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1. WILL SUNDAY'S UKRAINE VOTE BREAK POLITICAL DEADLOCK?
The Orange Revolution parties, mired in infighting, reached an impasse with

pro-Russia Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, spurring emergency elections.
By Fred Weir, Correspondent, The Christian Science Monitor
Boston, Massachusetts, Friday, September 28, 2007

2. UKRAINE'S ORANGE-BLUE DIVIDE
Similar to the red-blue political split in the US, it has brought the
government to a standstill - forcing emergency elections Sunday.
By Fred Weir, Correspondent, The Christian Science Monitor
Boston, Massachusetts, Friday, September 28, 2007

3. UKRAINIAN BAND OKEAN ELZY SINGER CALLS FOR UNITED
UKRAINE TO AVOID CONSTANT ELECTIONS
Vakarchuk defends Orange Revolution ideals, asks people to be patient
Kostis Geropoulos, New Europe Issue 749
Brussels, Belgium, Wed, 26 September 2007

4. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, RIVAL IN SHOW OF UNITY
Associated Press (AP), Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, September 27, 2007

5. UKRAINE LEADER EMBRACES EX-PM, URGES "ORANGE" VOTE
By Ron Popeski, Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Thu Sep 27, 2007

6. TYMOSHENKO EYES NEW ALLIANCE WITH PRESIDENT
Daniel McLaughlin in Lviv, Ukraine, Irish Times
Dublin, Ireland, Irish Times, Thursday, Sep 27, 2007

7. UKRAINE VOTES
Country faces enormous economic challenges as it heads to the polls.
Commentary: By Bruce P. Jackson, The Daily Standard

Washington, D.C. Thursday, September 27, 2007

8. UKRAINE'S CONTENDERS FIGHT OVER JADED POPULACE
By Roman Olearchyk and Stefan Wagstyl, Financial Times
London, United Kingdom, Thursday, September 27, 2007

9. UKRAINE: HARVEST TIME FOR FARMERS' VOTES
Analysis: By Jim Davis, Business Ukraine magazine
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 24, 2007

10. POLITICAL TURMOIL FAILS TO STUNT UKRAINE'S GROWTH
By Conor Humphries, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, September 27, 2007

11. PROGRESS ALONG THE ROCKY ROAD TO DEMOCRACY
Commentary: Peter Dickinson, Business Ukraine magazine
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 24, 2007

12. DEVOID OF ORANGE REVOLUTION OPTIMISM, UKRAINE
HEADS INTO FOURTH ELECTION IN THREE YEARS
Associated Press (AP), Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sep 27 2007

13. UKRAINE: PLAYING THE POPULIST CARD
By Jan Maksymiuk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, September 27, 2007

14. UKRAINE'S POLITICAL CLANS GRID FOR AFTER-THE-

21. SOCIAL POLICY AMONG POLITICIANS: EVE OF EARLY ELECTIONS
Analysis: By Yaroslav Varyvoda, UCIPR project expert
"Civic Education in the 2007 Parliamentary Elections".
Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 17, 2007

22. UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION THROUGH

CRYSTAL BALLS - AND NAIL VARNISH
By Sebastian Smith, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday September 27, 2007

23. UKRAINE: SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE
Commentary: Andrei Levkin, Polit.ru, Moscow, Russia, Thu, Sep 27, 2007

24. UKRAINE'S ELECTION, PREPARING FOR THE NEXT DRAMA
Real test for Ukraine's warring parties will come after this weekend's election
The Economist print edition, London, UK, Thu, Sep 27, 2007

25. WHO LOST UKRAINE? THE WRONG QUESTION
Commentary: Samuel Charap, International Herald Tribune (IHT)
Paris, France, Thursday, September 27, 2007

26. UKRAINE: HERE WE GO AGAIN
Political problems run deeper than another set of elections can possibly fix.
Analysis and Commentary: by Ivan Lozowy, Transitions Online (TOL)

Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, 26 September 2007

27. 'IN UKRAINE ALL VICTORIES ARE FLEETING'
Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov discusses the early parliamentary

election on Sunday, the unfulfilled promise of the Orange Revolution

and the real powerbrokers in Ukraine.
Opinion: By Andrey Kurkov, Ukrainian Novelist
Der Spiegel Online magazine, Germany, Thu, Sep 27, 2007

28. BEAUTIFUL BUT TOUGH: TYMOSHENKO ATTACKS TYCOONS
By Stefan Korshak, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA)
Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, September 26, 2007

pro-Russia Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, spurring emergency elections.

By Fred Weir, Correspondent, The Christian Science Monitor
Boston, Massachusetts, Friday, September 28, 2007

LVOV, Ukraine - A little thrill swept through the thousands assembled on
Lvov's main square when Yulia Tymoshenko, dressed in a flowing pink robe
and her hair in her trademark peasant braids, took the stage.

To warm up, the heroine of the 2004 "Orange Revolution" sang a patriotic
song with one of the country's top rock groups.

Then she launched into a passionate, 85-minute speech to convince skeptics
that Ukraine remains on the path to democracy and integration with the West,
despite the past three years of debilitating political crisis.

A victory for her Fatherland Party (BYuT) in this Sunday's emergency
parliamentary elections could bring a breakthrough, she insisted. "I will do
what needs to be done, I promise you that," she said, to scattered applause.

Ms. Tymoshenko is not alone in billing this campaign as a battle for
Ukraine's soul, between the Western-leaning Orange parties led by herself
and President Viktor Yushchenko, and the pro-Russian "Blue" Party of
Regions headed by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.

