NEWS AND VIEWS: Results of parliamentary elections reflect the reality of Ukrainian political landscape (05/05/02)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Results of parliamentary elections reflect the reality of Ukrainian political landscape

by Ihor Lysyj

The tone of international reporting and the majority of editorial comment on the conduct and the results of the parliamentary elections in Ukraine are generally negative. They reflect unjustified and unfulfilled expectations in the West of the ability of the democratic opposition led by Victor Yushchenko to achieve an absolute majority in the Parliament.

In the resulting avalanche of negative reporting, a number of significantly positive results of the elections have been overlooked. It is important to bring those positive consequences of the election to light.

The establishment of a strong and well-represented democratic center in the Verkhovna Rada that is in opposition to the oligarchic parties of power is an event not to be underestimated. The Our Ukraine bloc with 112 votes is a plurality party in the Parliament. Its leader, Mr. Yushchenko, is immensely popular with the electorate and has an excellent chance to be elected president of the country in the next presidential election two years from now.

The enormous amount of effort spent by the Russian political establishment in an attempt to influence the outcome of the Ukrainian elections was largely unsuccessful.

Those consequences of the elections are positive and represent a turn for the better in Ukrainian politics.

The gross violations of electoral processes by the government, and almost total suppression of the freedom of the press by the oligarchs who control the media did not produce the desired results for the pro-presidential parties. The Ukrainian electorate generally ignored media reporting dominated by the pro-Russian oligarchs and gave the plurality in the new Parliament to the democratic opposition forces led by Victor Yushchenko.

This phenomenon was characterized in The New York Times as "The Triumph of a Reluctant Critic" (referring to Victor Yushchenko). The fact that for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine the plurality party in the Parliament will not be Communist but a national democratic bloc is a major positive outcome of the parliamentary elections.

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of the elections was demonstrated by the utter failure of the Russian political establishment to influence the electoral process in Ukraine. This failure was, in spite of, or maybe because of direct and heavy-handed Russian interference in the political processes of Ukraine. The most glaring act of interference was publication of a list of political parties in Ukraine favored by Russia.

After a meeting of the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Moldava in Odesa, and two weeks prior to Ukrainian parliamentary elections, the head of the Russian presidential administration, Aleksandr Voloshin, listed Ukrainian political blocs and parties supporting consolidation of Russian-Ukrainian relations. According to press reports, this list favored by Russia included the political bloc "For a United Ukraine" (Kuchma, Lytvyn), the United Social Democratic Party (United) (Medvedchuk) and the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) (Symonenko).

As for Mr. Yushchenko's bloc, Our Ukraine, Mr. Voloshin said that "unfortunately, this bloc advocates political forces openly advocating an anti-Russian policy." (See "Ukraine: Election front-runner slams 'intrusion' by Russian politicians, the Financial Times, March 20.)

In spite of all Russian efforts to glorify and support their fellow travelers and smear the democratic opposition forces, the Moldavan election scenario (in which Communists achieved a majority in the Parliament) did not play out in Ukraine. Despite a much-heralded meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Communist Party boss Petro Symonenko in Moscow, and quite to the contrary of expectations, the Communists lost almost half of their seats in the Parliament. Their number was reduced from 113 seats to 66 seats, ending 10 years of Communist domination in the Verkhovna Rada. The Kremlin's political manipulators found to their great surprise and dismay that what worked so well in Russian election did not work at all in the Ukrainian elections.

Equally unsuccessful were major efforts by Kremlin spinmasters and political manipulators in support of oligarchic parties. The principal element of their strategy is to confuse and disorient the electorate by forming an endless procession of fictitious political parties, as well as political clones bearing the same names as legitimate parties. It did work beautifully in Russia by propelling Mr. Putin from virtual unknown into the presidential seat. It did not work in Ukraine, however, proving again that Ukraine is not Russia.

I have counted over 130 such political pseudo-parties in Ukraine. The majority came into being a few months before the elections. All were proven to be utter failures. To comprehend the amount of effort expended by the Russian spinmasters and their clients in Ukraine in creating this political masquerade and the enormity of their defeat one must review the final results of the election. While most readers know the statistics for the winners in the election, they might be interested also in knowing who the losers are. (See the chart on page 7.)

Physical violence against opposition candidates, wide-scale intimidation of the electorate, the media blockade of opposition parties by the oligarchs that control the outlets of communication, and the enormous expenditures of funds by the pro-presidential forces had only marginal effects on the outcome of election. The enormous effort by the Kremlin's spinmasters, plus well-documented outright electoral fraud, produced only a minor shift of a few percentage points in the favor of oligarchic candidates.

The parliamentary elections demonstrated once again the courage and the perseverance of the Ukrainian people in the face of adversity and their common sense despite the barrage of propaganda, distortion, and disinformation. And while Ukrainian political elites leave much to be desired, the perseverance and the steadfastness of the Ukrainian people carried the day, and deserves admiration.

Based on all of this one must conclude that the results of the parliamentary elections do indeed reflect the present political landscape of Ukraine. Thus, all one can say is that the elections were a qualified success for Ukraine on its evolutionary road to democracy.

Ihor Lysyj is a consulting environmental engineer and a free-lance writer who lives in Austin, Texas.

The final count: party results

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