Press conference by Civil Network OPORA on the topic “PECULIARITIES OF THE SECOND STAGE OF THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN VOLYN: WHO IS RUNNING AND WHO WILL COUNT THE VOTES?”

At the press conference, OPORA representatives will present an analysis of trends characteristic of this stage of the local elections and will focus on the peculiarities of the process of nomination and registration of candidates in the Volyn region. Public observers will provide information on the most controversial cases and conflict incidents related to the elections and will give their forecast regarding possible difficulties and problems for the next stages of the electoral process.

Also, OPORA experts will announce the start of public democratic monitoring in the city of Lutsk, in particular they will talk about its tasks and main stages.

A representative of the election commission will talk about the progress of preparations for the next stages of the electoral process.

Participation in the press conference from CN OPORA will be taken by: - Mykhailo Shelep, coordinator of the public election observation campaign of CN OPORA in the Volyn region; - Dmytro Bezverbnii, responsible for conducting the public democratic monitoring campaign in the city of Lutsk.

Also invited to participate in the event: - Mykola Volodymyrovych Yevtushyn, head of the Volyn regional election commission.

The press conference will take place on Friday, 15.15.2010, in the conference hall of the "Ukraina" hotel (Lutsk, Slovatskoho St. 2). The event starts at 10:00.

For more detailed information, please contact the representation of CN OPORA in the Volyn region: tel.: 067-41-65-086, mike.shelep@gmail.com

For reference: The Civil Network OPORA is an independent, non-governmental, non-partisan all-Ukrainian organization whose goal is to activate citizens. OPORA was founded in 2005 and serves the interests of society through the successful implementation of civic initiatives in such areas as elections, housing and communal services, education, and public control. As for participation in the electoral process, to date OPORA has conducted five successful election observation campaigns at the national and local levels. On September 11, 2010, OPORA began public observation of the election campaign to local self-government bodies. 177 activists of the organization are monitoring the course of the races in all regional and district centers of Ukraine. They will monitor the course of the races throughout all fifty days of the campaign. On October 31, more than one and a half thousand short-term OPORA observers will monitor compliance with legislation on voting day. Thus, OPORA's public observation campaign is the only attempt to date to monitor the current local elections on a nationwide scale. For additional information, visit our website: www.opora.org.ua