ELECTION NOTEBOOK (02/19/06)

ELECTION NOTEBOOK

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - More than 36 million Ukrainians are on the nation's election lists and eligible to vote, which is 849,000 less than the 2004 lists, Central Election Commission Chair Yaroslav Davydovych told the Verkhovna Rada on February 9. The list is shorter partly because the CEC managed to exclude more deceased people and so-called "doubles," those casting their votes several times in different electoral precincts, Mr. Davydovych said.

Party of the Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych accused Our Ukraine city leaders of exploiting administrative resources and pressuring citizens. At a February 10 press event in Dnipropetrovsk, Mr. Yanukovych said these officials were pressuring the chairs and members of election commissions, threatening to fire them. Certain Cabinet ministers and government administrators have begun pressuring directors of schools and medical centers with certain election-related tasks, he said.

The Party of the Regions is using the resources of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate as part of its political campaign, alleged Yurii Artemenko, the Our Ukraine Bloc's election campaign chair in the Zaporizhia oblast. "To conduct political campaigning in a church is unacceptable and unethical," Mr. Artemenko said on February 13. "So how can [Viktor Yanukovych] talk about using administrative resources, when he himself shows no disdain from using church administrative resources?"
KYIV - More than 387,000 voters are registered to vote in foreign electoral precincts for the March 26 parliamentary elections, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Valentyn Nalyvaichenko told a February 13 press conference at the ministry. The Ukrainian government will make voting available at 114 precincts situated in 78 countries, including those where Ukrainian peacekeepers are based, namely Serbia and Montenegro, Lebanon and Liberia. Pre-registration is no longer a requirement at the various embassies and consulates, so voter participation is expected to be very high, he said.
KYIV - Anticipation is growing for the announcement of a possible Orange coalition uniting for the parliamentary elections, as prompted by February 14 comments from Our Ukraine legal director Roman Zvarych. The Our Ukraine Bloc, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Socialist Party, the Pora-Reforms and Order Bloc and the Kostenko-Pliusch Bloc will sign an agreement by the weekend, he said. The signing has been delayed for weeks due to the poor health of certain leaders in the potential coalition, he said. "I can guarantee that the deal will be signed and the Orange coalition will be at least 90 percent restored in a matter of weeks," Mr. Zvarych said on February 10. Responding to reporters' questions, he said the Our Ukraine Bloc never has and never will enter talks to form a coalition with the Party of the Regions or the Lytvyn People's Bloc.
KYIV - While there's plenty talk of a coalition, Pora-Reforms and Order Party Bloc leader Markian Lubkivskyi said he doubts an Orange coalition re-unification will take place. At a February 15 press conference at the party's Podil headquarters, Mr. Lubkivskyi said the Pora-Reforms and Order Bloc has been doing all it can to form the coalition. If the efforts fail, the Pora-Reforms and Order Bloc will reveal who specifically is blocking its creation, he said. When asked by reporters who is standing in the way, Pora leader Yevhen Zolotariov hinted of "Pora black list members" and "Kuchmists" who have joined the Orange blocs. Mr. Lubkivskyi is skeptical that a coalition will result. "As an exceptionally practical and pragmatic person, I don't have any illusions," he said. It is well-known that as one if its prerequisites to forming a coalition, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc requires that Ms. Tymoshenko be nominated for the prime minister's post, a scenario currently opposed by the Our Ukraine bloc.
KYIV - After the March 26 parliamentary elections, it is highly likely that at least one Ukrainian national of American descent will become a national deputy in the Verkhovna Rada. Roman Zvarych is listed as 25th on the Our Ukraine Bloc's electoral list. Mr. Zvarych had previously served in the Verkhovna Rada between 1998 and 2005. After the Orange Revolution, he served as Ukraine's justice minister until September 2005, when President Viktor Yushchenko sacked his Cabinet of Ministers.

| Home Page |