The National Security and Defense Council and the Foreign Ministry have stated that Russia is bent on disrupting the election process, or to completely de-legitimize it. Throughout its post-Soviet history, Ukraine has had no practical experience in dealing with such a high level of security and foreign invasion threats. However, there is enough time for all citizens to adopt the right behavior tactics and security measures to be able to vote.
Gentle reminders from U.S. and European partners on the need to elect a new president and receive much needed technical and financial assistance attached to this event put an end to discussions on declaring a state of emergency.
Chances to quell the terrorist actions by enacting any kind of heightened state is doubtful, but the organization of the electoral process would be jeopardized.
Postponing the election date would give the Russian Federation additional time to implement a full-scale intervention, allow corruption to permeate at the local government level, and destabilize the situation.
However the situation develops in Ukraine, the election is the only way out of the crisis. But only under the condition that everyone in the entire territory of Ukraine gets a chance to vote, including voters in temporarily occupied Crimea.
It’s worthy to identify five major election threats: safety of voters and members of election commissions, polling stations, public election documents, candidates and information security.
All government bodies, the state apparatus, presidential candidates, pro-Ukrainian citizenry and the media are obliged to counteract these threats.
Before the vote, the sources of threats should be effectively localized. A sober assessment should be made on the percentage of territories that won’t be able to hold elections in a civilized fashion.
By no means should voters in the eastern regions be excluded from the election process and be deprived of their constitutional right to vote. From a legal point of view it will not affect the legitimacy of the election, but it could become a source of political debate and manipulation.
Ukraine is obliged to legally defend everyone’s right to vote for those who want to exercise it. Security at polling station must be strengthened in the regions where it is rational to do so.
Intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials must implement regular inspections of premises for explosives, illegal weapons, and unauthorized persons.
District election commissions, which will determine the results within the district and receive protocols from polling stations, should be heavily guarded with police and be under video surveillance and be the target international observers and media.
The security of election documents, ballots, maintenance of voter lists, protocols from election precincts should be strengthened by additional convoys and guards.
This process cannot be supervised only with local police, in fact, the latter were sometimes idle on keeping public order during the separatist speeches, protecting activists at public events for the unity of the country, government buildings, etc. The best and finest officers should be mobilized to the east and south.
The need to transport documents to the district election commission in armored vehicles should not be excluded. We cannot be too careful in a situation where the election is almost equal to preservation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The main international principle that is used in the evaluation of democratic elections is for them to be free and fair: no threats, intimidation, bribery or pressure to voters.
Thus, one of the key problems is the safety of citizens who should be able to vote freely at the polls on May 25. It’s no secret that the key to these issues will be the effectiveness of counter-terrorist operations, the work of Ukrainian intelligence services and border guards.
Despite the laxity of the election campaign, the safety of candidates, who have to clearly operate within the law and the constitution and not use provocative slogans and appeals aimed at inciting inter-ethnic, inter-regional strife, is another key issue.
Candidates should also refrain from slogans that could be interpreted as calls to change the boundaries and borders of the country, to overthrow the government and the like.
However, the central government should not act selectively while protecting the life and health of candidates and provide them with adequate protection. It should immediately respond to cases of pressure, threats, or beatings.
So far Ukraine is losing the biggest war with Russia, the information war. Russia’s propaganda affects not only the voters of Vladimir Putin, or citizens near Russia’s border areas, but also in the globalized world.
We do not have the resources to fight propaganda, but the Ukrainian media should behave professionally during the election, and this includes foreign media who sometimes struggle to distinguish between truth and fake propaganda pictures, or the extraordinary activity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when announcing key messages about the election.
Ukraine has a chance to win the election, but it can’t do this unless it wins the security war with Russia.
Olga Aivazovska heads OPORA, a civic network devoted to public advocacy and monitoring of elections.
