Election Day in Ukraine

Today was Election Day in Ukraine, although because of the war there were no elections held in the east of the country. I was part of an observation team operating east of Kiev spending the day going from polling station to polling station across our allotted area.

This was my favourite station, which was in a very small village. The local people had put up the curtains in the polling booths and had decorated them with traditional materials. The people at the polling station were delighted when we appeared in their village and said how honoured they were that international observers had come to their village. The staff at the station insisted we take tea with them and also provided us with local homemade foods and bread to eat.

It was a long day and we eventually got back to Kiev at around 11:30pm to provide our initial thoughts on how the election had gone. Being an election observer is something I take a great deal of pride in. Trying to help countries to embed democracy is a privilege and one I also enjoy doing.