Pro-West forces winning narrowly in tight Ukraine elections

Oct 1, 2007, 15:18 GMT

Local electoral commission members sort ballots at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine, early 01 October 2007. Two pro-Western parties were winning narrowly in exit polls in Ukraine\'s hotly contested parliamentary elections Sunday, setting the stage for a possible breakthrough in the former Soviet republic\'s continuing political gridlock. EPA/STR

Kiev - A coalition led by pro-Western politician Yulia Tymoshenko's party had taken the lead according to Monday results in Ukraine's hotly-contested parliamentary elections, possibly setting the stage for a shift of political direction in the former Soviet republic.

With 79 per cent of votes from Sunday's elections reported early Monday, the anti-corruption Block of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) received 33.9 per cent, according to the Election Commission in Kiev.

The pro-Europe Our Ukraine National Self Defence (OUNSD), loyal to President Viktor Yushchenko, pulled in 14.9 per cent of the votes, and has been invited to join a coalition with Tymoshenko.

The two parties together held a substantial edge over Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich's pro-Russia Regions Ukraine party, a pro-big business group based in the Russian-speaking east and south of the country, and on track to receive 32.5 per cent, according data compiled by Ukraine's Central Election Commission.

The wafer-thin margin between Yanukovich and Tymoshenko placed possible king-making power in the hands of a third party willing to sell its alliance to the highest bidder, which was also the case after the March 2006 parliamentary elections.

Possibilities are the block of former parliament speaker Volodymyr Litvin, which received 4.0 per cent, and the Socialists scraping in with 3.1 per cent.

A pro-West alliance with the Communists, which received 5.2 per cent, is not on the table.

Tymoshenko in post-election press conferences repeatedly predicted that, once all ballots were counted, her party and OUNSD would obtain sufficient support to form a majority without needing a third ally.

If the present numbers hold through to the end of the official count, Tymoshenko's assertion would in fact be the case by the smallest of margins, giving the two parties between 226 and 228 seats in the 450-member house.

'We will wait for the vote count to be completed, and then we will form a democratic coalition,' a triumphant Tymoshenko said. 'We can and will form a majority ... without anyone else's help.'

An alliance controlled by Yanukovich and including the Communists and Socialist ran parliament since September 2006. The pro-Russia coalition stalled most economic reforms and talks with NATO, in favour of pro-big business legislation and going slow on fighting corruption.

Tymoshenko supports a nationwide anti-corruption campaign starting with an overhaul of the judiciary, and closer Ukrainian relations with Europe.

Return counting began immediately after polls closed. Ballot counts were proceeding normally except in two eastern and two southern provinces in the country, where some returns were delayed.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko was quick to warn election officials in those regions, all traditionally territories of strong support for Yanukovich, that election fraud was a major crime and that his government would prosecute it.

Possible miscount, or even falsification of even a small portion of the election returns, was a complicating factor in predicting which parties had enough support to form a coalition, as marginal differences in votes cast, could have a decisive effect on which parties could assemble a parliamentary majority.

International election observers gave the conduct of the vote a positive review. Turnout exceeded the 58-per-cent participation rate of last year's election, with around 62.5 per cent of registered voters having cast ballots this time around.

'Despite difficult conditions the elections were run professionally,' said Tone Tingsgaard, a spokeswoman for the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe.

'The elections in Ukraine in general met international standards,' said Michael Trend, a spokesman for the International Republican Institute.

European officials congratulated to the former Soviet republic for managing a free and fair election, and added their hopes the next step of the democratic process - forming a new government - would go equally smoothly.

'We hope that the results of these elections will be quickly implemented so that we can continue working with a stable government, and that the reforms in Ukraine can make headway,' a spokeswoman for the European Union's external-affairs commissioner told reporters.

'That also means to us that they are committed to continuing down the path of reforms,' she said.

'(The) elections represent a genuine opportunity for a fresh start in Ukraine and the chance to overcome the political crisis that has gripped the country,' said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.