OSCE ODIHR election observation mission starts its work in Ukraine

First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar met with Head of the OSCE ODIHR Election Observation Mission Ingibjörg Gisladóttir on September 22, the Ministry’s press service informs.

In accordance with the invitation of the Ukrainian side, the OSCE ODIHR Election Observation Mission to the local elections in Ukraine, scheduled for October 25, will start working in Ukraine on September 23.

"Emine Dzheppar stressed that Ukraine had consistently supported the impartial, autonomous and depoliticized activities of the ODIHR in monitoring elections in the OSCE participating states. She also stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was ready to provide full assistance to international observers in fulfilling their mandate," reads the statement.

The First Deputy Minister informed Ingibjörg Gisladóttir that the local elections in Ukraine would be held in new conditions as part of the decentralization reform for the first time, so the country saw an unprecedented level of attention to the elections. Dzheppar also stressed that the elections would be held amid the ongoing armed aggression and temporary occupation of parts of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

The Head of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission praised Ukraine's invitation to the local elections and informed about the main stages of the Mission's work in the pre-election and post-election periods.

The parties stressed the importance of international election observation as a key element in the development of democratic processes and further improvement of electoral systems in the countries.

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