But some voters say they're exhausted, and increasingly skeptical, because
this is Ukraine's fourth election in less than three years, and most surveys
suggest the lineup in the 450-seat Supreme Rada is unlikely to change.

"It's impossible not to feel disillusioned," says Nikolai Zhupylo, a social
psychologist with the independent Socionika Center in Lvov. "There is a
growing part of the population that will never again be interested in
politics. Now people are more concerned with solving their own personal
problems."

All surveys taken in early September, before a ban on publishing preelection
polls came into effect, put Mr. Yanukovich's party in the lead with about a
third of the votes.

Tymoshenko's BYuT comes second with up to 23 percent, while Mr.
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine coalition trails with under 15 percent. Of 20 or
so small parties in the running, only the Communists appear poised to hurdle
the 3 percent barrier for winning seats in the Rada.
'STRONG TEMPTATION' TO FIX BALLOTS
Recent elections in Ukraine have been deemed clean and fair by international
observers, but concern about voter fraud - thought to have been banished by
the pro-democracy Orange Revolution - have resurfaced during the current
campaign.

Under Ukraine's election system, voters cast their ballots for a national
party rather than a locally-based candidate. Thus, authorities in the
heavily Orange west and Blue east have inducements to maximize their party's
showing by any means possible.

"Half of Ukraine supports Orange, and the other half Blue, so a tiny
additional margin added by cheating could make all the difference," says
Roman Koshovi, Lvov chairman of the Committee of Ukrainian Voters, an
independent monitoring group. "The temptation to fix some ballots will be
very strong on all sides."

Last week Ukraine's SBU security service, which is controlled by Yushchenko,
accused regional authorities in the eastern region of Kharkov of registering
almost 100,000 nonexistent persons on the voter rolls.

Tymoshenko has alleged that recent amendments to election laws introduced by
Yanukovich's government could deprive more than 1 million Ukrainians of
their right to vote and enable corrupt local authorities to stuff ballot
boxes. "Ukraine is again facing the threat of massive falsification," she
warned.

All three big political parties are already pitching tents and positioning
supporters on Kiev's central Maidan square - where the Orange Revolution
unfolded - in order to launch mass protests if Sunday's results show any
suspicious gains for either side.

To avoid such turmoil, Ukraine's nongovernmental groups intend to carry out
four separate nationwide exit polls, and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe has sent 600 election observers to monitor the
counting.
WHY ORANGE LOST MOMENTUM
Many Ukrainians blame Yushchenko for fumbling the opportunity handed to him
by the Orange Revolution, which vaulted him into power with a mandate to
introduce sweeping market reforms, take Ukraine into NATO and prepare it for
eventual membership in the European Union.

Instead, the Orange coalition dissolved as Yushchenko quarrelled with, then
fired, Prime Minister Tymoshenko. Parliamentary polls last year brought
Yanukovich back as president. Most of the time since has been consumed with
infighting between president and parliament.

Though Ukraine's economy boasts an estimated growth rate of 7 percent this
year, reforms are on hold pending resolution of the political deadlock.

A recent survey by the Kiev-based Institute of Social and Political
Psychology found that corruption is rampant, with over half of Ukrainians
reporting that they regularly pay bribes to officials to get things done.

"A lot of public money is supposedly directed at fixing up this city's
infrastructure, but the results suggest that much of that money just goes
missing," says Igor Gulik, editor of the liberal daily Lvivskaya Gazeta in
Lvov.
WHAT WILL NEW PARLIAMENT DO?
If the Orange and Blue forces are evenly matched, experts say, much will
depend on the ability of the fiery Orange populist, Tymoshenko, to cobble
together a large enough parliamentary coalition to become prime minister; if
not, the pro-Moscow technocrat Yanukovich is likely to return.

Both rivals of Yushchenko, Tymoshenko and Yanukovich are already angling
for the main prize: to unseat him when the next presidential polls roll
around in 2009. Some experts suggest that it might be better to get that over

with sooner.

"I don't see the outcome of these elections solving Ukraine's crisis of
power," says Anatoly Romaniuk, a political scientist at Ivan Franko
University in Lvov. "If the crisis deepens, it will push Ukraine toward
early presidential elections, and that might provide a clear resolution and
a way forward."
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2. UKRAINE'S ORANGE-BLUE DIVIDE
Similar to the red-blue political split in the US, it has brought the
government to a standstill - forcing emergency elections Sunday.

By Fred Weir, Correspondent, The Christian Science Monitor
Boston, Massachusetts, Friday, September 28, 2007

It's similar to the red-blue political divide in America - except it's
orange-blue. And there's a much longer history behind it.

Ukraine's bitter west-east schism is reflected in the political deadlock
between its "Orange" and Blue parties that has nearly paralyzed the state
for the past year.

As the country of 50 million heads into parliamentary elections Sunday
intended to break the stalemate, the two sides remain separated by language,
religious traditions, societal histories, and geopolitical preferences. Some
analysts suggest that, given such divisions, political standoffs could
perpetually reoccur.

According to the independent Kiev International Institute of Sociology,
people in Ukraine's eight western provinces, who make up about a quarter of
the electorate, are eight times more likely to vote for the "Orange" parties
headed by President Viktor Yushchenko and former Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, which stand for integrating with the European Union, joining
NATO, and keeping Moscow at a distance.

