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Ukrainian expert slams Kiev’s ‘illegitimate’ move to revoke invitation to PACE delegates

According to the official, the Rada has no authority to take such steps that are restricted to the Central Election Commission

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Piotr Sivkov/TASS

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada

© Piotr Sivkov/TASS

KIEV, July 3. /TASS/. The work of foreign observers at the Ukrainian parliamentary elections is under the purview of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Ukrainian expert and Director of the Public Audit NGO Maxim Goldarb said on Wednesday. He commented on the decision by Speaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Andrei Parubiy to rescind an invitation to observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

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"The piece of paper on revoking the invitation to PACE observers to the elections is fully illegitimate," he wrote on Facebook.

Goldarb explained that the speaker had no authority for such actions. "The issues related to invitation/non-invitation and participation/non-participation of observers are solely under the purview of the CEC," the expert stressed.

Speaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Andrei Parubiy earlier cancelled an invitation to observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to monitor the snap parliamentary elections in the country scheduled to be held on July 21. Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine informed TASS on Tuesday that five PACE delegates had arrived in Ukraine and were ready to leave in the event of Kiev’s corresponding decision.

Kiev’s demarche in PACE

On July 1, the Verkhovna Rada Foreign Affairs Committee recommended revoking an invitation to PACE observers who would monitor the elections following the assembly’s decision to endorse the Russian delegation’s credentials. The Rada committee also recommended that Ukraine should suspend the participation of its permanent delegation to the organization until Russia met a number of requirements.

Members of the committee also spoke out in favor of discussing the issue with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

On June 26, participants in the PACE session approved a resolution fully ratifying the Russian delegation’s credentials. All proposed sanctions amendments to it were struck down. According to head of the Unified European Left Group at PACE, Tiny Kox of the Netherlands, Russia remains in PACE as a full-fledged member without any restrictions. However, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Georgia and Poland were strongly opposed to Russia’s return to PACE.

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