U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (Democratic Party) has congratulated Ukraine for successfully holding the first round of presidential elections, according to a statement published on Monday on the website of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
“I congratulate the people of Ukraine for a successful election process on March 31. International election observers affirmed that voters were able to freely exercise their right to choose from a broad choice of candidates [at] the polls, who were also able to campaign freely,” Menendez said.
“As the country prepares for a runoff, I urge the two candidates to engage in a substantial dialogue with the Ukrainian people over the next few weeks so that voters can make the most informed choice for president. Among other pressing issues, they deserve to hear about the candidates’ views on the war with Russia and how they plan to seriously combat corruption,” the statement says.
Menendez emphasized that in his opinion that “Ukraine once again demonstrated a sharp contrast with its neighbor Russia where such an election would be unimaginable under Putin.”
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (Republican Party) also said the first round of the presidential election in Ukraine was fair.
“Encouraged by the peaceful and fair first round of presidential elections in Ukraine. Urge the candidates and international community to respect the electoral process,” Portman said on Twitter on April 1.
The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States House of Representatives earlier congratulated Ukraine with the end of voting in the first round of the presidential election.
“Congratulations to all voting in the #UkraineElections2019 today. Free and fair elections are the most important part of any democracy,” the committee said on Twitter on March 31.