In the three eastern provinces, also containing a quarter of the electorate,
people are eight times more likely to vote for the "Blue" Party of Regions,
headed by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, which wants to make Russian
the second official language, forge closer economic ties with Russia and
stay out of NATO.

"The electoral forces supporting the two sides are almost equal, ensuring
that any parliamentary majority will be small and fragile," says Oleksander
Shushko, an analyst with the independent Institute for Euro-Atlantic
Integration in Kiev.

"These deep divisions in the country ensure that the political standoff will
keep returning, and the best way to deal with it is to hold more elections."
AN EAST-WEST SPLIT WITH DEEP ROOTS
The western part of Ukraine, known as Galicia, was part of the Catholic
states of Austria-Hungary and Poland for hundreds of years before Soviet
dictator Joseph Stalin forcibly annexed it to the Soviet Union after World
War II. Decades of brutal Soviet repression have left powerful anticommunist
and anti-Russian feelings that still linger here.

Oleksandr Gumeniuk is a veteran of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which
fought a desperate guerrilla war against Soviet forces in the forested
Carpathian mountains near here - with covert help from the US - for more
than 10 years after the end of World War II.

Though the USSR vanished 16 years ago, Mr. Gumeniuk and a dwindling
handful of survivors from that shadowy conflict remain one of the most
explosive issues on a list of flashpoints that profoundly divide Ukrainians
and have kept the country in a state of rolling political crisis for the
past several years.

While many here in the Ukrainian-speaking, nationalist west think the
anti-Soviet veterans should be given military pensions and treated as
Ukrainian patriots, their demands provoke fury in the heavily Russified east
of Ukraine, where most accepted Soviet rule and millions served in the Red
Army.

"Ukrainian independence today is a direct consequence of our struggle," says
Gumeniuk, head of a local veterans' group, who was captured by the Soviet
secret police and spent 12 years in a Siberian prison camp after the war.
"We just want to be recognized. History should record that we fought for
Ukraine's freedom."

Three years ago, when news came that then-presidential candidate Mr.
Yanukovich of the Blue side may have stolen the election from the Orange
champion Viktor Yushchenko, thousands of people in Lvov boarded buses and
headed for the capital, Kiev, to protest.

"I was one of the first to arrive in Kiev, and the streets were already full
of people passionately supporting Yushchenko," says Anatoly Romaniuk, a
political scientist at Ivan Franko University in Lvov. "For many of us, it
was the moment when we would finally begin to build a truly independent and
democratic Ukraine."

The Greek-Catholic Church, an amalgam of Orthodox rites and Catholic dogma
that was banned during Soviet times has since revived, now holding the
allegiance of more than half of religious believers in western Ukraine, says
Andriy Yurash, a religion specialist at Lvov State University.

Along with two Ukraine-based Orthodox sects, the Greek-Catholic Church came
out in full support of the Orange Revolution. "During the Orange Revolution
the church held daily services in the main square of Lvov to pray for its
success," says Mr. Yurash.

In Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, the predominant Russian Orthodox
Church, which is led by the patriarch in Moscow, opposed the Orange
Revolution and has given its official blessing to Yanukovich in the current
elections.

"It is gradually becoming clear to us that this split between east and west
Ukraine has very deep civilizational roots and will not be easily overcome -
if ever," says Yurash.
WHILE MANY ARE DISILLUSIONED,
SOME STILL HOPE FOR RECONCILIATION
Though Mr. Yushchenko was vaulted into the presidency in fresh elections
following the Orange Revolution, the hope that he might find ways to heal
Ukraine's divisions has fizzled out amid squabbling in the Orange camp and
persistent political crisis.

Following parliamentary polls last year, Yanukovich's party came roaring
back with a plurality of the Supreme Rada's 450 seats and, after a lengthy
Blue versus Orange struggle, a dispirited Yushchenko was compelled to name
Yanukovich prime minister. Opinion surveys suggest the current elections may
do little more than reproduce the same lineup.

Some experts fear popular exhaustion with democracy may play into the hands
of extremists, such as the radical nationalist Svoboda party, whose support
is growing rapidly around Lvov, or the old-line Communist Party, which is
still strong in the east.

Ruslan Koshulinsky, Svoboda's deputy chairman, says people in Lvov
increasingly want to see the half-hearted measures of Yushchenko and
Tymoshenko swept aside.

"In a spiritual sense, we are still under Russian occupation," he says. "We
respect freedom, but steps must be taken to unite the [Ukrainian] ethos, or
we will never be independent."

But, surprisingly, some of the toughest characters from Ukraine's tragic
past insist that the only route to salvation lies through compromise and
reconciliation.

"In other parts of Europe people who were on opposite sides of the
barricades in civil conflicts have long since shaken hands and moved on,"
says Gumeniuk. "When is it going to happen here?"
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3. UKRAINIAN BAND OKEAN ELZY SINGER CALLS FOR

UNITED UKRAINE TO AVOID CONSTANT ELECTIONS
Vakarchuk defends Orange Revolution ideals, asks people to be patient

Kostis Geropoulos, New Europe Issue 749
Brussels, Belgium, Wed, 26 September 2007

As tired Ukrainians voters go to the polls on September 30 for the fourth
time in three years, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, front singer of the Ukrainian
band Okean Elzy, who is also on the list of Our Ukraine bloc (Nasha
Ukrayina), told New Europe "the main task of Ukraine is to unite everybody
no matter what the colour of flag they have" to avoid another political
stalemate after the parliamentary election.

