NEWSBRIEFS (04/12/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

Votes still being counted in Ukraine

KYIV - The Central Election Commission is planning to announce the final results of the March 29 elections early next week, Chairman Mykhailo Riabets told journalists in Kyiv on April 6. Mr. Riabets also said the commission has received many complaints of election violations throughout the country. An eight-member team is investigating complaints from the Dnipropetrovsk region, where the number of votes scored by the Hromada Party is half that received nationwide. Hromada is led by former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, who is an opponent of President Leonid Kuchma. Meanwhile, the Agrarian Party, which did not overcome the 4 percent vote barrier, has claimed that its votes in several constituencies were appropriated by other parties. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Parties claim election fraud

KYIV - Several political parties have accused the government of falsifying the results of the March 29 elections, but those parties have brought no evidence to support their charges, Agence France Presse reported on April 1. "We are 100 percent certain that the results were falsified," Dmytro Ponomarchuk of the Rukh Party said. "Mass falsifications were organized by the president and his administration. They stole half our votes," Viktor Omelych of the Hromada Party commented. The Communists, who won the elections, also claim they were deprived of some 20 percent of their tally. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cabinet to remain largely unchanged

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told journalists in Kyiv that the government line-up will remain largely the same, Interfax reported on April 1. Yevhen Kushnariov, head of the Presidential Administration, did not rule out the possibility that the president and the government will hold consultations with the new parliamentary factions on the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers. He said the preliminary election results give no reason to suggest that the new Verkhovna Rada will be opposed to President Kuchma. Mr. Kushnariov also commented that, judging from statements by political leaders, "there are signs of the formation of temporary or permanent centrist or center-right coalitions in the Parliament." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian foreign minister to resign?

KYIV - Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko is to hand in his resignation of his own free will, ITAR-TASS reported on April 2, citing what it called a well-informed source in Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry. But Mr. Udovenko will continue to serve as president of the United Nations General Assembly, the same source said. Mr. Udovenko has been elected as a national deputy to the Verkhovna Rada, and observers believe he is being considered for the post of Parliament chairman. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma decree abolishes secrecy

KYIV - Ukraine has implemented one of the main requirements laid down by the Council of Europe which deals with abolition of secrecy on information concerning the death penalty. The news was announced by the head of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe, Borys Oliinyk, on March 20. He noted that President Leonid Kuchma had signed the relevant decree abolishing such secrecy. Mr. Oliinyk said information about people executed since 1995 will be made public soon. He said Ukraine had appealed to the Council of Europe with an appeal for assistance in the preparation of a draft law on replacing capital punishment with life imprisonment. The CE says Ukraine has executed 13 people since becoming a member, though Ukraine's Justice Ministry says just nine people have been executed. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine's per capital GDP is low

KYIV - Ukraine's per capita gross domestic product is just 4.4 percent of the average indicator in European Union countries. According to the European Choice project manager Natalia Lubkovych, "data collated confirms that the main criteria which differentiates Ukraine from EU countries is the low standard of living." EU states spend 30 times more on social provision than Ukraine. Ukrainians own just one-fifth of the total number of cars owned by their European counterparts. (Eastern Economist)

Russia to open consular office in Kharkiv

KHARKIV - A Russian consular office is expected to open shortly in Kharkiv. The office will cover the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy and Luhansk oblasts. At least five diplomats will work at the new office. (Eastern Economist)

Odesa University Gets Know-How Money

ODESA - Odesa State University received a grant worth 20,000 pounds from the British Know-How Fund on March 17. These funds will be used for introduction of a new major, public relations management, which will be offered in the next academic year. (Eastern Economist)