in five single mandate election districts in dialogue with all political parties represented in the Verkhovna Rada and by bringing the electoral legislation into line with European norms and standards on the basis of an Election Code.
The final composition of the Ukrainian Parliament must reflect the genuine will of the Ukrainian voters.
We remain committed to our engagement with Ukraine towards political association and economic integration. This however requires determined action by the Ukrainian Government and Parliament to consolidate the country’s democratic credentials, to pursue the rule of law, to address the consequences of selective justice and to vigorously pursue judicial and other critical reforms."
More information: Press release