Expert says amendments to law on presidential elections could serve as grounds for rigging vote
Kyiv, July 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Amendments to the law on the presidential election regarding the drafting of voter lists will create broad opportunities for rigging the election's results, according to an expert in electoral law, Oleksandr Vorobiov.
"I have a forecast for this law [a bill amending the law on the presidential election] that the president will be elected in the first round," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
He said that the clause on the creation of election commissions from representatives of parliamentary political parties had been excluded from the bill after its adoption at first reading. Vorobiov also said that the document still contained provisions that could aid in rigging the election results.
The bill foresees the possibility of including voters in voting lists on the polling day under the decision by the chairman, his deputy or secretary of a district election commission, not of the court, as foreseen by current law.
"We're actually returning to the situation that happened during the first and second rounds of the presidential election in 2004," he said.