What Ukraine needs is young blood in politics, he said. "In the nearest past
we saw that some political leaders do not treat agreements between different
parties as something saint. Today they sign it, tomorrow they resign, after
that the sign it one more time.

"That is the morality of the politicians and it's not a problem of one
party; it's a problem of this generation of politicians," he said in Athens
on September 24, the first stop of his musical tour titled "Ya yidu do domu"
(I'm going home).

"At this time I don't see a great difference between politicians in all the
political camps. And that's why our task is to take to the politics new
coming leaders who will solve this problem and unite all the people no
matter on what language they speak, no matter on what church they go, no
matter what historical past they had. We are all Ukrainians and we need to
be united," Vakarchuk said.

The leading band singer and ardent 'Orange' supporter was one of the first
people to gather with thousands of young Ukrainians in Kiev's Maidan Square
during the 2004 Orange Revolution.

Despite the mistakes of 'Orange' teams and people's disappointment in the
following years, Vakarchuk defended the ideals of the Orange Revolution.

"The lessons of history teach us the revolutions never yield immediate
results. We have many, many examples where at first the revolutions were
treated by people as a panacea for all problems but then came some
disappointment.

"It was the same in Ukraine with the Orange revolution. Certainly your
demands for the revolution are very high and then, if it doesn't work out,
you are disappointed, but what I think is that in spite of this
disappointment, we have done a great job because the mentality begun to
change. Before that we were a typical post-Soviet society.

"That was a society partly breaking the rules of the Soviet country, but not
breaking the Soviet mood. And after the Orange Revolution, people began to
understand that from this time they were the masters of their future and
that is very, very important and that may be the main goal of the
revolution.

"Talking about political and economic changes, they certainly don't come
immediately after the revolution," Vakarchuk said.

"Now we have this unstable situation. That is why we have different
elections because there is internal fight in Ukraine for the future."

The Okean Elzy singer laughed when New Europe pointed out that during a

July journalists' trip to Ukraine a 75-year-old woman, Maria Tsymbal, in the
village of Viktorivka, said she would vote for the Yulia Timoshenko bloc
because of its leader's notorious hairstyle.

"Yes, people like leaders. It's normal for every country," he said. "But the
problem is that sometimes the parties give you the same things in their
programmes. The problem is not that people don't know the content of these
problems, the problem is this content is the same."

He said that Regions Party, Yulia Timoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine block, are
more-or-less centrist parties with left or right leaning tendencies. He said
that unlike Europe there is also a second dimension in addition to right or
left and that is pro-European or pro-Russian.

Vakarchuk said the party he supports, Our Ukraine, wants to build a strong
country that participates in European structures. He explained that while

most Ukrainians are familiar with the EU, they are confused over NATO.

"About the EU they are more certain. About NATO the situation is even funny
because if you ask them: 'Do you like NATO?' They say, 'no.' But if you ask
them: 'Do you like North Atlantic Treaty?' Sometimes they say, 'yes.'"

He said the issue of NATO in Ukraine is very complicated. "Firstly, there
were 50 years of Soviet propaganda. It's absolutely normal that for Soviet
people who were born at that time NATO was treated like an enemy.

"It was the same thing like for Americans when the Warsaw Treaty was treated
like an enemy. It is normal. But after 1991 what happened?

In some countries like the three Baltic countries or Central European
countries like Poland or the Czech Republic the propaganda stopped and
people were allowed to have a lot of information about then real situation
in the North Atlantic Treaty and that's why in some years after that they
managed to take the right decision," Vakarchuk explained.

"In our country we have lack of information about NATO. It doesn't matter if
the information negative or positive but there is a lack and people do not
know different things.

"Sometimes I have meetings with students...and I ask them a question: Do you
know if the NATO forces are present in Iraq or not? And 95 percent of
students with high education, they think that NATO is present in Iraq as an
organisation. Only five percent thinks that is not.

"And when I say to them that they are absolutely incorrect and only the
United States separately or British armies are present there and not NATO
they are very surprised.

"If students are surprised, imagine other people...We are not ready for a
professional discussion. We need to have much more time top learn about
NATO. But it is very strategic thing about Ukraine."

Regarding the EU, Vakarchuk told New Europe it is not as controversial from
the point of view of Ukrainian structure. "European Union is clear because
it is a union of economic and political union of western countries," he
said.

He noted that joining the EU and NATO are fundamentals of Ukraine's foreign
policy. "This discussion needs to be treated as a civilisation choice.

"That's why I think the first problem for us is the problem of NATO and only
the second is the problem of the European Union because we are very far from
the European Union.

"I'm absolutely honest and clear about that and it's not a question of some
politicians from Europe like (EU External Relations Commissioner) Benita
Ferrero-Waldner or somebody else who need to say to us that it is an unreal
situation.

"We need to understand it ourselves...We are Europeans and that's why we
need to solve such unpleasant problems like visa problems," he said.

He lashed out at western embassies denying Ukrainians visas for convenient
excuse. "In our country some people are very angry about what some embassies
of European Union countries do, especially Schengen countries about visa.
Sometimes the behaviour of these embassies is not the behaviour of
partners," Vakarchuk said, adding that the EU should step up and solve this
problem.

He stressed that it is in the interest of the whole Europe to have a strong
Ukraine. "Europe must be interested in a strong Ukraine and if somebody is
not interested, it's because of internal European problems and when Europe
will be absolutely strong by itself, the next step will be to take Ukraine
in," he said.

