KYIV, Ukraine – The National Democratic Institute (NDI) announced the arrival here today of its pre-election assessment mission for the Oct. 26 parliamentary polls.

The delegation will be in Ukraine Sept. 15-19 and will have a news conference to announce its findings at noon on Sept. 19 at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

Members of the group are Edward “Ted” Kaufman, former U.S. senator from Delaware; Robert Adams, an international elections and democratization expert for Democracy Reporting International and Electoral Reform International Services; Marija Babic, an independent electoral expert who has managed international election observation efforts for NDI in six other countries; Laura Jewett, NDI’s regional director for Eurasia; and Mary O’Hagan, NDI’s resident senior director in Ukraine.

The mission seeks to demonstrate the interest of the international community in the development of Ukraine’s democratic political process and offer an impartial assessment of the political environment.

The delegation will meet with election officials, candidates, political party leaders, and representatives of civil society, the media, the international community and government in Kyiv and regions outside the capital in an effort to assess the state of preparations for the elections, including the legal and political environment.

The delegation will conduct its activities in a nonpartisan manner in accordance with applicable law and international standards for election monitoring set forth in the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation. The mission is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. More information is available at www.ndi.org.

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