ELECTION WATCH (08/29/04)

ELECTION WATCH

Yushchenko still in the lead

KYIV - According to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on August 7-15, 30 percent of respondents intend to vote for Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko and 25 percent for Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the October 31 presidential election, Interfax reported. A similar KIIS poll one month earlier recorded the same level of support for Messrs. Yushchenko and Yanukovych. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko in Wall Street Journal

PRAGUE - In an article published in the international edition of the Wall Street Journal on August 24, Our Ukraine leader and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko wrote that Ukraine is facing a historic choice in the presidential election, which may bring "real change" to Ukrainian society. "On the one hand, my vision for Ukraine proposes a system founded on democratic European values, which will enable each citizen to realize their socioeconomic potential in a country governed by the rule of law," Mr. Yushchenko wrote. "On the other hand, those from the ruling regime propose preserving the current autocracy, which rules over competing financial-industrial groups." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Authorities warn of 'provocations'...

KYIV - The Procurator General's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Internal Affairs Ministry have issued a joint statement pledging to apply timely "preventive measures" against what they call possible "various dangerous provocations" on the part of the opposition, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported on August 22. "Some representatives of the opposition have announced that if they lose the presidential elections, they will call on Ukraine's population to express protest in the most extreme forms - a revolt," the statement read. "We deem it our duty to state that Ukraine's constitutional authorities will in no way yield to provocations and blackmail. We are fully resolute to prevent the hazardous ventures that are being organized by opposition staffs." (RFE/RL Newsline)

... Opposition denies allegations

KYIV - The Force of the People coalition, an election alliance backing Viktor Yushchenko's presidential candidacy, on August 23 refuted the government's statement that the opposition is preparing "various dangerous provocations" in the ongoing presidential election campaign, Interfax reported. The Procurator General's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Internal Affairs Ministry had issued a joint statement warning against such provocations and pledged to take preventive measures against them. "Having no hope for a victory of the pro-government candidate [Prime Minister Viktor] Yanukovych in a fair struggle, the authorities are preparing the ground for provocations and heating up the atmosphere of confrontation in society," the Force of the People coalition said in a statement. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Marginal candidates urged to quit

KYIV - Our Ukraine lawmaker Mykola Tomenko, head of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee for the Freedom of Expression and Information, on August 21 called on presidential candidates with low popularity ratings to quit the presidential race voluntarily, Interfax reported. Mr. Tomenko said that, according to surveys, support for 18 out of the 26 presidential candidates does not exceed 1 percent. Furthermore, he specified that these 18 candidates include 10 hopefuls with zero backing. "I request that these 10 unpopular candidates make the Ukrainian people happy and withdraw their presidential bids," Mr. Tomenko told journalists. According to Mr. Tomenko, such a large number of candidates in the presidential campaign makes it very difficult for the media to observe the principle of equality in reporting on presidential campaign developments. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Analysts outline Moscow's preferences

MOSCOW - In an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta on August 17, Effective Politics Foundation head Gleb Pavlovskii said that Viktor Yanukovych has a very good chance of winning the October 31 Ukrainian presidential election and that he has ambitions of becoming "a Ukrainian Putin." Mr. Pavlovskii added that President Vladimir Putin has definitely "placed his bet on Yanukovych," but said that some major Russian companies that are active in Ukraine "are trying to sit in two chairs at once" by making contributions both to Mr. Yanukovych and to Our Ukraine candidate Viktor Yushchenko. "I hope Putin will stop them," Mr. Pavlovskii said. "We do not need a new [Georgian President Mikhail] Saakashvili in Ukraine," Mr. Pavlovskii said. ORT commentator Mikhail Leontiev told polit.ru on August 18 that Mr. Yushchenko's campaign is "a special operation to detach Ukraine from Russia." He added, "Russia supports Yanukovych not because it likes him or because he is good, but because a victory for Yushchenko would be a disaster for Russia." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yanukovych accused of pressure tactics

KYIV - Our Ukraine lawmaker Serhii Soboliev has said that in the Zaporizhia Oblast in southeastern Ukraine "not a single signature in support of [Prime Minister] Viktor Yanukovych's [presidential bid] has been collected without pressure from the administration of various institutions," UNIAN reported on August 19. "I can cite dozens of examples how school directors, doctors, teachers, kindergarten educators, the managers of plants, enterprises and other state-run institutions forced [voters] to sign up for the pro-government candidate," Mr. Soboliev said. He speculated that Serhii Tyhypko, head of the Yanukovych presidential campaign staff, stopped the collection of signatures for Mr. Yanukovych out of fear that the number of votes cast for Mr. Yanukovych on October 31 will be "much lower" than the number of signatures collected to confirm his registration. Meanwhile, the private Channel 5 television quoted on August 18 from a statement by Mr. Tyhypko admitting that "zealous administrators who want to show Yanukovych their loyalty" have occasionally issued orders to collect signatures for Mr. Yanukovych and forced people to attend pro-Yanukovych rallies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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