Elections at all times and in all countries, regardless of the state system, have been and are an important institution of the state. In some cases, they are one of the ways of expressing the will of the people and a method of forming state authorities. In others - a form of legitimizing illegal power. However, their significance in both cases is great.

For countries with a democratic regime, elections are an integral element of the system, its mandatory component. This is one of the criteria by which the degree of democracy of the system and the legitimacy of power is determined. That is why so much attention is devoted to this institution, and many international authoritative organizations deal with election issues. Some develop the most effective models of elections, others observe the course of elections in countries around the world, others try to help developing countries find the optimal model of the electoral system and promote the spread of political education among the citizens of these countries. But all of them strive to achieve one goal - to make the will of the people or residents of some administrative-territorial unit most optimally and proportionally expressed in the election results.

It seems like such a simple task. Voters came, threw ballots into the ballot boxes, which will later be counted and that's it. The results are ready. But it's not so simple. And anyone who has at least once participated in elections, or is otherwise connected with them, knows that this is an extremely complex procedure. And inaccuracies or violations during elections can have extremely negative consequences. Especially in a country that is on the path of transformation and the establishment of democracy.

Actually, all this is understood by the authors and sponsors of the project "Elections and Political Processes". The goal of the Project is to assist in creating conditions for conducting transparent, open and democratic elections in accordance with the requirements of international standards. For this purpose, the Project works in three directions:

- Assisting in the improvement of electoral legislation with the aim of creating effective guarantees for conducting open, transparent, democratic elections at all levels;

- Raising the professional level and competence of members of election commissions;

- Expanding the capabilities of Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) regarding election observation, ensuring compliance of election procedures with international standards, and access to information necessary for citizens for a conscious political choice.

The Project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The implementer of the project is Development Associates, Inc. (USA). The subcontractor is the Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE).

During the period of activity within the framework of the Project "Elections and Political Processes", a number of round tables, seminars and conferences were held, several training and grant programs were implemented, more than 10 publications and materials on electoral legislation were prepared and distributed, and more. But this is only a small list of the Project's achievements. If you are interested, more detailed information can be found on the Project's web page www.vybory.com.

I will try to briefly tell about one of the events of the Project "Elections and Political Processes" called "Summer School on Electoral Law", which took place from July 20 to August 1, 2003 in the village of Pishchane, Bakhchysarai district, Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Yes, yes, in Crimea, and to be more precise - in the "Iskra" resort. The idea of combining rest with learning has once again found its confirmation.

So, more details about the summer school. In order to become a student of the school, it was necessary to pass a competitive selection. Everyone wishing to participate in the project had to fill out an application form and write a short essay about problematic issues of elections in Ukraine. It was the winners of this kind of selection round who became the majority of the school's students. And these were mainly people with experience in election campaigns, lawyers, political scientists and young people of other specialties, in a word, those who managed to feel and see all the Ukrainian reality and know about the problems of Ukrainian electoral democracy not just in words. Another more than a third of the places at the school were taken by the winners and participants of the All-Ukrainian competition of scientific works on electoral law.

The school was held in two sessions: the 1st - from July 20 to 26, the 2nd - from July 26 to August 1. The project program combined both theoretical and practical classes. In particular, in the first half of the day, the school participants listened to lectures by leading specialists in electoral law and everything related to elections. The lecturers were People's Deputy of Ukraine Yurii Kliuchkovskyi (president of the Institute of Electoral Law), Professor Volodymyr Kampo (expert of the Institute of Electoral Law), Professor Janis Ikstens (international expert on electoral issues and financing of political parties - Latvia), Professor Petro Stetsiuk (Ivan Franko Lviv National University), CEC member Vasyl Spivak, Volodymyr Kovtunets, deputy head of the Project "Elections and Political Processes", Project experts Oleksandr Vorobiov, Serhii Kalchenko.

The range of topics covered in the classes was quite diverse. The summer school students together with the Project lecturers considered issues of Ukraine's electoral law, its problematic aspects, issues of election administration, forms of responsibility for violations of electoral legislation. The project participants had the opportunity during round tables and discussions to discuss the issues of monitoring the 2002 elections, the role and influence of civil society on the election process in Ukraine, touched upon the issue of the use of election technologies in Ukraine and tried to model the optimal electoral system for Ukraine. Much attention was also paid to the work of election commissions, namely the legislative boundaries of their activities and the legal provision of the powers of these commissions.

In a word, the schedule was intense. And although the sea was very close, and the weather was beckoning to the beach, nevertheless the majority of students conscientiously attended all planned project events. After all, for the young people who gathered in Crimea, the main thing was to gain new knowledge of electoral law and to learn how to prevent violations of electoral legislation. And for the main goal of the project, which according to the organizers of the summer school was to prepare future professional trainers for members of election commissions, this information will be very useful. In addition, the students received a sufficiently decent amount of methodological and scientific literature, the use of which will also be useful in the future.

However, no matter how intense the study schedule was, the young people still found the opportunity to rest and enjoy the sea. Some managed to do this in their free time from studying, that is, in the morning and in the evening. Others managed to occasionally "slack off" to lie for an extra hour under the hot sun. Those for whom the day was not enough had the opportunity to have fun all night in the coastal recreation establishments. Fortunately, there were plenty of such places here. The entire coast near the village of Pishchane was strewn not only with stones, but also with countless bars, clubs, and restaurants. In addition, the project organizers gave the school students the opportunity, though in turn, to visit the historical monuments of the city of Bakhchysarai. In particular, the Khan's Palace, the Assumption Monastery, the ancient cave city of Chufut-Kale.

At the end of the school, all its students underwent mandatory testing, based on the results of which Certificates of completion of the summer school on electoral law were issued. True, the author of the article did not like the testing. Not because I didn't pass it. Everything is fine with that, and I have a certificate too. However, it was too narrow and did not reflect the real knowledge gained by the school students. Because it concerned only issues of legislation, namely the Law of Ukraine "On Elections of the President" and the Law of Ukraine "On Elections of Deputies of Local Councils...". And during the school, its students considered a much wider range of issues.

Another "highlight" of the school was the game "Elections of the best student of the summer school". The project organizers tried to focus the young people on the seriousness of the game, in particular, most of the procedures, at least those concerning the voting itself and the counting of votes, were conducted in accordance with the law "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine". In addition to the students, the school's lecturers also chose the best of the project participants.

The author of the article was also nominated as a candidate for the best student, but due to the lack, as one of the lecturers said, of "sparkle in the eyes", the campaign was unsuccessful. However, this did not diminish the impressions of the summer school in the least.

And despite the skeptical attitude of the author of the article towards American foreign policy, it is worth noting that the money of American taxpayers, at least that which was invested under the project "Elections and Political Processes", will bring benefit in the establishment of Ukrainian democracy.

After all, the necessity and usefulness of these projects and events is indisputable, and the results of their implementation will be known soon, when all of Ukraine plunges headlong into a new election campaign. And one must choose a worthy one.

In the photo: 1 - participants of the summer school on electoral law, 2nd session; 2 - young Volyn political scientists Zoriana Verbych and Mykhailo Shelep with one of the most interesting lecturers, People's Deputy of Ukraine Yurii Kliuchkovskyi.