The early election of Kiev’s Mayor, which was called because the authorities believe the current Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky works improperly, can end in his victory.
Photo: Andrey Fedoruk
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Preparing Yulia Tymoshenko for Resignation
// Mayor of Kiev has been elected
Today you can expect the outcome of the election of the Kiev Mayor, which was held Sunday. It can ensue another phase of struggle between Ukraine’s President Victor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko. Ahead of the voting day, Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko stated that the President’s Secretariat is planning to dissolve the government this week.
Dreaming of space
Two months ago the orange coalition claimed to topple Leonid Chernovetsky from his post of Kiev’s Mayor. Journalists poured scorn on Lenya Kosmos (Leonid Chernovetsky’s nickname in the mass media), politicians accused him of corruption, Yuliya Tymoshenko said she would fire him on the Day of Cosmonautics, and Yury Lutsenko even had a fist fight with him at the President’s Secretariat. But then the orange coalition turned out unable to nominate its candidate who could defeat Leonid Chernovetsky in the election – at least because Yuliya Tymoshenko and Victor Yushchenko, now confronting each other, haven’t managed to reach compromise over a single matter. Latest polls show that Mr Chernovetsky is the one whose chances are highest in this election.
President Victor Yushchenko, who came to a polling station yesterday, said that this time he cast his ballot for a candidate other than the one he voted for previously, because the situation has changed. Evidently, last time the President sympathized with Box ex-World Champion Vitali Klitschko. But this time, according to the information of Kommersant, the President’s circle decided to put a bet on Leonid Chernovetsky. The only thing that Ukraine’s President and Kiev’s current Mayor have in common is a row with Yuliya Tymoshenko. By the way, President Yushchenko added that he knows who will triumph in the election.
The camp of the Prime Minister was represented by Ms Tymoshenko’s right-hand man Alexander Turchinov. He is neither brilliant speaker, nor capable economic manager, that’s why Yuliya Tymoshenko campaigned instead of him. You could see Mr Turchinov and Ms Tymoshenko on billboards, you could also see him during rallies standing next to the BYuT leader barely uttering a word and only catching every word of hers. Yuliya Tymoshenko, in her turn, denounced President Yushchenko who impeded her government to work.
The pro-President Our Ukraine–People’s Self-Defense (OU-PSD) bloc didn’t nominate its candidate at all – because of the fissure within it. Some of the President’s former adherents have practically left for Yuliya Tymoshenko’s Bloc. Friday People’s Self-Defense leader and Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko claimed that Alexander Turchinov is a common candidate of the Democratic forces supported by the BYuT as well as the OU-PSD. Nonetheless, yesterday OU-PSD Chief Vyacheslav Kirilenko said that it was Mr Lutsenko’s personal position and the President’s bloc didn’t back Mr Turchinov at all.
Vitali Klitschko hoped throughout the electoral campaign that large parties would support him as Mayor Chernovetsky’s most principal adversary. But, for instance, Yuliya Tymoshenko said, “If the Democratic coalition needs to nominate a single candidate against Tyson, it will certainly be Mr Klitschko. But combating Chernovetsky is quite another matter.” Other top politicians took almost the same stance. As to Victor Yushchenko, he must have been embarrassed with Mr Klitschko’s pledge to form a coalition in the city council with the BYuT and cooperate with Yuliya Tymoshenko’s people.
73 brave people
The present early election of the Kiev Mayor and the city council were even more ridiculous than the previous campaigns. As many as 73 people were on the ballot, among them Natalya Popsuy of the Esfir café, businessman Anatoly Titechko, activist of the Trezvaya Ukraina (Sober Ukraine) movement Yury Kleynos, Igor Lysak of the Zemlegrad LLC, member of a children’s center Victor Mudrik, Alexander Vretik of a privately owned enterprise Posseydon, member of the Sovest Ukrainy (Ukraine’s Conscience) party Khachatur Khachaturyan, a dozen of unemployed people, those without party membership and unknown politicians starting their career.
Ahead of the election the mass media speculated much about various ways of buying votes. People made no secret of the fact that a vote cost 200 UAH on average, and if you were especially deft, you could get money from several candidates simultaneously. Besides, almost all major candidates gave out foodstuff to voters. One day during a rally a group of pensioners even reproached Vitali Klitschko for giving them only ice-cream, whereas Mayor Chernovetsky handed out buckwheat, which they needed more.
The major candidates filed a number of suits against each other and yesterday reported massive vote fraud. Candidate Klitschko, who was reputed Leonid Chernovetsky’s main rival, found out that his name was not included in final protocols with several polling stations, so it was impossible to count the ballots cast for him. Some candidates didn’t manage to vote because they were not included in the lists of voters. Obviously, the outcome, which is to be announced today, will be disputed for a long time. At that, by 3 p.m. only 30% of voters came to polling stations, which is “record-breaking.”
To stay afloat till 2009
In case Alexander Turchinov lives up to prognoses and fails to become the Mayor of Kiev, the Prime Minister will get a staggering blow. Kiev has always been Yuliya Tymoshenko’s stronghold, and her defeat will allow her opponents to claim that people don’t love her so much as she asserts. In this case the camp of the President is likely to engage in an open confrontation against Ms Tymoshenko.
Saturday Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko said that Victor Yushchenko’s Secretariat is planning to topple the government of Ms Tymoshenko. According to Mr Lutsenko, there has been planned a meeting of the Defense Council, where it’ll be declared that the work of the ministers is inadequate. This decision will ensue a vote of no-confidence in the Parliament. According to the Minister, a group of OU-PSD MPs from Presidential Secretariat Chief Victor Baloga’s circle will vote for the government’s resignation, and the formation of a new coalition will be launched.
If the scenario that Yury Lutsenko described is implemented, you can expect that a new coalition will consist of several OU-PSD MPs and those of the Party of the Regions. At the same time the rest of the OU-PSD headed by Yury Lutsenko and the BYuT will become opposition and begin preparing for the presidential campaign.
Nevertheless, you can’t rule it out that Mr Lutsenko’s statement is just a pre-emptive measure, and Victor Yushchenko won’t dare to topple Yuliya Tymoshenko. In this case the struggle between the President and the Prime Minister can last for ever. Officially, the presidential campaign starts late next year.
Mikhail Zygar
All the Article in Russian as of May 26, 2008
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