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10/13/2004 | Englishman
October 13, 2004
Dirty tricks taint Ukraine election
From Jeremy Page in Kiev
UKRAINIAN democracy has never been pretty, but it has rarely been as messy as in the run-up to the presidential election this month.
First, a front-runner accused opponents of poisoning him. Then, his coalition partner was placed on the international wanted list. Not long after that, their closest rival was taken to hospital on being hit by an egg.
With less than three weeks until the election on October 31, campaigning has turned nasty, with a wave of dirty tricks and smears overshadowing real electoral issues.
There have been rumours that the poll might be cancelled and that a military parade planned for three days before the election could be a prelude for imposing martial law.
The ferocious campaigning is seen by many analysts as a proxy battle between East and West over the future of this former Soviet country of 47 million people, which now shares a border with the expanded European Union as well as Russia. And the tug of war has only intensified since President Putin turned his back on democracy by announcing plans to abolish local elections.
“This is really a historic choice for Ukraine, between the Western democratic model of development and the Eastern authoritarian one,” Yevgen Poberezhny, of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, said.
The poll will mark the end of President Kuchma’s ten-year rule, which has been characterised by oligarchic capitalism, authoritarian government and a diplomatic balancing act between Moscow and the West. The race to succeed him is between his chosen heir, Viktor Yanukovych, the Prime Minister, and Viktor Yushchenko, the West-inclined former Prime Minister. Mr Yanukovych has vowed to protect Mr Kuchma’s legacy and to promote integration with Russia, Ukraine’s largest trading partner, and Belarus, its diplomatically isolated northern neighbour. Mr Yushchenko promises to eradicate corruption, make Ukraine more open and democratic and to pursue integration with the EU and Nato.
The campaign was marred by scandal from the start, but in recent weeks it has lurched between the sinister and the absurd. Early last month, Mr Yushchenko was taken to a clinic in Austria for treatment after what his aides said was a poisoning attempt. They accused his rivals of trying to assassinate him.
Critics scoffed that he had been laid low by bad sushi and cognac and a parliamentary investigation found no evidence of foul play. But Mr Yushchenko, who returned from another bout of treatment in Austria on September 30, is clearly seriously unwell, his face partially paralysed.
“There’s no doubt that whatever it was, it has taken the wind out of his election campaign,” one Kiev-based diplomat said.
Again last month Russian military prosecutors put Mr Yushchenko’s coalition partner, Yuliya Tymoshenko, on the international wanted list after she refused to appear for questioning over charges that she had bribed Russian defence officials.
“This was just a PR stunt,” Ms Tymoshenko told The Times. “It was done by agreement between the Kremlin and Kuchma’s administration.”
Moscow, concerned about Western influence in its backyard, has made little secret of its bias, effectively endorsing Mr Yanukovych when he and Mr Kuchma visited Moscow over the weekend. “Russia will respect any choice of the Ukrainian people,” President Putin said when he met the pair, before adding pointedly: “We are not indifferent to this choice, of course.”
Russian and Ukrainian officials have, in turn, accused the West of interfering in the election. In the past few weeks, the US Ambassador to Ukraine has threatened sanctions against Ukrainian officials if the election is rigged. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said recently that campaign events have been disrupted, while students and public employees have been pressed to support Mr Yanukovych . Western observers say that state television is dominated by coverage of the Prime Minister.
There have also been allegations that Mr Yanukovych was the victim of an assassination attempt. He collapsed while campaigning last month and aides said that he had been struck in the head by a blunt object thrown by radicals supporting Mr Yushchenko. Video footage, however, shows that the object was an egg.
Neither leading contender is expected to win an outright majority and a run-off is scheduled for November 21.
Dirty tricks taint Ukraine election
From Jeremy Page in Kiev
UKRAINIAN democracy has never been pretty, but it has rarely been as messy as in the run-up to the presidential election this month.
First, a front-runner accused opponents of poisoning him. Then, his coalition partner was placed on the international wanted list. Not long after that, their closest rival was taken to hospital on being hit by an egg.
With less than three weeks until the election on October 31, campaigning has turned nasty, with a wave of dirty tricks and smears overshadowing real electoral issues.
There have been rumours that the poll might be cancelled and that a military parade planned for three days before the election could be a prelude for imposing martial law.
The ferocious campaigning is seen by many analysts as a proxy battle between East and West over the future of this former Soviet country of 47 million people, which now shares a border with the expanded European Union as well as Russia. And the tug of war has only intensified since President Putin turned his back on democracy by announcing plans to abolish local elections.
“This is really a historic choice for Ukraine, between the Western democratic model of development and the Eastern authoritarian one,” Yevgen Poberezhny, of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, said.
The poll will mark the end of President Kuchma’s ten-year rule, which has been characterised by oligarchic capitalism, authoritarian government and a diplomatic balancing act between Moscow and the West. The race to succeed him is between his chosen heir, Viktor Yanukovych, the Prime Minister, and Viktor Yushchenko, the West-inclined former Prime Minister. Mr Yanukovych has vowed to protect Mr Kuchma’s legacy and to promote integration with Russia, Ukraine’s largest trading partner, and Belarus, its diplomatically isolated northern neighbour. Mr Yushchenko promises to eradicate corruption, make Ukraine more open and democratic and to pursue integration with the EU and Nato.
The campaign was marred by scandal from the start, but in recent weeks it has lurched between the sinister and the absurd. Early last month, Mr Yushchenko was taken to a clinic in Austria for treatment after what his aides said was a poisoning attempt. They accused his rivals of trying to assassinate him.
Critics scoffed that he had been laid low by bad sushi and cognac and a parliamentary investigation found no evidence of foul play. But Mr Yushchenko, who returned from another bout of treatment in Austria on September 30, is clearly seriously unwell, his face partially paralysed.
“There’s no doubt that whatever it was, it has taken the wind out of his election campaign,” one Kiev-based diplomat said.
Again last month Russian military prosecutors put Mr Yushchenko’s coalition partner, Yuliya Tymoshenko, on the international wanted list after she refused to appear for questioning over charges that she had bribed Russian defence officials.
“This was just a PR stunt,” Ms Tymoshenko told The Times. “It was done by agreement between the Kremlin and Kuchma’s administration.”
Moscow, concerned about Western influence in its backyard, has made little secret of its bias, effectively endorsing Mr Yanukovych when he and Mr Kuchma visited Moscow over the weekend. “Russia will respect any choice of the Ukrainian people,” President Putin said when he met the pair, before adding pointedly: “We are not indifferent to this choice, of course.”
Russian and Ukrainian officials have, in turn, accused the West of interfering in the election. In the past few weeks, the US Ambassador to Ukraine has threatened sanctions against Ukrainian officials if the election is rigged. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said recently that campaign events have been disrupted, while students and public employees have been pressed to support Mr Yanukovych . Western observers say that state television is dominated by coverage of the Prime Minister.
There have also been allegations that Mr Yanukovych was the victim of an assassination attempt. He collapsed while campaigning last month and aides said that he had been struck in the head by a blunt object thrown by radicals supporting Mr Yushchenko. Video footage, however, shows that the object was an egg.
Neither leading contender is expected to win an outright majority and a run-off is scheduled for November 21.