Ukraine's Parliamentary Elections

Ukraine's Parliamentary Elections

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 27, 2014

I join President Obama in congratulating Ukraine on successful parliamentary elections. The people of Ukraine have spoken, and they have again chosen to chart the course of democracy, reform, and European integration.

We applaud Ukraine’s commitment to an inclusive and transparent political process that strengthens national unity. This commitment is essential to resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the country’s other challenges. The Government of Ukraine’s efforts to encourage voter participation deserves great credit, especially in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk. Their hard work to provide for alternate voting arrangements, including for internally displaced persons, was a particularly laudable effort to overcome actions by Russian authorities occupying Crimea and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine to prevent voters from exercising their democratic rights.

The United States concurs with the preliminary assessment delivered in Kyiv on behalf of the OSCE, and echoed by other international monitors, that these elections were in line with Ukraine’s international commitments. Local monitoring organizations such as OPORA made the same assessment. The government’s adoption of new penalties and measures worked to prevent the efforts of those who sought to mar the voting process through fraud or violence. The voting on October 26 was characterized by the general absence of violence, adherence to established procedures, and lower levels of electoral violations than in previous years.

The United States stands ready to work with Ukraine’s President, new government, and Verkhovna Rada to continue to promote reform and an accountable judiciary to fight corruption, pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the east, and oppose the occupation of Crimea.

ENDS

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