Regarding relations with Russia, Vakarchuk said Moscow often tries to use
gas prices to influence Ukraine. "It concerns not only Ukraine, it concerns
all of Europe especially Eastern and Central Europe," he said.

"In the highest level, Russian politicians they don't accept the 100 percent
independence of Ukraine. They understand the political independence of
Ukraine because they understand that the time has come and we are a separate
country. But they do not want to accept the whole independence.

"That is why they try to influence us with economic rules, but the stronger
they do it, the stronger we become. I'm very happy that two years ago Russia
gave us market prices for the gas because the earlier they do it the earlier
we will become stronger and we manage to do something without these
dictations," he said.

The Okean Elzy lead singer downplayed concerns about divisions between
Ukraine's east and west. "We are an ethnical country," he said. "Other
problems are historical and maybe sometimes political but these problems can
be solved with the help of new leaders," he said.

And the Ukrainians are going to the polls this Sunday to do just that!
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4. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, RIVAL IN SHOW OF UNITY

Associated Press (AP), Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, September 27, 2007

KIEV, Ukraine - President Viktor Yushchenko and sometimes ally Yulia
Tymoshenko called for unity Thursday, staging a televised meeting just days
before Ukraine's crucial parliamentary elections.

The two politicians, who joined forces during the tumultuous 2004 Orange
Revolution, have repeatedly indicated they are trying to mend fences.

Top officials with their political parties had agreed that whichever of
their two parties won the most votes in Sunday's election would name the
prime minister.

In an apparent effort to woo liberal-leaning voters, Yushchenko warmly
greeted Tymoshenko and he tenderly kissed her hand in the televised meeting.
"We have only one option and that is forming a democratic coalition,"
Yushchenko said.

Polls have suggested a three-way split among the country's main parties,
raising the prospect of protracted coalition talks.

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, along with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych,

are all calling for changes in the constitution to break the political
paralysis.

The pro-Western Yushchenko and the more Russian-leaning Yanukovych have

been wrestling for dominance since 2004, when Yushchenko led the Orange
Revolution - massive street protests denouncing fraud during the
presidential election in which Yanukovych was initially declared the winner.

The Supreme Court threw out the results, and Yushchenko won a rerun.
Tymoshenko became his prime minister until he fired her in 2005 amid
widespread disillusionment.

In March 2006, Yanukovych's party gained the most seats in parliamentary
elections, propelling him back into the prime minister's post and ushering
in a Cabinet that has opposed Yushchenko and brought forth the current
political paralysis.

Despite Thursday's meeting and their similar politics, it remains unclear
whether the fragile relationship between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko will
endure.

In a statement released earlier by Yushchenko's press service, he again
conjured the image of the Orange Revolution and the thousands of protesters
jamming Kiev's Independence Square in calling for solidarity with his former
allies.

"All the forces of democracy, including those that stood shoulder to
shoulder on Independence Square have drawn serious conclusions from

our most recent history," Yushchenko said according to the press service.

The task "we're faced with today is to send a clear signal to the people
that the democrats are ready to act together and to implement national
priorities together."
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5. UKRAINE LEADER EMBRACES EX-PM, URGES "ORANGE" VOTE

By Ron Popeski, Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Thu Sep 27, 2007

KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko, newly reconciled with "Orange
Revolution" heroine Yulia Tymoshenko, embraced her on Thursday and urged
liberals to set aside past quarrels and unite to win a weekend parliamentary
election.

The early election on Sunday is intended to end months of political deadlock
pitting Yushchenko against the rival he defeated in the 2004 upheaval, Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich.

Yushchenko was shown on television embracing Tymoshenko, the prime minister
he sacked from his first "orange" government, and making it plain she could
return to office if voters returned an "orange" majority.

"We have only one option and that is forming a democratic coalition. Period.
And I mean period," Yushchenko said.

The "orange" camp, he said, had to "agree on an effective and fast policy
for people ... so that voters understand that victory would justify all
their expectations."

Hoarse and sporting her trademark braid, Tymoshenko looked moved. She

said the alliance was a logical step after the 2004 rallies when they stood
together in Kiev's Independence Square.

"What we started together in the square was only the beginning," she said.
"It is certain the democratic forces will win ... I support your thinking
300 percent."

Sunday's election is certain to produce a close finish and spawn long,
difficult negotiations to form a stable majority in the 450-seat assembly
able to form a government.

Polls put Yanukovich's Regions Party, its support based in Russian-speaking,
eastern Ukraine, in the lead with 30 percent support. His communist allies
are also likely to win seats.
ORANGE HORDES
But the combined tally of "orange" groups - Tymoshenko's bloc followed by
the pro-presidential Our Ukraine party - is right behind, backed in the
nationalist west and the centre.

No other group among 20 on the ballot is likely to clear 3 percent of the
popular vote to enter parliament. Some polls give an outside chance to a
bloc led by a centrist former parliamentary speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn.

Yanukovich, blunt in addressing crowds, denounces Tymoshenko as reckless
while sparing the president from criticism.

On Wednesday, he told television viewers in eastern Ukraine: "Everything
that happened after the Orange Revolution has been a nightmare ... It is
clear to us that the orange hordes want once again to use their populism to
dupe the Ukrainian people."

Both Yanukovich and Tymoshenko plan mass rallies in central Kiev for Friday,
the final day of campaigning.

