There are 14 election districts in Kharkiv oblast, 7 of which are in Kharkiv city. 120 candidates were registered in Kharkiv oblast, but 3 of them withdrew their candidatures as of 16 September.
Most candidates in single-member districts use internet in campaigning and advertising themselves and parties which they represent. They hope to receive support of the young with the help of almost "live" communication through social networks. The most popular platforms used for such communication are VKONTAKTE and FACEBOOK.
Although more than 50% of all registered candidates have personal webpages in at least one of these networks, most of their pages give an impression of technical pages but not personal. For example, a majoritarian candidate in district #169 from Nataliia Korolevska's Forward Ukraine party Ihor Stetsenko is registered in social network VKONTAKTE, but his personal page has minimal content with no active social activity. The similar situation we can observe on personal pages of the following majoritarian candidates: Oleksandr Kotukov (nominated from V. Klichko's UDAR in district #170 - http://vk.com/id12128883), Ihor Karban (self-nominated in district #170 - http://vk.com/id31446613), Oleksandr Zalivan (representative of Ukrainian Platform Sobor in district #171 - http://www.facebook.com/tankzal) and others.
Therefore, a natural question arises: "Does creation of such personal pages in social networks improve image of candidates?"
You are looking for a job? - Find it in social networks!
Social networks provide wide range of possibilities in informational spheres, and MP candidates know this. Perhaps this is the reason why they use social networks not only for communication with the electorate, but also to post announcements saying: "Who wants to work in precinct commission on the elections?" In fact, this very announcement on VKONTAKTE personal page was placed (http://vk.com/public27640093) by Volodymyr Koshel, a self-nominated candidate in single-member district #168.
Perhaps, advertising gives greater effect than PR? It was used by Stanislav Korniichuk when he was the MP candidate from the People's Party. His main slogan in social network VKONTAKTE was – "Add candidate as a friend". However, Stanislav Kosinow had withdrawn his candidacy on 12 September.
Mirror purity!
The biggest number of almost 5000 supporters/friends has the MP Iryna Berezhna. The pro-power party candidate is very active, and the content on her social network page has regular updates with political and personal information. Different professional issues are also discussed. However, it's impossible to find any negative comments on her page (http://www.facebook.com/berezhna).
The situation on a page of majoritarian candidate from Nataliia Korolevska's Ukraine Forward party in district #172 Yevhen Kaplin, which has more than 2500 friends on VKONTAKTE, is slightly different. You can find both positive and negative comments on his page. It is a nice proof of transparent and "live" communication on a personal page of the candidate.
Many candidates which have personal pages on different internet resources use various methods for attracting the audience by demonstrating their achievements or "fails" of their opponents. Social networks are the cheapest means for communication with the young today. However, creation of accounts in social networks has both positive and negative sides. On one hand - attraction of new supporters in case everything is done well, on the other hand - they can have diametrically opposite effect.
Reference:
Civic monitoring conducted by OPORA - is a type of network activity, aimed at impartial assessment of the preparation and conduct of elections, as well as preventing violations through comprehensive civic action. Professional monitoring at all stages of the election process indirectly influences the quality of the campaign. The public opinion, both foreign and domestic is formed through gathering and spreading of information among the target audience. From a strategic perspective public monitoring of elections focuses upon improving the system and certain procedures. In 2012, during Parliamentary elections in Ukraine OPORA implements a large-scale campaign of long- and short term observation, organizes a statistical vote-count by the results of voting with the proportional component of the electoral system on a basis of representative selection, will provide 100% coverage of polling stations by observers in separate single-mandate majoritarian districts. OPORA observers will work in all 225 electoral districts, and 3,500 activists will join them on the voting day. Organization will use the latest means of spreading information on observation results, including infographics and interactive maps.