SARA NEWHAM:
A day in the life of an election observer
CBC News Viewpoint | November 23, 2004 | More from Sara Newham
Sara Newham is a freelance journalist currently working with the United Nations Development Programme in Kiev, Ukraine. She has previously reported for the Viktoria Times Colonist and the Nelson Daily News. She has a master's degree in journalism and a BA in international relations from the University of British Columbia.
While Ukraine is abuzz with the results of the presidential election, I'm still recalling what I saw in polling stations as an accredited international election observer.
I was given an opportunity to observe the presidential elections through the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), a non-profit organization that has had observers in Ukraine's previous elections.
Polling station in village of Pibchenkivska
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I was assigned by UCCA to a monitoring team with three men: Mike Derbowka of Saskatoon, a fellow intern who works at a non-governmental organization in Kiev and is a regular acquaintance of mine; Iain Forrest of Glasgow, Scotland; and Yuri Sivitsky of Ukraine.
Together we drove about an hour-and-a-half south of Kiev to villages surrounding the small town of Volodarka so we would arrive in time for the opening of the polls at 8 a.m.
The first polling station we attended was in a little village where residents still get their water from the common well. The temperature hovered around the freezing mark. The first snowfall came the day before and we were freezing cold as soon as we stepped outside the car onto the snowy ground.
The polling station was no larger than a one-room country schoolhouse. Sitting at a long table, the election committee members were dressed in fur coats and hats. It was cold inside and there was no heating source. Those attending the station would have to sit there for more than 12 hours.
This station had 362 registered voters, mostly people in their 70s, 80s and 90s. "The one thing I remember is the apparent joy of the older people who had a smile on their face as they put their ballot in the box," recalled Forrest. "People were voting for a genuine chance at democracy."
We saw one of the local authorities – the taxman for businesses – at the polling station. Local authorities are not allowed to be at the stations but he was permitted when he registered himself as a journalist. A man who controlled much of the business in the area was also at the polling station. According to some Ukrainians, they were there to exert influence on voters.
We also noticed that members of the election committee were not checking voters' passports. When asked, they explained that it was such a small village and they knew everyone. We returned to this station later and learned that about seven people had been allowed to vote when they did not have the proper documentation.
Other than these violations, there were no overt signs that the voting process was abnormal. We were warned to look for people flashing their ballots to prove they voted for the "right" candidate, but this – while we there, at least – did not happen.
An elderly babushka casts her ballot
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Next, we went to the district's central election office in front of which stands a very large statue of Vladimir Lenin. While there, we learned that local authorities were at all the polling stations so they sent the police to get them out of there.
Like the first station, at other polling stations we did not see any overt signs that the election had been rigged. Although everyone was friendly, there was an undercurrent of tension. There was also a sense that any pressure or political posturing took place before the election.
At one station we visited, the director of a collective farm was milling around the station. He privately told Sivitsky that he had been threatened that if he did not urge people on his farm to vote for Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych he would be investigated by the tax authorities.
We received sporadic updates from fellow observers in other parts of the country throughout the day. There was trouble in Cherkassy where a fight broke out and a policeman was killed. There were also reports of busloads of people, Yanukovych supporters, travelling to all the polling stations between Odessa and Kiev to vote. One organization, Pora (It's Time), set up a blockade on the roads going into Kiev so buses couldn't get into the city.
We observed the ballot count at a polling station in the town of Bila Tserkov (White Church). The people at this station were somewhat hostile toward us immediately: checking our passports twice and telling us where we could and could not stand. Once the final ballot was cast, the station closed and we were locked in.
Then the count began. First, the unused ballots were counted, then the names on the list of registered voters. Next, the election officials opened the boxes and poured the ballots onto a large table. We watched closely to ensure that multiple ballots were not folded or twisted together.
From left to right: Mike Derbowka, Iain Forrest, Yuri Sivitsky
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During the first round, my roommate saw several stacks of ballots folded together while she observed the count. Here, things appeared normal. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the table. When the counter made a mistake, 30 voices shouted the correct number.
When the votes were tallied, Yushchenko had 1,256, Yanukovych got 338, and 67 people voted against both candidates. There were two invalid votes. Loud cheers and applause filled the room when the numbers balanced. I don't know whether or not our presence ensured it, but the count was conducted meticulously.
Observing this election was fascinating and it gave our team a real appreciation for the level of democracy in our own countries. "Seeing this stuff, you can't help but think how fortunate we are to have these rights and democratic principles that underpin Canadian society," Derbowka said.
It's hard to say how influenced people were by each side or by having their bosses at the polling station. Various sources assert that pressure was applied. Judging from the reaction to the final results, these elections have caused fervor in Ukraine unlike anything seen in the last 17 years.
"Even under pressure, people were electing according to their passion. It was the first time people were active since perestroika," said Sivitsky.
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