Western diplomats come calling as parliamentary elections approach (02/24/02)

Western diplomats come calling as parliamentary elections approach

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and current European Union General Secretary Javier Solana headlined a virtual parade of Western diplomats who came calling to Kyiv in the last few days to get a closer view of how Ukraine's elections are shaping up.

The list of visitors included U.S. and European leaders, members of parliament and congressmen, who expressed various opinions as to how the Ukrainian elections to the Verkhovna Rada are proceeding. The elections, scheduled for March 31, are already fraught with controversy and mudslinging and much concern over alleged infractions of election law.

Dr. Albright, today head of the National Democratic Institute, an arm of the U.S. Democratic Party, attended a daylong forum of Ukrainian non-governmental organizations focusing on the pre-election situation on February 16. She told delegates that the United States is watching the election process with great interest, to see whether Ukraine is committed to democratic processes.

At a press conference the following day, after she had met with President Leonid Kuchma, Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh and the whole array of leading candidates and heads of the major political parties and blocs, Dr. Albright said there still is doubt about whether Ukraine is moving in the right direction.

"At this moment it is unclear whether the March 31 elections will mark a step forward for Ukraine's democratic future," said Dr. Albright.

She explained that while there had been improvements in the election law, there had also been far too many "credible reports of intimidation of journalists, denial of access to the media, unbalanced news coverage and abuse of power and illegal use of public funds and facilities."

Dr. Albright noted that in most cases only the government could fix the problems that had been observed. She explained that successful elections would significantly improve Ukraine's current image in the world and move the country considerably forward in strengthening its democratic institutions.

Meanwhile, Mr. Solana, who was in Kyiv on February 21 for a one-day visit - his fifth time in Ukraine - was less critical of the specific aspects of the electioneering currently occurring in the country. He underscored, however, that in a truly free and fair election everybody must have the ability to express an opinion and access the political process.

At the other end of the spectrum of critique, Canada's Secretary of State for Central and Eastern Europe Gar Knutson said on February 18 after meeting with Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatolii Zlenko in Kyiv that he saw no problems thus far in the Ukrainian elections.

"We were following the elections with interest. There are no particular alarm bells going ... right now," explained Mr. Knutson, according to RFE/FL Report.

The visits by the three Western diplomats came less than two weeks after a stop in Kyiv by another U.S. diplomat, current Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky. A political appointee of President George W. Bush who is a member of the Republican Party, Dr. Dobriansky had met also with state and government leaders to discuss the parliamentary elections and to call for transparency in the processes and an even playing field for all the candidates and political parties.

Dr. Albright's trip was followed within a day by the arrival of U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Bob Schaffer. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer, currently U.S. assistant secretary of state, was scheduled to follow them into Kyiv on February 22.

Another delegation of legislators, this one consisting of German members of Parliament, met with their Ukrainian counterparts on February 13-15 and came away with several less than shining observations regarding Ukraine's political development, including one by MP Gert Weiskirchen, who said that Ukraine's political parties do not represent the interests of society and the needs of the people, reported Interfax-Ukraine.

Although Ukrainian politicians have always listened warily when Western politicians have offered unsolicited advice, the surge of foreign politicians raised the ire of several, including leading members of the Socialist and Communist parties, who offered critical comments of their own, which amounted to calls to lay off.

However, a February 7 move by the U.S. Senate on a resolution regarding the Ukrainian elections, calling for transparent, free and fair democratic elections to Parliament, was met with an outright rebuke from the entire membership of the Verkhovna Rada on February 20. The various factions of the legislative body issued a common statement in which they demanded that the U.S. Congress not tamper in the internal affairs of the country and in the election process itself.

The visits by the foreign guests, and the discussions and the criticisms of various sorts did not change one thing: five weeks before Election Day Viktor Yuschenko's Our Ukraine political bloc continued to remain in a close race with the Communist Party of Ukraine for Parliament seats. Most significant surveys reported that each political organization had between 17 to 20 percent favor among respondents.

Another four groups, the Social Democratic Party (United), the Green Party, the Women for the Future political union and the For a United Ukraine political bloc had between 4 and 8 percent support.

Most political analysts are naming the six political organizations as likely winners in the March 31 elections.

However, three other groups are given an outside chance of crossing the 4 percent barrier of voter support needed to gain parliamentary seats. They are: the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Natalia Vitrenko Bloc and the Socialist Party. All three currently have 2 to 3 percent support.

| Home Page |