Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has taken measured steps toward building democratic political mechanisms and institutions. USAID programs and activities have focused on reinforcing pluralism and transparency in the political process, implementing the rule of law, strengthening civil society and NGOs, assisting in local government development, and supporting independent media.

Elections

• The International Republican Institute (IRI) conducted 15 trainings on communication strategy for 250 press service staff at local councils and administrations. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) trained 100 Verkhovna Rada faction staff on communications and press operations, and 230 individuals participated in training sessions for party poll-watchers. Combined, NDI and IRI trained 6,279 party poll-watchers to ensure transparency in the 2006 Parliamentary elections.

• In 2005, NDI’s Executive Interns Program, aimed at supporting Ukraine’s government in increasing its management capacity and bringing young leaders to the ranks of the Ukrainian civil service, sent 23 participants for internships in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland as well as in Ukrainian government agencies.  

• USAID supported an international observation mission for the 2006 Parliamentary elections through the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), a coalition of election monitoring NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. More than 500 international observers from 15 different countries participated.

• USAID also supported a number of prominent Ukrainian civic groups carrying out non-partisan voter education and voter participation initiatives, including street events, door-to-door campaigns, concerts, contests, mock elections, and town meetings. Forty-six voter education grants were awarded to non-governmental groups, and 1.7 million printed materials were distributed. Voter education activities resulted in higher voter awareness about changes to a proportional system in the parliamentary election legislation. One public survey showed a 13.3% increase in voter awareness between December 2005 and March 2006, from 61.4% to 74.7%.

• Freedom House produced four Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on voting procedures for the March 2006 parliamentary elections, which were aired on national and regional television and radio and endorsed by the Central Election Commission (CEC).

• USAID’s Strengthening Electoral Administration in Ukraine Project trained approximately 150,000 election commissioners in the new parliamentary election law, and more than 5,000 local election commissioners received training in preparation for the March 2006 local elections. SEAUP distributed more than 450,000 copies of training and instructional materials endorsed by the CEC, to over 33,000 polling stations, 225 Constituency Election Commissions and 45 party and bloc headquarters.  

• USAID programs have greatly improved transparency of the Rada and have helped to disseminate important legislative information through a new Press Center and the institutionalization of biweekly press conferences. The Rada has incorporated several suggested improvements to its official website, significantly broadening the scope of information available to the public.

• For a decade, USAID has funded an annual parliamentary internship program. Over 40 percent of former interns remain in public service. Many of them hold high elected and executive posts. (Central Election Commission member, Deputy Minister on Youth Policy, Deputy Minister of Justice).

Independent Media

• CURE has developed a network of 25 press clubs in all oblasts of Ukraine, TV and radio programs, an information hotline, periodicals and other print materials, websites and more. In 2005, the press clubs organized more than 1,000 meetings in all oblasts in which more than 14,000 national and regional journalists took part. The meetings gave journalists access to a variety of information on a wide range of topics, which ensured citizens access to a broad array of information.

• UREP radio programs now draw an average of 18.8 million listeners each week. The average audience for its TV programs is 9.4 million viewers a month. In 2004 UREP started TV broadcasting to 70 other countries via satellite. With USAID support, public awareness of reform issues among Ukrainians rose from 45% in 2003 to 48.6% in 2004.

• In 2005, with USAID assistance, Internews-Ukraine produced 29 election-related analytical television programs retransmitted via satellite by 35 regional and national broadcasters.

• USAID-supported NGO Telekritika has published hard-hitting articles on current events during the election period, posting the results of its media monitoring on its website for public consumption.

• USAID’s annual Media Sustainability Index (MSI) report shows important gains for media this year. Scores for plurality of news sources increased from 1.6 in 2003 to 1.81 in 2004; for free speech from 1.7 in 2003 to 2.08 in 2004; for professional journalism from 1.25 in 2003 to 1.52 in 2004; for supporting institutions from 1.90 in 2003 to 2.17 in 2004; and for business management from 1.99 in 2003 to 2.24 in 2004. Further, USAID-assisted regional broadcast outlets increased the amount news available by 41% in this period.

• USAID assistance has helped develop two effective TV and radio associations, which support the long-term growth and