OSCE ODIHR notes freedom of campaigning in local elections in Ukraine, bias of private media

16:15, 26.10.2020 1 min read

Candidates for mayor and deputy could freely campaign during the election campaign in the local elections held on Sunday, but there were accusations of allegedly buying up votes, as well as manifestations of bias of private media in the presentation of information, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said.

Director of the OSCE ODIHR Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir said at online conference on Monday that candidates could freely conduct their election campaigning, their political campaign, but at the same time, there were isolated cases of abuse of their powers, and accusations of possible vote bribery were widespread.

She also said that the private media failed to cover the electoral process in an unbiased and balanced manner, and failed to provide an unbiased and informed choice for the Ukrainian voter.