Category: Politics

Election Update

For a Short Term Observer (STO) polling day is the whole point. For OSCE/ODIHR it is one component of the electoral cycle.

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European Parliamentary Election 2019

In March the British press laughed over the first round of the Presidential election in Ukraine pointing a finger at the record number of candidates, 39, and consequently the length of the ballot paper. Couldn’t possibly happen here. Well, I hope a Ukrainian journalist reads this because it’s pay-back time.

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The Holodomor

The Holodomor was the famine of 1932/33 caused by Stalin’s reorganisation of agriculture in Ukraine and Russia. Something like five million Ukrainians died and the same number were born with defects or stillborn further depleting the population.

Mass Observation

Almost half a million people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, organised by the RSPB, this year. That’s Mass Observation.

Floating Voters

Countries in the Former Soviet Union have a broader franchise than many western countries, including the UK.

Conversations

On an Election Observation Mission there are opportunities to chat, not always about election methodology. A UK observer told me that he had been Master and huntsman of the Pimpernel beagles and jolly smart he must have looked in his uniform: green coat, old gold collar, green stockings and black cap.

The Birthday Paradox

“In a room of just 23 people there’s a 50-50 chance of at least two people having the same birthday. In a room of 75 there’s a 99.9% chance of at least two people matching.“ This is the Birthday Paradox.

Preliminary Report

Volodymyr Zelensky, who plays a fictional president in a popular TV show, secured 30.4 percent of the vote on Sunday, early results showed. Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire magnate and Ukraine’s current leader, received 17.8 percent. In a country on the frontline of the West’s standoff with Russia, the electorate has rallied behind an anti-establishment figure… Continue reading Preliminary Report

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Blog Lite

There is not going to be much here for the next week or so as today I go to Kyev or as you might prefer Kiev. Presidential election on Sunday.