Ukrainian Security Service poses fair parliamentary elections under threat – ombudswoman

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Monitoring of violations of the election legislation during early parliamentary elections, which the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is ready to conduct, can result in exceeding the service’s commissions and fulfilling functions which are not in its competence, that this or that way will influence free expression of the people’s will, Ukrainian Supreme Rada Ombudswoman Nina Karpacheva believes. According to her press office, Karpacheva addressed acting head of the Security Service Valentin Nalivaichenko asking to render information about legal grounds for carrying out activity in monitoring violations of the election law by the security service.

As it was reported earlier, to implement the president’s decree of July 4, 2007, about securing Ukrainian voters’ rights, law, transparency and openness of the election process at the forthcoming elections to the Ukrainian Supreme Rada, heads of regional SBU units were told to keep informed the service’s command, law enforcers and governmental agencies about violations of the election legislation. Special phone lines are already active and operative headquarters have been established in order to collect and analyze data necessary to make administrative decisions. However, in this case, the ombudswoman says in her statement, the SBU can exceed its commissions and fulfill functions that are lying not within its competence in breach of the Ukrainian Constitution and the Ukrainian law on the Ukrainian Security Service.

In particular, the law does not say that the SBU has the function of control over securing citizens’ voting rights. Besides, the abovementioned actions can be treated by the Ukrainian and international community as pressure from the side of SBU, interference into the election process and, consequently, violations of rights for free expression and personal freedom. “Besides, point 6 of the abovementioned presidential decree, says the ombudswoman, foresees that the Ukrainian Security Service is instructed to act exclusively within certain powers. It means, to take action only to secure the public order and safety during the election process, particular, on the days of voting and votes counting.”