ELECTION WATCH (08/08/04)

ELECTION WATCH

Yushchenko wants TV debate

KYIV - Our Ukraine head Viktor Yushchenko wants to hold a television debate with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, his main rival in the presidential election, Interfax reported on August 3, citing Oleksander Zinchenko, the chief of the Yushchenko election staff. Mr. Zinchenko specified that such a debate should be moderated by an "independent" journalist and broadcast live.

Poll shows Yushchenko in the lead

KYIV - The Razumkov Center found in a poll conducted on July 22-28 that if a presidential election had been held "next Sunday" (i.e. August 1), Mr. Yushchenko would have been backed by 27.9 percent of voters, Yanukovych by 21.1 percent, Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko by 9.8 percent, and Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz by 6.5 percent. In regional terms, Mr. Yushchenko is supported by 50.9 percent of voters in central Ukraine, 65.6 percent in the country's western regions, 19.9 percent in the south, and 15.3 percent in the east. Yanukovych is backed by 47.4 percent of voters in the east, 37.4 percent in the south, 17.2 percent in the center, and 12.2 percent in the west. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Five new candidates are registered

KYIV - The Central Election Commission officially registered Hryhorii Chernysh, the leader of the Party for the Rehabilitation of the Ukrainian Nation; Vladyslav Kryvobokiv, the leader of the Popular Party of Depositors and Social Protection; Mykhailo Brodskyi, the leader of the Yabluko Party; Ihor Dushyn, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party; and independent candidate Andrii Chornovil, an assistant professor at Lviv State Medical University, as candidates in the October 31 presidential election, Interfax reported. The number of registered candidates stands at 20. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Two more candidates join race

KYIV - The Central Election Commission on July 29 officially registered Vitalii Kononov, the leader of the Green Party, and Volodymyr Nechyporuk, the head of the newly created People's Power Party, as candidates for the presidential election, Interfax reported. Mr. Nechyporuk was registered after correcting and resubmitting his documents which had included provisions, as the Supreme Court noted, inconsistent with the Constitution of Ukraine. The number of registered candidates stands at 22. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv mayor becomes 23rd candidate

KYIV - The Central Election Commission on August 2 registered Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko as the 23rd candidate on the October 31 presidential ballot, Ukrainian news agencies reported. Last week the Central Election Commission ceased accepting applications for the registration of new presidential candidates. The commission still has to consider more than a dozen such applications. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Presidential race has 24 participants

KYIV - The Central Election Commission registered National Academy of Sciences Secretary Serhii Komisarenko as the 24th presidential candidate on August 3, Ukrainian news agencies reported. Mr. Komisarenko may close the list of presidential candidates for the October 31 election if the commission by August 6 rejects a complaint by a contender who was refused registration on August 3. To be on the October 31 ballot, each registered candidate must submit 500,000 signatures in support of his or her candidacy by September 20. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lawmaker claims campaign violations

KYIV - Mykola Tomenko, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee for Freedom of Speech and Information, sent a statement on July 28 to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych informing him of events during the election campaign that do not comply with official regulations of the presidential election campaign and violate freedom of speech, Interfax reported. Mr. Tomenko said that Viktor Yanukovych's government and regional authorities exert pressure on the media, which is trying to remain independent of the government. He cited the example of the Donetsk-based Ostriv newspaper, which 15 publishing houses have refused to print. According to Mr. Tomenko, in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions "there are negotiations" with cable operators to remove Channel 5 from cable networks. Mr. Tomenko intends to conduct a session for members of the Central Election Commission regarding the rules of media participation in the election campaign. (RFE/RL Newsline)

5 percent rise noted in support for PM

KYIV - The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found in a poll conducted on July 19-27 that if a presidential election had been held on August 1, 62.9 percent of voters would have participated in it, Interfax reported. Of those declaring their intent to go to the polls, 29.9 percent would have voted for Our Ukraine opposition-bloc leader Viktor Yushchenko, while Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych would have been backed by 25.2 percent of voters, Communist Party leader Symonenko by 8.8 percent, Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz by 6 percent, and Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Party leader Anatolii Kinakh by 2.1 percent. In comparison with a similar poll held by the same pollster one month earlier, Mr. Yanukovych's poll rating rose by 5 percentage points, while Mr. Yushchenko's remained the same. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko, Moroz sign fair election pact

KYIV - Our Ukraine head Viktor Yushchenko and Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz, two major presidential candidates, on August 2 signed an agreement for a "fair election," Interfax and UNIAN reported. The politicians pledged to pool efforts in monitoring the vote and exposing violations of the law during the election campaign. Mr. Yushchenko said he hopes to sign a similar agreement with another presidential candidate, Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko. Commenting on President Leonid Kuchma's decision not to run for a third term, Mr. Yushchenko said the option of making President Kuchma the country's prime minister after the election has not been ruled out. (RFE/RL Newsline)

4 million back PM's candidacy

KYIV - Four million signatures have been collected to back the presidential candidacy of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Interfax reported on July 31, quoting Serhii Tyhypko, the chief of Mr. Yanukovych's election staff. According to Ukraine's law on presidential elections, a registered candidate for the October 31 election must submit at least 500,000 signatures in support of his or her candidacy to the Central Election Commission by September 20. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Priests prohibited from campaigning

KYIV - Taking into account the peculiarities of the social situation in Ukraine before the forthcoming elections, bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church strongly advised that UGCC priests refrain from taking part in the election campaign. This was stated in a decree adopted by the 23rd Session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv and Halych Metropolitanate of the UGCC and released on June 17. According to this decree, priests are forbidden to run for office in state administrative bodies or institutions of local or provincial government, representing any political parties. As an exception, priests are allowed to run for bodies of local or provincial self-government with permission from the local exarch. In addition, the bishops approved an outline for a statement on the election campaign in Ukraine and "Instructions for Priests during the Pre-election Period." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Christian Party nominates incumbent

UZHHOROD - The assembly of the Ukrainian Christian Movement Party, which took place in the southwestern Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod on July 11, nominated incumbent President Leonid Kuchma as a candidate for the presidency. If President Kuchma refuses to run for president, Sister Taisia (Tamara Zviahintseva), a party leader and a nun, will become the party's candidate. Sister Taisia said the Orthodox faithful "should by no means vote for Viktor Yushchenko This person is anathematized and this anathema will fall upon ourselves if we support him." According to the Portal-Credo news agency, she was probably referring to Mr. Yushchenko's support for establishment of a single Orthodox Church under the Kyiv Patriarchate. Speaking about Mr. Kuchma, Sister Taisia said that "this is a person who's been in power We already know him and know what to expect from him," she said. "Leonid Kuchma is the only person who can manage the country. Our task is to help him. Any other president will suppress Christianity," she added. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

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