Europarl election observers begin working in Ukraine
KYIV. Oct 24 (Interfax) - A delegation of 14 members of the European Parliament will start to work in Ukraine on October 24 ahead of the country's parliamentary election, set for October 26, a spokesman for the European Union Delegation in Kyiv has said.
The head of this delegation is Croatian MEP Andrej Plenkovic, a representative of the European People's Party.
The upcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine are important from the point of view of consolidation of democracy, especially as they will be held in very complicated conditions in certain regions of the country, the spokesman said. The role of international monitors is important because they will observe whether or not these elections are held in a free and fair atmosphere, he added.
The European Parliament observers will have to verify the polls' compliance with Ukraine's international obligations and international law, the spokesman said.
In their work, the observers will be governed by international standards and criteria set by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
On October 24-25, the European Parliament's delegation will meet with Ukrainian electoral officials, international and Ukrainian observation organizations, the leaders of key political parties, journalists and civil society members. They are expected to meet with Ukraine's president, prime minister and foreign minister as well.
The European Parliament observers will work at polling stations in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk on October 26. They will monitor the voting process, the opening of ballot boxes and the vote count.