Yushchenko took office in early 2005 after mass pro-Western "orange"
protests helped overturn a rigged presidential poll initially won by
Yanukovich, backed at the time by Russia.

He appointed Tymoshenko prime minister and embarked on an ambitious plan to
move Ukraine closer to the West. But the two fell out and she was dismissed
within eight months.

Yanukovich rebounded to become prime minister after his party took first
place in last year's election, leaving advocates of the revolution divided
and disillusioned.

Yushchenko dissolved parliament and called the election after accusing
Yanukovich of an illegal power grab.

This campaign has removed nearly all distinctions of orientation towards
Moscow or the West. Both sides pledge to uphold national interests and boost
living standards.

Yanukovich, whose government presided over growth of 7.1 percent in 2006,
describes himself as pro-European.

Many analysts, remembering four months of coalition talks after last year's
election, suggest Yushchenko may opt for a "broad coalition" between Our
Ukraine and the prime minister's party to bridge Ukraine's east-west gap.

Tymoshenko denounces such a pact as "betrayal" and the president backed

away from the notion as the campaign closed.
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6. TYMOSHENKO EYES NEW ALLIANCE WITH PRESIDENT

Daniel McLaughlin in Lviv, Ukraine, Irish Times
Dublin, Ireland, Irish Times, Thursday, Sep 27, 2007

UKRAINE: Beneath the broad trees that line Lviv's main boulevard, the old
men played on, regardless. Nothing interrupted their chess or their
dominoes: not the falling chestnuts that bounced around them nor the sensory
bombardment of a Yulia Tymoshenko campaign rally.

At one end of the boulevard stands Lviv's grand opera house, at the other,
the square that was taken over yesterday by Tymoshenko's final appeal to
voters in her western Ukrainian stronghold to deliver victory in Sunday's
general election.

If the old men had looked up from their games, they would have seen a huge
stage flanked by screens and loudspeakers, fluttering banners and booths
handing out Yulia merchandise to all - from toddlers to pensioners - in this
city of 650,000 people.

Her party's symbol, a red heart on a white backdrop, was everywhere, on
flags, T-shirts, stickers, postcards, balloons and, until a tousled rocker
in a white suit appeared to warm up the crowd, it was displayed on screens
that glowed through the mist.

Tymoshenko would cut a striking figure on any political scene, let alone the
turgid post-Soviet stage, and she has presence to match her looks.

Her speech in Lviv, delivered in a voice husky from weeks on the hustings,
was clear, impassioned and witty, in contrast to the dry and sometimes
dithering efforts of President Viktor Yushchenko and the monotonous drone of
prime minister Viktor Yanukovich.

Tymoshenko focused on deriding Yanukovich's Regions Party - which leads
opinion polls on the back of overwhelming support in largely
Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine - and calling for a ruling alliance with
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party.

"With one voice, we must vote against this anti-Ukrainian party, these
anti-Ukrainian politicians," said Tymoshenko of the bloc led by Yanukovich,
who capitalised on disputes among his rivals to bounce back from defeat in
the 2004 "Orange Revolution".

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were at loggerheads after he fired her from the
post of prime minister and eventually accepted Yanukovich as her
replacement - but she vowed yesterday to do her utmost to forge a working
alliance with the president.

She also vehemently denounced suggestions that Yushchenko's party could form
a "grand coalition" with the Regions Party, something she said would be a
betrayal of the Orange Revolution, which overturned Yanukovich's fraudulent
election "victory".

Tymoshenko attributed the orange team's shambolic post-revolution efforts to
govern to "too much political optimism and romanticism", but asked for
another chance with an imprecation for "everyone who loves Ukraine to unite
as one team".

However, as dozens of white- and-red balloons swirled up over Lviv, and
Tymoshenko waved her goodbyes, many people left for home still weary of
Ukraine's politics.

"We were all for Yushchenko and Tymoshenko in 2004, but nothing improved,"
said Roman (44) who refused to give his surname.

"Our politicians promise everyone the earth but, when they get power, they
just squabble among themselves."

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7. UKRAINE VOTES
The country faces enormous economic challenges as it heads to the polls.

COMMENTARY: By Bruce P. Jackson, The Daily Standard

Washington, D.C. Thursday, September 27, 2007

THIS SUNDAY'S parliamentary election in Ukraine shares at least one thing in
common with next year's Presidential election in the United States. During
overlong campaigns, in the parade of political personalities and the
blizzard of distortions and half truths, it is nearly impossible to remember
what either election is all about.

Although our candidates use the campaign to show off what they imagine to
be their attractive qualities (toughness, trustworthiness, and often only
good looks), the 2008 American election is about the foreign policy crisis
which this country has entered.

Basically, the average American is questioning his country's role and
purpose in international politics. The war in Iraq is the proximate cause of
this loss of national self-confidence, but the underlying question of what
the United States should do and not do both at home and abroad has been
simmering since the end of the Cold War.

In a nutshell, our Presidential debate is between those who think the United
States is like Winston Churchill's England in 1940: beleaguered, but brave
and fundamentally on the right side of history.

And others who think the United States should come to resemble Sweden;
well-adjusted, graciously multi-lateral, and content to spend more time at
home. But you would never know that to listen to our candidates this year.

In Ukraine, it is even harder to identify what underlying question will be
addressed in the upcoming election.

