August 10, 2004 - The Central Election Commission held a draw, which was aimed at giving airtime to presidential candidates on state nationwide television and radio channels in order for them to conduct election campaigning as well as printing their platforms in the Holos Ukrainy and Uriadovyi Kurier newspapers. Each candidate will receive the opportunity to appear three times on television and radio. Uriadovyi Kurier and Holos Ukrainy newspapers will publish the election platforms of the candidates from August 17 to October 1.

August 9, 2004 - The Central Election Commission decided that the televisiondebates of presidential candidates will be held between October 10-12. Accordingto the decision, the platforms of the presidential candidates will be published in theHolos Ukrainy and Uriadovyi Kurier newspapers by October 8, followed by thetelevision debates.

August 4, 2004 - The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) has appealed to Ukrainian authorities to observe international standards for free and fair elections, as reliable evidence suggests that governmental officials in several sectors are illegally abusing public institutions to manipulate the outcome of the presidential election.

August 3, 2004 - President Leonid Kuchma has instructed the Council of Ministers of Crimea, the Kyiv and Sevastopol administrations, and regional administrations to provide territorial election commissions with computer and communication equipment between August 12 and October 28. Local authorities must provide polling stations with software, communications facilities, office equipment, and maintenance specialists.

August 2, 2004 - The CEC has completed the process of accepting documents for registration of candidates for President. This is contained in the timetable for preparing and holding the presidential elections, which the CEC approved.

July 31, 2004 - Observers from the United States have reported violations of the law on presidential elections in the Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. During their trip to these regions US observers received numerous complaints from teachers, medical workers, employees of transport organizations and farmers about election campaign violations. The complaints reported that state officers threatened with dismissals and forced people to collect signatures and participate in the meetings in favor of a particular candidate.

July 26, 2004 - President Leonid Kuchma removed the aspects of the Ukrainian military doctrine which state that the final goal of Ukraine's policy of Euro-Atlantic and European integration is membership of NATO and the European Union.

July 20, 2004 - Ukraine invites observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to observe the presidential elections.

July 20, 2004 - President Leonid Kuchma has pledged to "prevent any pressure on the Central Election Commission or any other electoral commissions," in the run-up to the October presidential elections.

July 20, 2004 - The head of the Foreign Ministry's press service, Markian Lubkivskyy, said that Ukrainian citizens who are working illegally in other countries could vote in the presidential elections. He said that these people have not broken Ukrainian laws, and therefore they will not be subject to any penalties.

July 14, 2004 - The CEC Chairman, Serhii Kivalov, and ambassadors of the European Union member-countries met to discuss the presidential elections during which the legislative aspects of the elections and the problems connected with the election campaign process were discussed. Kivalov stressed that the main difficulties would be connected with the compilation of voter lists, the organization of voting abroad, and the participation of local election observers.

July 13, 2004 - Ukraine has officially invited foreign observers to take part in monitoring the presidential elections. The Foreign Ministry sent official invitations from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kostiantyn Hryschenko, to the OSCE, ODIHR, Council of Europe and the UN.

Jyly 12, 2004 - The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE has called on the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that opposition political forces have the opportunity to engage freely in the political processes of the country. This call was made in the Edinburgh Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly.

July 8, 2004 - Speaking at the plenary session of the eighth Ukraine-EU summit in The Hague, President Leonid Kuchma assured EU leaders that Ukrainian authorities would do everything possible to ensure that the country's presidential elections are transparent.

July 8, 2004 - The Central Election Commission made a decision to create 225 districts for this year's presidential elections.

July 8, 2004 - President Leonid Kuchma signed the law "On the Central Election Commission," which regulates its activity. The Verkhovna Rada passed the law on the Central Election Commission back in June 2004.

July 3, 2004 - The official start of the election campaign begins in Ukraine.

June 29, 2004 - OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Ukraine between 9 and 12 June 2004. The report of the mission can be found at the OSCE/ODIHR website here.

June 24, 2004 - The Central Election Commission wants to introduce new ballot papers with sticky edges for the 2004 presidential elections. The plan to introduce such ballot papers is due to the fact that transparent ballot boxes will be used during the elections and no money is budgeted for envelopes to be made for the ballot papers.

June 23, 2004 - The bill “On Amending the Constitution of Ukraine,” No.4180 received preliminary approval in the Verkhovna Rada, with 276 votes. This bill, which was authored by deputies of the parliamentary majority stipulates that direct presidential elections be abolished after the 2004 ballot, that the president be elected by parliament and that parliament's term be extended from four to five years starting from the 2006 election year. Its final approval will require 300 votes at the next session, which is to be convened in September.

