The first round of the presidential elections in Ukraine was competitive and citizens had the opportunity to freely express their will, the OSCE PA Election Observation Mission in Ukraine has said.

Such conclusions were made public by the OSCE Special Coordinator, OSCE PA Honorary President Ilkka Kanerva during a joint press conference of representatives of the mission of international election observers in Ukraine consisting of representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament.

We can say, certainly, that these were competitive elections and the opportunity to vote for a candidate the citizen had chosen was provided. Of course, everything will be determined in the second round, he said.