In the National Institute for Strategic Studies a meeting took place between acting director of the Institute Vasyl Yablonskyi and Eugene Czolij, head of the International Election Observation Mission created by Ukrainian World Congress (UWC)

On July 17, 2019 in the National Institute for Strategic Studies a meeting took place between acting director of the Institute Vasyl Yablonskyi and Eugene Czolij, head of the International Election Observation Mission created by Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) with an aim of observation, control and reporting on Ukrainian elections in 2019. Starting from 1999 UWC accommodates election observation missions for monitoring all presidential and parliamentary elections and for safeguarding democracy in Ukraine.

Observers of the UWC mission have already performed their duties during the Presidential Election that took place on March 31 and April 21, 2019. Also they will observe and control snap parliamentary elections that are planned to take place on July 21, 2019.

In frames of preparation of the Mission’s work during snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Eugene Czolij, as the head of the UWC Mission, had meetings with members of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, heads of the leading analytical centers in Ukraine, leadership of other international and national observation missions in Ukraine, as well as with representatives of Ukrainian civic society, who work, inter alia, in the field of mass media and communication monitoring.

The meeting that took place on July 17, 2019 in the National Institute for Strategic Studies, was dedicated to preparation of the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 9th convocation and to monitoring of this process by the UWC Mission, as well as to coverage of the monitoring activity, performed by the Mission’s observers, and to coverage of the election process in Ukraine by the foreign mass media. Mr. Czolij told about the presentation of the UWC Mission’s final report regarding this year’s presidential elections in Ukraine. The presentation took place on July 15, 2019 during press conference in the Ukraine Crisis Media Center in Kyiv. The following report of the UWC mission confirmed that both rounds of Ukrainian elections in 2019, that took place on March 31 and April 21, 2019 were held in accordance with international standards of democratic elections. Conclusions of the UWC Mission were grounded on direct monitoring of its observers, as well as on meetings with high officials of the governmental institutions, and representatives of mass media, civic society and international community.

In the following report, the UWC Mission paid considerable attention to the issues of protection of the national information sphere during the electoral campaign. According to results of the long-term monitoring of mass media, the UWC Mission made necessary recommendations. Thus, it encourages governing bodies of Ukraine and Ukrainian civic society to upgrade their awareness regarding serious threats of disinformation for political stability, socio-economic well-being and basic freedoms. The UWC Mission also encourages developing a strategic program of countering disinformation, for it is an important element of the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

According to results of the meeting in the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the agreement was made to initiate a collaboration of the UWC Mission with the National Institute for Strategic Studies in the field of protection of the national information sphere.