A young Ukrainian voter is given the honour of casting the first ballot

Holding free and fair elections are a defining moment in a country's history.

It is seen as a first if not essential step towards the promotion of human rights and the rule of law.

But it is not enough just for a country to claims that it is democratic - it has to show it.

The way to do that for emerging democracies is by inviting electoral observers in to see whether people could truly vote freely.

This is especially important for a country like Ukraine which has a history of election rigging and fraud.

We follow British election observer Gavin Aarvold to Ukraine as he ascertains how fair the election is.

Watch part one of this episode of People & Power on YouTube.