June 23, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada declined to give preliminary approval to the bill on amending the Constitution No.3207-1 with only 118 votes. This bill, which was proposed by the Our Ukraine bloc, increases the parliament's powers and the president continues to be elected by popular ballot.

June 23, 2004 - The Central Election Commission has officially declared the head of the local branch of the Party of the Regions and the chief executive of Poltavahaz, Oleksii Lelyuk, as the winner of the parliamentary by-election in Constituency No.151 (Poltava), which took place on June 20.

June 21, 2004 - The Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman, Serhii Kivalov, announced plans to create a Unified Voters' Register within 1.5 to 2 years, which would be ready in time for the 2006 elections.

June 9, 2004 - Speaking at a press conference, President Leonid Kuchma said that he does not intend to contest the presidential elections scheduled for October 31. "I want to view Ukraine without Kuchma together with you," he said. Kuchma also said that he rules out a situation in Ukraine, in which the elections would not take place, adding that the elections would take place under any circumstances.

June 7, 2004 - The start of the presidential election campaign in Ukraine will officially start on July 3, according to a statement released by the Central Election Commission, According to the planned schedule, the parties and blocs must name their presidential candidates between July 4 and 27.

June 7, 2004 - The Cabinet of Ministers created an inter-agency group for assisting the activities of official observers from other states as well as international organizations, which will come to Ukraine to monitor the preparation and holding of the presidential elections.

June 4, 2004 - According to the Presidential Administration’s main analytical department, written invitations to foreign observers and international organizations that plan to observe the presidential elections, will be sent to the respective Foreign Affairs Ministries in July.

June 2, 2004 - President Leonid Kuchma instructed the Central Election Commission to set up an inter-agency group for supporting the work of foreign observers during the presidential elections.

June 1, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada heard various reports from representatives of law enforcement agencies on the situation surrounding the Mukachevo mayoral elections.

May 31, 2004 - The Odessa region's Deputy Governor Anton Kisse was elected MP in Constituency No. 136 in Odessa.

May 28, 2004 - The Mayor of Mukachevo, Ernest Nuser, announced his resignation due to increased pressure, blackmail and threats. He informed the press that his decision to resign would hopefully stabilize the situation around Mukachevo.

May 25, 2004 - The Constitutional Court shed light on the provisions in the Constitution of Ukraine that regulate the power of the president to dissolve parliament. This clarification was done at the request of President Kuchma. The Court said that the phrase "over a 30-day period" should be understood to mean 30 calendar days, and that the calculation of the number of days should start on the day when a scheduled parliamentary session fails to take place.

April 20, 2004 - The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) issued a press release concerning the mayoral elections in Mukacheve (Zakarpattia region) on April 18, 2004. The full text can be found at www.osce.org/odihr.

April 19, 2004 - The Zakarpattia regional council's deputy head, Ernest Nuser, was declared the winner of the mayoral election in Mukachevo. The municipal election commission declared Nuser the winner despite the fact that the protocols from polling stations showed that the Our Ukraine coalition candidate, Viktor Baloha, received the largest number of votes.

April 8, 2004 - The draft law No. 4105 “On Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine,” was rejected by the Verkhovna Rada. The law received the support of 294 parliamentary deputies while its approval required the support of 300.

April 7, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada introduced elections to city, district and regional councils from political parties based on proportional representation. According to the law, it is envisaged that the elections of deputies at various levels will be held based on different electoral systems.

March 26, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada passed bill No. 4285-4 "On Election of People's Deputies of Ukraine" introducing parliamentary elections from political parties on a proportional basis.

March 18, 2004 - An almost unanimous vote (429 votes) was passed by the Verkhovna Rada, on a resolution that sets the date of the next presidential elections in Ukraine for October 31, 2004.

March 18, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada passed the new drafting of the law "On Elections of the President of Ukraine." The second reading for final passage of this law was approved by 400 votes.

March 17, 2004 - A moratorium was imposed by the Verkhovna Rada, on inspections of mass media organizations until the end of this year’s presidential election campaign.

February 3, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada amended the draft law No.4105 on political reform and withdrew the draft law's clause that provided for the election of the president of Ukraine by parliament.

December 24, 2004 - The Verkhovna Rada preliminarily approved, by a show of hands, the draft law No. 4105 on political reform. The bill was supported by 276 votes, with only 226 needed.