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Ukraine's Parliamentary Vote Close
April 1, 2002
By ANGELA CHARLTON
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A pro-Western banker eager to transform stagnant Ukraine cautiously welcomed his strong showing in parliamentary elections, but the Communist Party and a pro-presidential party looked like formidable foes, according to results Monday.
Sunday's election came after a stormy campaign that international observers said was biased in favor of federal and local authorities.
Voters put President Leonid Kuchma's controversy-shadowed but stable status quo to the test in their France-sized nation of 49 million. The close race reflected still-divided opinions about Ukraine's direction more than a decade after its independence from the Soviet Union.
With 47 percent of the vote counted, the reformist Our Ukraine party of former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko had 21.2 percent, the Communist Party had 20.2 percent, and the pro-presidential party For United Ukraine had 14.4 percent, the Election Commission said.
The opposition Socialist Party of former parliament speaker Oleksandr Moroz had 7.6 percent and the fiercely anti-Kuchma party of Julia Tymoshenko, a former deputy premier, had 6.3 percent.
Exit polls had indicated a weaker showing for the pro-presidential party and buoyed opposition leaders overnight.
Yushchenko, speaking to reporters Monday, questioned the official results and accused the authorities of ``cynical behavior,'' but expressed no doubt that his party would emerge the winner.
Andreas Gross, vice president of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, criticized the authorities for pressuring election workers and said the campaign favored pro-presidential candidates. He told The Associated Press that could have affected the outcome, though it was unclear by how much.
Another major monitoring group, comprising observers from Europe and North America, cited numerous violations, including some people voting twice.
Election Commission chairman Mykhailo Riabets said there were minor voting irregularities that he insisted would not affect the overall results.
It remained unclear who would dominate the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada, since only half its members are elected in voting by party. The rest of the seats will be filled by the winners of races between individuals in 225 electoral districts, and pro-presidential candidates were expected to do well in those contests.
Much will depend on which of the diverse parties build coalitions in the legislature. Yushchenko urged all ``democratic forces'' to unite. Kuchma ally Dmytro Tabachnyk speculated that For United Ukraine, the pro-presidential party, would wield enough clout to form a parliamentary majority.
The Communists dominated the outgoing parliament and blocked many reforms. Their leader Petro Symonenko came in second in 1999 presidential elections, but their popularity has been eroding.
Ukraine under Kuchma has lagged economically, wallowed in corruption controversies and frustrated foreign investors. Kuchma's reputation suffered a blow after the death in 2000 of outspoken journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, which prompted protests by opponents who accused the president of involvement. Kuchma denies the charge.
Despite Kuchma's troubles, many Ukrainians fear his opponents will resurrect botched reform plans of the 1990s and they see the president as a guarantor of stability.
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