Ukrainian voting on March 26 in Kyiv (RFE/RL)
BRUSSELS, March 28, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- European Parliament members back from monitoring the March 26 parliamentary elections in Ukraine have praised the conduct of the poll in glowing terms.
Charles Tannock, a British member, said Ukraine had passed an important test of democracy in an "exemplary" fashion.
"The exemplary fashion does in my view confirm the status of Ukraine now irreversibly as a fully fledged member of the democratic family of European nations," he said. "I think that has to be accepted. Nobody can claim it's a sort of a country which doesn't really understand or practice democracy."
Marek Siwiec, the head of the European Parliament's seven-member observation mission, said he was not aware of any significant irregularities.
On March 27, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the Ukrainian elections had met democratic standards.
"The exemplary fashion does in my view confirm the status of Ukraine now irreversibly as a fully fledged member of the democratic family of European nations," he said. "I think that has to be accepted. Nobody can claim it's a sort of a country which doesn't really understand or practice democracy."
Marek Siwiec, the head of the European Parliament's seven-member observation mission, said he was not aware of any significant irregularities.
On March 27, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the Ukrainian elections had met democratic standards.
The Key Players
The Key Players
BEHIND THE IMAGES: Click on the links below to read RFE/RL's profiles of some of the key players in Ukraine's March 26 legislative elections:
Viktor Yanukovych
Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuliya Tymoshenko
Oleksandr Moroz
Rynat Akhmetov
Volodymyr Lytvyn
Click on the image to see RFE/RL's coverage of the Ukrainian elections in Ukrainian.