No fair, democratic standards in Kryviy Rih mayor elections – CVU

Monday, March 28, 2016 - 14:20 (EEST) Section: Latest news

Extraordinary elections of the Mayor of Kryvyi Rih, which took place on March 27, do not meet the standards of a fair and democratic vote, according to CEO of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) Oleksiy Koshel.
”The elections in Kriviy Rih are not in line with any standards of fair and democratic elections, neither do they meet the slightest notion of the rule of law. In fact, we have witnessed the elections by the standards of the Viktor Yanukovych regime, with large-scale bribery schemes, the use of administrative resources and other violations of law,” Koshel said.
Free transportation to the voting polls for 70,000-80,000 voters, mostly the elderly, was provided by structures close to the local authorities, according to the CVU head. It was also reported of allocation of UAH 50 million worth of financial assistance to those in need  by the city council during the campaigning period. ”Taking into account that such an initiative has been implemented in the midst of an election campaign, CVU sees such actions as vote-buying and abuse of power on part of Yuriy Vilkul [incumbent mayor, who is leading in the elections according to preliminary results],” Koshel said.
In addition to CVU, NGO OPORA also reported violations during yesterday`s vote. At the same time, the police of Dnipropetrovsk region said that they had not recorded serious violations that could affect the course and outcome of the elections.
As UaPosition reported earlier, according to the preliminary data on counted votes by the election commission, Opposition Bloc`s Yuriy Vilkul secured lead, while Semen Semenchenko of Samopomich party ran second.