Maryna Stavniychuk, President Victor Yushchenko’s deputy chief of staff and representative to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Central Election Commission, held a press briefing on Thursday, according to the President`s press-office.

Stavniychuk said preparations for early parliamentary elections on September 30 were underway and that Yushchenko’s top priority was to ensure that this poll is held in a democratic and transparent manner.

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She said the president had instructed regional officials to make sure everything is ready for the election and added that the presidential secretariat would soon send its representatives to the regions to oversee the technical and legal aspects of the campaign. 

Stavniychuk said the government’s efforts to organize the poll properly “could have been more dynamic and effective.”

She said the September 30 election was legitimate, describing the May 27 agreement by President Yushchenko, Premier Yanukovych and Speaker Moroz as a “legal and political reason” for it.  “All those who signed the Joint statement pledged to resolve Ukraine’s long-lasting political crisis through peaceful means.”