PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS AND
COLLEAGUES !
UKRAINE NEEDS
YOU !
On Sunday December 26, 2004, a re-vote of the
run-off for the Presidential Election in Ukraine is planned. Anyone who is
over the age of 18 and a citizen of another country (i.e. other than
Ukraine) can become an international observer. (Ukrainian citizens can be
local observers) The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), in cooperation
with the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), has organized
international election observers for the first two rounds and are now
seeking observers for round three. You do not need to be Canadian
to register through the UCC, you may be a citizen of any country except
Ukraine. You can make a contribution to democracy in Ukraine and spend the
most interesting Christmas ever by coming to Ukraine to observe the elections
!
The key role of an international observer is to
monitor the election process and record evidence of violations and
falsifications, if any. It is NOT to support any one of the candidates for
President.
To be an effective observer, you should
try to arrive in Ukraine at least 3 days
before the election, though preferably about 1
week before. You should expect to stay
for 2-3 days after the election. For those already
in Ukraine, plan to spend about 3 days before and 2 days after the election in
the region where you will be posted. A training session will be organized
for observers before the election (most likely in Kyiv, possibly in Canada too -
we will inform you). Observers should try to bring with them a
video camera, digital / photo camera, flashlight, and mobile phone that will
work in Europe (tri band or GSM 900/1800 - this is different than most cell
phones in North America), with extra film, batteries, etc. If you don't
have some of these things, our local team will try to provide them for
you.
The days before the election will require
preparatory work and visiting of the Territorial Election Commission (TEC) and
some polling stations. On election day
you will start at 7 am and travel to about 10 different polling stations in
your region. In the evening you will be assigned to a polling station for
the counting of ballots, which takes several hours, often until early
morning. Then you follow the ballots and documents to the TEC, where the
results are entered into a computer. After the election, you will be asked
to record your observations, provide evidence of violations, etc. Be prepared to get little sleep for 1-2 days during the
election. More information and details will be provided during the
training session. It's really a lot of fun - ask those who have done it
before.
The groups we are trying to organize will primarily
be posted to regions of Ukraine that had significant violations in past
rounds - oblasts we are targeting include Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv,
Zaporizhya, Kirovohrad, Odessa, Kherson, Mykolayiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and
Crimea. Those from overseas should not expect this to be a party trip to
visit relatives in Ukraine - you will be out in one of these regions for a few
days to a week. If you have a preference for any of the listed regions,
please note it in your application, although it cannot be
guaranteed.
Costs and
Logistics
Costs - There is currently a
fundraising campaign to collect money to cover election monitoring costs.
However, at this point in time, observers will be required to cover many of
their own costs, in particular travel to and from Ukraine. Local
accommodation and travel will be organized for you, but you might be required to
contribute to or cover these costs. Once the fundraising is complete, you
might be reimbursed for some of your costs. If you don't have the costs to
travel but are very interested in coming, please note this in your
application.
Visas - you will need a valid visa
to travel to Ukraine. Apparently, these are available for
free from the Ukrainian Embassy or consulate nearest
you, only after you are registered with the
CEC. So the sooner you register with UCC, we will register
you with the CEC and the easier this should be. However, PLEASE
contact your local Ukrainian Embassy or consulate AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to ask
them if visas are still available for free for observers and how long this will
take. You might need to purchase a visa if time is short. Please
contact the UCC for more information.
Flights - given the holiday
season, please make flight reservations as soon as possible. However,
please contact the UCC to confirm your registration and participation before you
pay for your flight.
When and How to
Register
To register as an international observer,
if you are currently based in Canada, complete BOTH the attached forms and send them by fax or
email AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, but no later than December 11th,
to:
Ostap Skrypnyk, Executive Director
Ukrainian Canadian Congress
fax: +1-204-947-3882
To register as an international observer,
if you are currently based in Ukraine, the United States
or countries other than Canada, complete BOTH the attached forms and send them by
fax or email AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, but no later than December 11th,
to:
Yarema Shulakewych
Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Kyiv
fax: +38-044-272-4715 (will be activated on
Monday Dec. 6)
There are two forms - one for UCC and one for the
Central Election Commission of Ukraine (CEC). If there is something on the
forms you do not understand, please leave it blank or call one of the contact
offices. The UCC will contact you for additional information if
required. The UCC will submit all forms to the CEC. Anyone
submitting an application after the deadlines will not be guaranteed a
spot. If you have a preference for any of the listed regions, please
note it in your application. Also, if you don't have the costs to
travel but are very interested in coming, please note this in your
application. Don't forget you don't need to be Canadian to
register through the UCC.
If you were an observer for one of the
first two rounds, it is very likely that your accreditation will be
valid for round three. Please complete only the UCC form and submit it so
that we know you are interested and can contact you to verify the validity of
your observer card.
If you can't come to Ukraine, you can still
participate - feel free to contribute to help raise funds and cover
costs for election monitors. Depending on your location, please get in
touch with the UCC contacts listed below to make a donation.
Contact
information
In Canada, please contact:
Ostap Skrypnyk, Executive
Director
Ukrainian Canadian Congress
tel: +1-204-942-4627
tel: +1-866-942-4627 (toll free in Canada only)
fax: +1-204-947-3882
In
Ukraine or countries other than Canada, please
contact:
Yarema Shulakewych
Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Kyiv
tel: +38-050-276-2209
fax: +38-044-272-4715
THANK YOU AND SEE YOU IN UKRAINE !!! PLEASE FORWARD THIS
MESSAGE TO OTHERS !!!
