Observers of Civil Network OPORA, deployed to polling stations that were selected using a nationally representative sampling, have assessed the voting process and voter turnout from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Thus, the voter turnout has reached 24% before 12:00 PM. The margin of error – 0.6%.
Observers have reported no violations related to issuance of ballots at 91% of polls from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. At 8.6% of polling stations, observers reported occasional cases when ballot issuance procedure was violated. At 0.4% of polling stations, however, this procedure was violated persistently. These violations usually concerned attempts to issue a ballot without passport verification. They also concerned attempts to receive a ballot paper instead of a relative or another person.
Violation of the voting secrecy (disclosure of how a person voted in a polling place by showing a marked ballot) was noticed in 5.7% of polling stations. The voting process was free from violation of the voting secrecy at 94.3% of polling stations.
Voters took pictures of ballot papers at 2.2% of polls (97.8% of polling stations were free from such incidents). During 2014 early election of the President of Ukraine, this indicator was equal to 1%, according to the results of observation based on a nationally representative sampling.
According to the Law of Ukraine on Election of the President of Ukraine, taking a picture or a video of a marked ballot paper inside of a polling booth, as well as a demonstration of how a person voted inside of a polling place is prohibited and shall be considered a violation of the voting secrecy.
Voters who had arrived at a polling station but could not cast a vote (were absent from a voter list, or other reason) were noticed only at 0.5% of polling stations. Thus, there were no wide-scale incidents when citizens are not included in voter lists during the whole observation period.
Civil Network OPORA continues an active cooperation with the National Police of Ukraine aimed to prevent and document electoral violations.