Observers' statements about unfair parliamentary elections in Ukraine before election day contradict democratic principles, says MP

Kyiv, October 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A member of the Regions Party parliamentary faction and the deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Leonid Kozhara, has criticized the statements of some international observers regarding the level of democracy at the upcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine.

"We have already heard statements that the Ukrainian elections won't be recognized as fair and transparent due to one very well-known problem. This contradicts the principles of democracy and the existence of democratic countries in the world," Kozhara said at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

He added that today an unprecedented number of observers has been registered in Ukraine, and many of them arrive "with reports prepared in advance on the results of the elections, which is unacceptable according to the democratic procedure."

The politician said that the ruling party would do everything possible to hold the elections in a fair and democratic way.

"The Regions Party, which today leads the pre-election campaign, is the first to support open elections in line with the standards of the OSCE and EU," Kozhara said.

In addition, the deputy said he was disappointed with the fact that there is a tradition in Ukraine to ask for advice not from Ukrainian state and social institutions, but from the international community.

"The Ukrainian people hold the parliamentary elections in Ukraine for themselves. We don't hold the elections for the EU or the United States, this is a sovereign choice of Ukrainians and today we, as the ruling party, are doing everything we can to make these elections open and fair," he said.