“Equality cannot be”: how Ukraine is “watched” by electoral violations by presidential candidates

In Ukraine, violations of electoral legislation are recorded by the majority of registered candidates for the presidency. This was stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the country Arsen Avakov. According to him, among other things we are talking about the placement of campaign materials on billboards and the distribution of printed materials that are not paid from the accounts of the election fund.

“Since the beginning of the election campaign, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Police have already received 91 appeals from public organizations and citizens about offenses in the course of election campaigning,” he wrote on Facebook.

According to him, non-compliance with the law is fixed in 10 regions of Ukraine under various administrative articles. In addition, open criminal proceedings under the article "hooliganism".

“Of the small violations are systemic errors. From the very beginning of the campaign, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not be lenient. This is what the letter of the law requires of us, ”Avakov explained.

At the same time, the Ukrainian minister said that appeals are being checked for possible violations by unregistered candidates, including the current president, Petro Poroshenko, and the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko. He also warned "smart political consultants" that law enforcement agencies would not allow the organization of "carousels" for buying up votes. According to him, no one can agree with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Police.

“We will act harshly ... Let's hold together truly honest, transparent, democratic elections in Ukraine,” concluded the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Previously, Avakov emphasized that all candidates for the presidency of Ukraine "will receive protection, not preferences."

• President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country Arsen Avakov
• © Press service of the President of Ukraine

"General rules for those whose last name is not Poroshenko"

Recall, December 31, 2018 in Ukraine started the election campaign. Elections of the head of state are scheduled for March 31, 2019. If in the first round no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, the second round will be appointed, which will be held on April 21.

At the moment, the Central Election Commission of Ukraine has registered 10 candidates. At the same time, among them there are no leaders of the election polls of Yulia Tymoshenko and Vladimir Zelensky, nor Petro Poroshenko, who heads the presidential anti-rating.

However, experts believe that Avakov’s statements about impartiality are far from reality. In particular, this opinion is shared by the president of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, economist Alexander Okhrimenko.

“Avakov publicly declares that he is neutral, but he lies, of course. Obviously, there can be no equality ... They will use various methods to remove undesirable candidates from the elections, someone will be removed for absolutely contrived reasons. Another thing is that it is difficult to say on whom Avakov bets, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

According to the Ukrainian media, the current head of state intends to announce his nomination on February 2, during a forum dedicated to nominating a single candidate for the presidency from democratic forces. It is also reported that Poroshenko promises "to increase pensions by 17-20%."

According to Okhrimenko, the increase in pensions is not the only initiative through which the Ukrainian president intends to win the electorate to his side.

“Poroshenko is preparing to bribe voters. From March 1, he wants to pay cash to those who receive subsidies. It will be about a thousand and a half hryvnia. This is the purest bribe, ”said the RT analyst.

According to him, the “Tomos-tour” organized by the Kiev authorities in support of the formation of a new religious structure in Ukraine has already added about 3% of Poroshenko’s rating. Recall that on the streets of Ukrainian cities there were many billboards with the image of Poroshenko and the head of the PCU Epiphanius and the signature "Tomos for Ukraine".

Meanwhile, political analyst and economist Oleksandr Dudchak believes that the supervisory authorities will act in the interests of Poroshenko.

“For all the general rules, that is, for those who have a surname not Poroshenko. They are already preparing a base for campaign violation charges, but they completely ignore what their main candidate is doing. That was to be expected. With the current level of “democracy”, this is the natural course of events, ”he said in an interview with RT.

Add that earlier in Moscow pointed to the desire of the ruling Kiev regime by any means to keep power in their hands. As Russian diplomats emphasized, the decision of the Ukrainian CEC to close all foreign polling stations in the territory of the Russian Federation is “ridiculous and not up to any criticism.”

“The current election campaign has every chance of becoming the dirtiest and most scandalous in the entire history of modern Ukraine,” stresses in the January 17 commentary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.