Secretary of state: U.S. cannot accept results of Ukraine's election as legitimate (11/28/04)

Secretary of state: U.S. cannot accept results of Ukraine's election as legitimate

by Yaro Bihun
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States cannot accept the results of the presidential election in Ukraine as announced November 24 by the Central Election Commission. Soon after the commission officially named Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of the controversial November 21 presidential run-off in Ukraine, Secretary Powell held a special briefing at the State Department, which began with his statement on Ukraine.

"We cannot accept this result as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse," he stressed. "We have been following developments very closely and are deeply disturbed by the extensive and credible reports of fraud in the election. We call for a full review of the conduct of the election and the tallying of election results."

Secretary Powell said that during the election campaign Ukrainian authorities repeatedly spoke about the importance of holding free and fair elections. "We deeply regret that they did not take the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to democracy and to be a model for the region and the world," he said. "It is still not too late for Ukrainian authorities to find a solution that respects the will of the Ukrainian people."

"If the Ukrainian government does not act immediately and responsibly, there will be consequences for our relationship, for Ukraine's hopes for Euro-Atlantic integration and for individuals responsible for perpetrating fraud," he added.

Earlier in the day, Secretary Powell spoke with President Leonid Kuchma "to press him to take advantage of these kinds of openings and also to caution him against the use of any kind of force against the demonstrators, and also encouraged him to use the legitimate means available to him to examine these election results and these allegations of fraud and abuse."

He also spoke with the leaders of the European Union, the government of Poland and the foreign minister of Russia.

"We call on all sides to work to achieve a fair and just outcome without the use of force. We remind the Ukrainian authorities that they bear a special responsibility not to use or incite violence," he said.

Earlier in the week, on the day after the election, the White House issued a one-paragraph statement in Crawford, Texas, which said the United States was "deeply disturbed by extensive and credible indications of fraud" in the conduct of the run-off.

The statement called on Ukrainian authorities to "review the conduct of the election" and not to certify its result until the issues of fraud are resolved. It also called on the government "to respect the will of its people" and "not to use or incite violence," among other things. It also urged all Ukrainians "to resolve the situation through peaceful means."

On the following day, the State Department spokesman informed the press that Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones had passed the U.S. view on the election to Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Mykhailo Reznik, and had also met with Russia's ambassador to Washington, Yuriy Ushakov.

"While we do not comment on the details of these meetings, we can confirm that Ukraine was discussed," the statement said.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who had visited Ukraine and had spoken out about developments there, noted that a Senate resolution passed a week earlier called for free and fair elections in Ukraine, and "threatened targeted sanctions against those responsible for thwarting the will of the Ukrainian people." He expressed the view that "we will have no choice but to move ahead with such actions soon, as we reassess our relations with the political leadership in Ukraine."

U.S. Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.), who addressed the November 24 mass demonstration in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, said that the United States should not recognize the Ukrainian Central Election Commission's action. "It should essentially refute it. The certification is totally out of bounds, and the U.S. should make that clear and not equivocate."

The commission can either recognize Viktor Yushchenko as the new president, the co-chairman of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus said, or hold a new election "under carefully supervised conditions - these are the only peaceful alternatives." He added, "The U.S. must not equivocate. Democracy is at stake here."

Former Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller, who has been monitoring the Ukrainian election, said in a telephone interview that the election was "totally fraudulent."

"It's irrecoverable as a reflection, or even approximate reflection, of the people's true will," he said in a telephone interview from Kyiv. He said the talks between opposing sides was, in his view, a "serious effort to come to some understanding."

"But the crux of the matter is that the election is so flawed that it's hard to believe that any of the Ukrainian people will have confidence in any result." All the observers - Ukrainian and international - are "in the same pew" in their assessment of the presidential elections in Ukraine, he noted.

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