Statement: Political Pressure Endangers Public Broadcasting Vote

Ukrainian media experts and civil activists are concerned about the upcoming elections for the new head of Ukrainian Public Broadcasting Company because  representatives of some political parties could influence the result. Hromadske has published a statement from the coalition “For The Reform of Public Broadcasting” today,  April 9th.

A statement from the coalition “For The Reform of Public Broadcasting”.

On April 10th, in the building of the state information agency “Ukrinform”, the election for the new head of Ukrainian Public Broadcasting Company will take place. The CEO will be chosen by the Supervisory Board, which consists of public members and representatives of deputy factions.

The transparency of this election, the possibility of free expression is crucial, not only for successful voting, but for the final implementation of the public broadcasting reform in general. Unfortunately, the actions of some political forces over the last few weeks has caused some anxiety over the fate of elections.

Read More: A Critical Moment For Public Broadcasting in Ukraine

We call the representatives of all political parties to restrain themselves from populism and interfering with the election process. We condemn any political pressure in any form. At the same time, we have appealed to National Police to not allow any form of obstruction or interference with the voting process, including the possible presence of outsiders in the place of voting.

The Supervisory Board of UA:PBC consists of delegated representatives from different spheres of public life and people delegated from the deputy fractions and parliamentary groups. Its structure complies with current legislation, and now there is every indication that the election for the new head of a public broadcaster will be conducted as outlined in the law.

The openness of the session will be ensured by an online broadcast on the “Ukrinform” web-page. All who are interested in the fate of Ukrainian Public Broadcasting Company will be able to watch the event.

The statement had been signed by a number of Ukrainian independent  journalists, media activist and members of media watchdog organizations.

Signed by:

Kateryna Horchynska

Anastasia Stanko

Artem Sokolenko

Mustafa Nayem

Svitlana Zalischyk

Natalya Sokolenko

Andriy Kulykov

Natalka Gumenyuk

Dmytro Hnap

Denys Bihus

Lyubomyr Ferents

Larysa Denysenko

Iryna Slavinska

Angelina Kariakina

Serhiy Stukanov

Iryna Solomko

Kyrylo Lukerenko

Oleksandr Buziuk

Aksinya Kurina

Andriy Shevchenko

Tetyana Danylenko

Kostyantyn Reutskiy

Tetyana Troschynska

Nataliya Ligachova

Evhen Pavlyukovskiy

Olena Badyuk

Yaroslav Fedorenko

Kyiv, Ukraine. 09/04/2017