Some of the confusion lies in the truly staggering amount of political
shouting and personal vitriol which passes for campaigning in Ukraine, but
the fact that the elections were triggered by presidential fiat and not by a
constitutional schedule further confused the issue.

And none of Ukraine's candidates have gone very far out of their way to
explain to the voters how complex and difficult the challenges any
government in Kiev will face are.

Various theories have been advanced to explain the prolonged political
crisis in Ukraine, all of them at best partially true and most completely
false.

[1] The original explanation was that Ukraine's frequent, indecisive
elections were part of the process of building a Ukrainian nation.

While there may be some superficial truth to the perception that people from
Lvov, Odessa, and Dnipropetrovs'k are not overly fond of each other,
everyone believes (even politicians) they are part of a Ukrainian nation and
are fiercely patriotic.

[2] About a year ago, a second theory appeared which held that the elections
would be a decision on whether Ukraine would be a pro-Russian state or a
pro-European state. This theory is demonstrably false and intentionally
misleading.

The culture and history that Ukraine shares with Russia is a matter of
historical fact, and history cannot be rewritten by election or referendum.
Similarly, the intimacy of Ukraine's relations with Europe is established by
history, geography, and shared economic interest.

Ukraine will always be close to and independent of both Russia and Europe,
and there is nothing any of Ukraine's parties can do about it. We can be
confident that this election is not about violating the iron laws of
geopolitics.

[3] The final theory and the one with the greatest following today is that
this parliamentary election is about political stability, and there is some
truth to this. We all hope that the next government of Ukraine can, well . .
. govern.

The government of Yulia Timoshenko performed poorly on the economy and was
dismissed after only seven months. The government of Victor Yanukovich did
better on the economy and joining the WTO, but failed to maintain the trust
of its coalition partners and was also dismissed.

Indeed so many ministers, judges, and parliaments have been dismissed since
2004, only Khmelnytskyy still holds his original position on St. Sofia
Square.

Certainly, Sunday's election is about political stability, but stability is
only a condition, not an objective. It seems to me that for the Ukrainian
voter the choice of the next prime minister and the coalition that provides
his government a political mandate is fundamentally a choice about Ukraine's
economic future.

Ukraine is on the threshold of entering the World Trade Organization, which
is the gateway to the global economy. Europe is prepared for the first time
in at least a century to consider opening a free trade zone with Ukraine,
something the European Union did with Turkey 40 years ago.

Moving Ukraine into international markets and opening European markets for
Ukrainian goods would make a far greater difference for the average family
in Ukraine than the distant possibility of NATO membership or whether
Ukraine's bureaucrats speak Ukrainian or Russian or both.

Today, major Russian companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange,
where they can attract investment and raise capital. No major Ukrainian
company is listed on any European or American exchange.

Over the last ten years, Ukraine has attracted a small fraction of the
foreign direct investment its neighbors, Poland and Slovakia, were able to
bring in. This factor alone has curtailed growth, depressed salaries and
cost Ukrainian workers job security.

In a few short years, students and workers from the Baltics, Poland, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria will travel freely
throughout the European Union and the United States without visas.

But the next generation of Ukrainian students will be denied these
educational opportunities, and its workers will be prohibited from
exercising the mobility of their labor.

As a result, over the next generation, Ukrainian families will be
significantly poorer than they should be--unless, of course, the next
government in Kiev gets serious and gets to work.

These are the stakes on Sunday. The Ukrainian voters have to choose the
party list which they believe will best be able to get their wives and
husbands and children out of the economic trap into which Ukraine and

all of Eastern Europe fell after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Much of the campaign ignored the issues that affect the lives of ordinary
citizens: jobs, education, and growth.

The real question that will or at least should be decided on Sunday is who
is most capable of driving through the economic reforms and opening the
international markets that are essential if the sons and daughters of
Ukraine are to prosper in the 21st century.
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Bruce P. Jackson is President of the Project on Transitional Democracies,
a bi-partisan non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.
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http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/159lnnbn.asp

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8. UKRAINE'S CONTENDERS FIGHT OVER JADED POPULACE

By Roman Olearchyk and Stefan Wagstyl, Financial Times
London, United Kingdom, Thursday, September 27, 2007

When Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine's prime minister, hits the Black Sea port
of Odessa in the last days of campaigning before Sunday's parliamentary
elections, the crowd greets him with cheers, applause and a mass of blue
flags.

President Victor Yushchenko has called elections early, only 18 months after
the last parliamentary vote, to try to resolve his bitter three-year power
struggle with Mr Yanukovich.

Speaking in the city's Greek square, Mr Yanukovich urges voters to reject
his two main rivals: Mr Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko, the firebrand
ex-prime minister, who together led the 2004 Orange Revolution.

His voice hoarse after weeks of speech-making, he says: "We need to unite
and once and for all say No to this Orange horde. . . . to wipe them out of
politics."

The 3,000 supporters respond with a shout. But all is not what it seems.
Prominent among those with the blue flags of Mr Yanukovich's Regions party
are students who say they were paid to attend.

Alongside stand elderly people transported from the countryside, happy to
participate in ex­change for a day out. The Regions party denies mak­ing
such payments, saying the claims are "black PR".

On the same day as Mr Yanukovich's campaign, hundreds of students and rural
pensioners are gathered outsi de Odessa's Opera house waving orange flags to
welcome Mr Yushchenko.

The students at both events say the going rate is $10 - quite an incentive
in a country where the average wage is less than $200 a month. Mr
Yushchenko's bloc made no comment about the alleged payments.

