The United States is ready assist Ukraine in pursuing electoral legislation reforms, as the country's recent local elections failed to meet standards for openness and fairness, the U.S. government said on Wednesday.
A statement posted on the U.S. Embassy website said domestic and international election observation efforts reported numerous procedural violations on October 31.
"While election observers recognized improvements in the accuracy of voters' lists since the presidential contest, they also noted shortcomings, such as insufficient training for electoral commission members, which contributed to the procedural violations and to organizational problems," a statement read on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Kiev.
Ukraine's local election law that was passed in July was cited as a source of problems on the day of elections by election observers and international experts, it said.
"Some difficulties precipitated by the new law, such as blocking the participation of new parties, were lessened or ended by the revisions ordered by President [Viktor] Yanukovych in September."
However, other aspects of the law and of pre-election regulations and procedures "challenged the placement of the names of some candidates on ballots, allowed for reported cases of improper use of administrative resources during the electoral campaign, established unbalanced electoral commission membership, and created complicated registration and voting procedures."
The statement went on to say that President Yanukovych "has recognized the need to bring electoral legislation into line with international standards through a consultative process."
"The United States is prepared to assist Ukraine in support of electoral code reform."
KIEV, November 3 (RIA Novosti)
