Congratulating the people of Ukraine for conducting free, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections on March 26, 2006, and commending their commitment to democracy and reform.

        [Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 799 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 799

Congratulating the people of Ukraine for conducting free, fair, and
transparent parliamentary elections on March 26, 2006, and commending
their commitment to democracy and reform.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 4, 2006

Mr. Gallegly (for himself, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Ms.
Kaptur, and Mr. Levin) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Congratulating the people of Ukraine for conducting free, fair, and
transparent parliamentary elections on March 26, 2006, and commending
their commitment to democracy and reform.

Whereas the 2004 Orange Revolution, in which hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian
citizens engaged in peaceful demonstrations in Kiev and elsewhere to
protest the unfair runoff presidential election on November 21, 2004,
and the declaration by the Ukrainian Central Election Commission that
Viktor Yanukovich had won a majority of the votes, set Ukraine on the
path toward democracy;
Whereas on December 26, 2004, following a ruling of the Ukrainian Supreme Court
that the runoff presidential election was invalid and that a new
election be held, the people of Ukraine again went to the polls in what
the consensus of domestic and international observers declared as a more
democratic, transparent, and fair election process with fewer problems
than in the first round and invalidated November 21, 2004, vote;
Whereas on January 10, 2005, the election victory of opposition leader Viktor
Yushchenko as President was certified by the Ukrainian Central Election
Commission;
Whereas the United States maintains strong and friendly relations with the
people and Government of Ukraine;
Whereas the elections to Ukraine's parliament, known as Verkhovna Rada, were
held on March 26, 2006;
Whereas the March 26, 2006, elections were the first parliamentary elections
since 2002 and reflect the provisions of a new election law that calls
for the Verkhovna Rada to be elected according to the proportional
election system with votes allocated to political parties rather than
the previous law under which half of the representatives were elected on
a proportional basis and half were elected directly on a district-by-
district basis;
Whereas the parliament was elected in a free and fair multiparty election and in
accordance with international standards;
Whereas the conduct of these elections provide further evidence that the people
of Ukraine are building a democratic society based on free elections,
human rights, and the rule of law;
Whereas Ukraine is one of 55 participating States in the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), all of which have adopted the
1990 Copenhagen Document containing specific commitments relating to the
conduct of elections;
Whereas the OSCE-led International Observation Mission deemed the election to be
basically in accordance with the 1990 Copenhagen Document and respected
the fundamental and civil rights, such as freedom of expression and
assembly, allowing voters to make informed choices;
Whereas democratic elections are instrumental in furthering Ukraine's stated
desire to integrate into the European Union and the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO);
Whereas on February 17, 2006, the United States announced it had granted Ukraine
the status of market economy and on March 6, 2006 the United States and
Ukraine signed a market accession agreement promoting bilateral economic
cooperation and bringing Ukraine closer to accession to the World Trade
Organization;
Whereas on March 23, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law legislation
terminating the application of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974
(commonly known as the ``Jackson-Vanik amendment'') to Ukraine and
granting Ukraine permanent normal trade relations; and
Whereas 2006 was designated in Ukraine as the year of reforms in the areas of
court and administrative systems, energy saving, municipal economy,
health protection, agriculture, education and pension provision: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) commends the people and Government of Ukraine for
holding free, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections on
March 26, 2006;
(2) commends the people and Government of Ukraine for their
commitment to democracy and freedom; and
(3) acknowledges and welcomes the strong relationship
between the United States and Ukraine and pledges its continued
support for the strengthening of a fully free and open
democratic system in Ukraine, and reaffirms its support for
Ukraine's independence, territorial sovereignty, and Ukraine's
full integration into the international community of
democracies.
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