Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), International Renaissance Foundation

Project partners:

Monitoring of Mass Media in Ukraine / Taylor Nelson Sofres .

Main project goal - increasing the transparency of electoral funds usage during the electoral campaign 2002 in Ukraine.

Methodology is based on the idea of evaluating the market prise of political and social advertisments in mass- media made by political parties and electoral blocks during election campaign. The results of monitoring are compared with law restrictions. The methodology of the project is proposed by International Organization Transparency International, well-known all over the world. Besides it has been successfully used in several Latin American and European countries. The metodology of Ukrainian electoral funds monitoring is adjusted to the national legislation norms and Ukrainian social-political situation.

Project consistans:

1. Signing the agreement with parties and electoral blocks about exchanging information on electoral funds usage;
2. Independent evaluation of electoral funds market prise by monitoring the political advertisments in central mass-media;
3. Crossing and disseminating the two numbers of expandutures on political and social advertisment: those declared by parties and those from the independent monitoring results; analysis and public informing.

Monitored mass-media:

Eight all-Ukrainian TV-channels; the most popular TV-channels in five biggest cities of Ukraine; UR-1 and UR- 2; the most popular FM-radio stations; nine everyday and three weakly all-Ukrainian periodic mass-media; and fifteen regional newspapers with the highest rating. (look for the list of mass-media in attachment).

International Watch Group provides validity of technology and monitoring results, consists of wellknown international and Ukrainian experts. IWG members regularly consult on implementation of the project and provide the including of the monitoring results to international organizations' records.

Informational resourses:

- sites www.vybory.org.ua, www.coalition.org.ua/nap/Eng/monitoring.html
- project newsletter

For additional information:

Tel/fax 8-044-461 9022
e-mail: ivan@vybory.org.ua
Ihor Predko, Iryna Holiyad - project managers
Ivan Sikora - head of the project, coordinator of the National Anti-Corruption Program, 'Freedom of Choice' Coalition of Ukrainian NGOs. e-mail: ivan@vybory.org.ua