Mingarelli on elections in Ukraine: Much is at stake

Ambassador Hugues Mingarelli, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, believes that the presidential elections in Ukraine will be competitive.

“I want to emphasize that there will be real elections of competitive nature in Ukraine, which we do not see in many countries of this region,” Mingarelli said at a briefing of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations (ENEMO) for short-term observers on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

At the same time, he recalled that the 2014 presidential elections in Ukraine met the international assessments and standards and, therefore, expressed the hope that upcoming elections would be held in the same manner.

“Much is at stake in these elections compared to many other elections in this region. We see this judging by the rise in political temperature. One moment, not very pleasant, is that the cost of the election campaign has greatly increased. This shows that virtue still cannot overcome financial interest in Ukraine. Unfortunately, many see this situation as a financial opportunity that is worth investing,” the Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine added.

The presidential election in Ukraine will be held on March 31.

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