Washington, DC – IRI today announced it will monitor Ukraine’s October 28, 2012 parliamentary elections. Delegates will travel to Ukraine to monitor voting and ballot counting throughout the country. Following the voting, IRI will issue a statement on the findings of the delegation.
IRI’s delegation will be led by U.S. Congressman David Dreier (CA-26) and Jim Kolbe former U.S. Congressman (AZ-8) and a Senior Transatlantic Fellow for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, both of whom serve on IRI’s Board of Directors. Other delegates are:
- Rina Amiri, former Senior Advisor on Afghanistan for the Office of the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. State Department;
- Gahl Hodges Burt, Vice Chairman of the American Academy in Berlin and a member of IRI’s Board of Directors;
- Nadia Diuk, Vice President of Programs for Africa, Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy;
- Rich Galen, political consultant;
- Mindaugas Jurkynas of Lithuania, Associate Professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University;
- Michael V. Kostiw, former Republican Staff Director of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and a member of IRI’s Board of Directors;
- Constance Berry Newman, member of IRI’s Board of Directors, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former U.S. Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator for Africa;
- Bill R. Phillips, former Deputy Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee;
- Kostas Sasmatzoglou of Cyprus, Spokesman and Head of the Press and Communication Department of the European People’s Party; and
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Brad Smith, Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman David Dreier.
Prior to the election, delegates will be briefed by representatives from the U.S. Embassy, political party representatives and Ukrainian election officials. They will also be briefed on the rights and responsibilities of international observers and Ukrainian election law. Delegates will then be deployed throughout the country where they will observe polling stations and identify and evaluate strengths and weaknesses in Ukraine’s election system, including campaign regulations, the balloting process, vote tabulation and reporting.
Since 1983, IRI has monitored more than 150 elections in more than 46 countries, including Ukraine’s 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2007 parliamentary elections and the 1999, 2004 and 2010 presidential elections.
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