The support of current President Petro Poroshenko by Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko doubts the independence of the Prosecutor General’s Office as the OSCE ODIHR reported.
“The direct support of the current president by the prosecutor general contrary to the legislation raises concern. According to the interlocutor of the ODIHR OSCE and mass media publications, the Prosecutor General’s Office Head visited the events within the election campaign of the head of the state and made statements, including Facebook, which doubts the independence of the department,” the document said.
Moreover, the criminal proceedings against a few candidates for the presidency were opened. At least three criminal proceedings were begun as citizens stated about their presidential ambitions.
Generally, the election campaign was competitive and peaceful. However, there were no real debates between the partakers of the race.
The observers noted that the public speeches of current President Petro Poroshenko blurred the lines between his official position and position as the candidate.
From the other side, Volodymyr Zelensky gave free concerts as the comedian during the election campaign; however, he did not hold any traditional agitation rally.
Earlier the OSCE stated that the first tour of the presidential elections in Ukraine took place in the conditions of the competition and the citizens were provided will all conditions for the free expression of the will.
Besides, the European Parliament expressed the opinion that the first tour of the Ukrainian presidential elections should be considered successful.
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