A report from Chernivtsi (10/31/04)

A report from Chernivtsi

by George Duravetz

CHERNIVTSI, Ukraine - Ukraine will be holding its third presidential election since independence was declared in 1991. This election is not only about choosing a president for another four-year term. Its outcome will determine the future course of Ukrainian history for years to come.

In theory, the idea of sending international observers to Ukraine was a good one, but there are over 30,000 polling stations located throughout the country and approximately 5,000 international observers to oversee them. Many of the observers will have come to Ukraine for the first time and will be overwhelmed by the unfamiliar environment. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of them will have little or no knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian and will be forced to rely entirely on translators provided by the Ukrainian government.

Observers have been instructed to watch for irregularities at the polling stations where they will be assigned. They will vigilantly watch the voting procedures at their respective polling stations to detect any ballot box stuffing, improper documentation presented by voters and be present when the ballot boxes are opened and ballots counted. The occurrence of fraudulent voting procedures at the polling stations is very unlikely. Ukrainian politicians are too sophisticated to resort to such primitive practices that would compromise them in the eyes of the world.

The dirty deeds have already been done months prior to the election. People in Chernivtsi, where I am now located, have related to me how government officials have threatened to fire any civil servant, such as workers in all levels of government, police, taxation, health, education and transportation or communication, if he or she fails to publicly endorse a particular candidate, i.e., the Kuchma administration's choice. School principals and hospital administrators have been exceptionally harsh in threatening their employees with termination of employment if the results at the local polling station are unfavorable.

In all large privatized industrial and commercial enterprises, the top management, directors and department heads have been calling meetings of all employees and bluntly telling them for whom to vote if they want to keep their jobs. It should be understood that employers, in order to avoid paying taxes and paying into the social services fund, pay the workers in two separate payments. Officially, they receive a basic wage out of which they pay income taxes, health insurance and deductions into the pension fund. The employer then pays each worker the rest of his wage in cash that is handed to him/her in an envelope. The employer may withhold this second payment at any time.

Pensioners, war veterans, military and security personnel have been bribed by receiving a 50 percent increase in their pensions and wages as of September 1. This sudden influx of cash into the economy has created an inflationary spiral resulting in an unprecedented rise in prices. It has been pointed out by economists that the national budget cannot sustain such an outlay long after the election.

Nevertheless, a large segment of the population has been terrorized into submission or taken the bait. The government and privately owned media have also brainwashed many to accept the inevitable - a victory for Viktor Yanukovych, if not in the first round on October 31 then in the second round on November 21.

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