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| Ambassador of the Ukraine, Mr. Yurii Bogaievsky voting for next President. |
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| On October 31st, Ukraine held elections for President. All around the world Ukrainian citizens chose a candidate, among the 24 that were running, to govern their country for the next 5 years. The Embassy of Ukraine in Brasília received Ukrainian voters all throughout the day. The atmosphere at the Embassy was of celebration for the solidification of the democracy in their country. One of the novelties of this election was the use of a transparent ballot box: after the voter chose his candidate, the ballot sheets could be seen inside the transparent ballot box. |
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| Novelty: transparent ballot. |
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| The Ukrainian community in Brazil is of around 400,000 people, including the descendants born in the country. Curitiba is considered to be the Ukrainian capital of Brazil due to the majority of Ukrainians residing there. There is even a monument of the famous Ukrainian poet Taras Shevtchenko in Curitiba who is considered to be a prophet and symbol of that country. |
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| The Embassy staff voting in Brasília. |
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| THE GUIDE interviewed the Ambassador of Ukraine in Brazil, Mr. Yurii Bogaievsky: |
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| THE GUIDE: When was the Embassy established in Brazil? |
| Ambassador: In Brazil our Embassy was established in 1995. However, our diplomatic relations started 12 years ago. |
| THE GUIDE: How are the relations between Ukraine and Brazil? |
| Ambassador: The relations are very good. Our President has already met with President Lula 3 or 4 times, one of them being at the meeting that was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. They also met in New York, where our President was invited to a breakfast offered by President Lula. In October of last year, President Leonid Kuchna paid his second official visit to Brazil, and in May of this year, on his way to China, President Lula made a three-hour stop in Ukraine's capital Kyv. All of these visits strengthen our relationship, which also testify the increase of exchange of delegations and trade between the two countries. This also resulted in the signing of new bilateral cooperation treaties. Today our areas of cooperation include science and technology, medicine, sports, culture and even law, where we signed a treaty of extradition and a bilateral agreement on cooperation against money laundering. |
| THE GUIDE: What is the meaning of this election to your country? |
| Ambassador: This is an important day for the 38 million Ukrainians that have been registered to vote for the next President. As a citizen of Ukraine, I feel positive in continuing this democratic process, which makes our society more united and reinforces the ties of good relationships with the international community. |
| THE GUIDE: How is the voting process in your country? |
| Ambassador: For these elections we had initially 26 candidates, of which 2 have then dropped for different reasons. As in Brazil, a second round may occur between the two candidates who received more votes, on November 21st. The elections in Ukraine have been kept under the observance of 4,028 representatives of other countries and international organizations. A novelty in this election is the the use, for the first time, of transparent ballot boxes. |
| THE GUIDE: And how are the elections at the Embassy? |
| Ambassador: Here at the Embassy, we have an election committee, the composition of which was approved by the Central Election Committee, which is responsible for the voying process that started at 8:00 a.m. and will be closed at 8:00 p.m. After that, the ballot sheets will be counted, and the results will be sent to the territorial election committee in Kyiv. In Brasília, we have less than 80 citizens from Ukraine, which also include staff of the Embassy and family members. |
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| Election Committee of the Embassy. |
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| Get to know more about Ukraine: |  |
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Full country name: Ukraine
Area: 603,700 sq km
Population: 47.43 million
Capital City: Kyiv (pop 2.6 million)
People: Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%
Language: Ukrainian
Religion: Ukrainian Orthodox, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic, Protestant, Jewish
Government: Republic
Head of State: President Leonid Kuchma
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| THE GUIDE congratulates the Embassy of the Ukraine on such an important day! |
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