Incident

Home page

Incident

Ukraine poll signals return to Russian influence

08 February 2010 22:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The opposition leader, Viktor Yanukovich, declared victory in Ukraineâ€™s presidential election after voters punished the West-leaning leaders of the Orange Revolution, but his rival has refused to concede defeat, APA reports quoting Sydney Morning Herald.
The outcome is a rebuke of the 2004 political movement, which was supposed to serve as a post-Soviet model, moving the country towards a Western European-style democracy.
A victory for Mr Yanukovich, if confirmed by election officials, would also be a triumph for Moscow in its struggle for influence with the West in the former Soviet Union.
The Kremlin has been infuriated by Ukraineâ€™s bid to join NATO, saying the West is infringing upon Moscowâ€™s traditional sphere of influence. Mr Yanukovich is vowing to abandon the plan.
The loser in the 2004 elections when the Orange uprising led to the courts annulling his initial victory as fraudulent, Mr Yanukovich promised to overcome Ukraineâ€™s economic crisis and divisions as president.
But with his margin of victory so far less than 3 per cent after a closer-than-expected vote, his challenger, the Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, who favoured joining NATO and the European Union, was not conceding.
Mr Yanukovich had 48.6 per cent of the vote while Ms Tymoshenko had 45.8 per cent, the Central Elections Commission said, based on results from 86.7 per cent of polling stations.
Another 4.5 per cent of ballots were cast â€™â€™against allâ€™â€™ in Sundayâ€™s run-off poll, in a sign of the disillusionment five years after the Orange Revolution. About 1.2 per cent of ballots were spoiled.
The Orange Revolution swept Ukraineâ€™s old order from power and created hopes of a new beginning in the strategically located state of 46 million people wedged between Russia and the European Union, but instead gave rise to political and economic turmoil. Ukraineâ€™s GDP shrank 15 per cent last year.
Under the incumbent President, Viktor Yushchenko, an Orange leader and resolute Kremlin foe, relations with Russia grew so tense that the Kremlin withdrew its ambassador to Ukraine. Mr Yushchenko lost his bid for another term in the first round of voting last month, his popularity hurt by the countryâ€™s hard times.
Mr Yushchenko and Ms Tymoshenko were once allies, but are now so estranged that he refused to endorse her in the run-off and instead urged Ukrainians to vote â€™â€™against allâ€™â€™ on the ballot.
The results pointed to a stunning comeback for Mr Yanukovich, who had been poised to grab the presidency in 2004 before the Orange uprising swept him aside and brought Mr Yushchenko to power.
Mr Yanukovich said the election had opened a â€™â€™new pageâ€™â€™ in Ukraineâ€™s history and reached out to Ms Tymoshenko supporters after the divisive campaign.
Ms Tymoshenko said: â€™â€™So long as the last count is not made, it is impossible to talk about any kind of results.â€™â€™
The Deputy Prime Minister, Olexander Turchynov, spoke of â€™â€™extensive falsificationsâ€™â€™.
Mr Yanukovich called on Ms Tymoshenko to accept the election and resign.