The Russian-speaking city of Odessa has in the past been a hotbed of support
for Mr Yanukovich but years of pol­itical infighting have caused voters to
become disillusioned and apathetic.

Odessa is a significant city for election candidates, with a population of
1m against Ukraine's overall 46m, an estimated 20m-25m of whom vote.

Across Ukraine, politicians are struggling to generate enthusiasm. Voters
are not only jaded by three years of political turmoil but also frustrated
with business oligarchs manipulating politicians, and angry that rapid
economic growth is not, as they see it, benefiting ordinary people.

Back in Kiev, however, pre-election tensions rose this week. In an apparent
attempt to emulate the Orange Revolution of 2004, Mr Yanukovich's party took
control of Kiev's main square, setting up tent camps guarded by hundreds of
supporters to protest against electoral fraud.

Opinion polls, however, suggest Mr Yanukovich's Regions party could still
win 30-35 per cent of the vote and remain the largest parliamentary
grouping.

Mr Yushchenko's Our Ukraine People's Self Defence bloc is fighting hard to
retain the 14 per cent it won last year but may be losing support to Ms
Tymoshenko, who could see the share of her party, BYuT, rise to 25-27 per
cent.

She is concentrating her attacks on Mr Yanukovich, hoping to use electoral
success to secure the prime ministership and persuade the president to
recreate the Orange alliance.

Ukraine's political landscape reflects an east-west divide. Mr Yanukovich, a
former lorry driver, hails from the industrialised east, where support is
stronge st for close ties with Moscow, for caution in relations with the
west and for wider official use of the Russian language alongside Ukrainian.

Mr Yushchenko, a former central banker, stands for rapid integration with
the European Union, Nato and the global economy. He is strongest in the
west, where anti-Russian sentiment flourishes.

Ms Tymoshenko is a maverick, who supported Mr Yushchenko in 2004 but then
fell out with him, partly owing to personality clashes and partly over her
populist anti-big-business policies.

Now she has toned down her rhetoric and built up her contacts in the EU and
the US, trying to supplant Mr Yushchenko in the west's affections.

All three main leaders have attempted to renew their appeal with help from
top US political advisers. At times the campaigning has changed in tone from
previous years, with less vitriol and more positive messages, such as
promises of econ­omic growth.

All three parties have retained a strong dose of populism, competing with
pledges to raise pensions, salaries and social payments.

But, as the vote has neared, Mr Yanukovich has resorted to divisive old
tactics to shore up his support in eastern Ukraine. In recent speeches he
has promised a combined referendum on Nato membership (which he
opposes) and on granting official status to the Russian language.

With a third of voters undecided, some fears of localised election fraud and
smaller parties picking up support, the result is unclear. As Renaissance
Capital, the investment bank, says in a report, "The political campaign has
brought no clarity on the likely outcome."
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9. UKRAINE: HARVEST TIME FOR FARMERS' VOTES

ANALYSIS: By Jim Davis, Business Ukraine magazine
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 24, 2007

Ukrainian politicians are always sure to turn their attention to the
agrarian sector when elections are near - albeit temporarily
This year's crop of electoral promises is bountiful on the Ukrainian steppe,
but just which way the agricultural vote is headed is as uncertain as
tomorrow's weather forecast.

Ukrainian agriculture has never fully recovered from the horrors of
collectivisation under Stalin in the 1930s, but remains of enormous
strategic importance for all parties.

Even today, 16 years since independence and eight years past the time that
then-president Leonid Kuchma decreed the extinction of all remaining
collective farms, most major political parties continue to talk about the
village and agriculture as if one might be synonymous with the other.
COURTING THE VILLAGE VOTE
Although the Our Ukraine website sets out the bloc's agricultural policies,
perhaps a recent visit by the president to Cherkasy gave greater clarity to
the presidential party's views.

Yushchenko's rhetoric naturally had a familiar ring as he told the crowd:
"Wheat for Ukraine is like oil for Russia. I see it as the nation's
strategic course."

Just as at all agricultural meetings, the president pushed his political
agenda with a statement that the government, "constantly interferes" in the
agricultural sector.

He called many of its grain policies, "remarkably absurd and negative," and
reprimanded the cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych for using
non-market methods.

He went on to say a state that does not promote commercial interests in
agriculture often has to import grain. He further derided the government's
administrative and restrictive measures as, ".unprofessional and
irresponsible."

Our Ukraine's website gets into much greater specifics with talk of
"renewing Ukraine's villages.transparent registration of property rights on
land. decreasing land taxes for villagers."

As with most campaign manifestos, the site has a laundry list of goodies,
including a promise of UAH 20,000 in state aid and social housing for
university graduates who agree to work not less than three years in
villages.

In addition, there would be a 20% monthly salary bonus for village teachers,
doctors, cultural and social sphere employees; and every village can count
on a village dispensary or medical-aid station with a car.

Finally, the site says that Our Ukraine would assure that every pupil living
three kilometers away or more from school would get paid bus transport and
every village school would get Internet access by 2010.

Yuriy Lutsenko, leader of the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defence Bloc, is
even bolder with his acknowledgements, telling a recent Vasilkiv news
conference that the moratorium on land sales must be abolished. He also said
pointedly that in spite of leftist opposition to land sales, ".nevertheless
it is on sale."

He added: "It is necessary to put agricultural land up for sale on an open
and fair market and pass the corresponding laws that will secure the peasant
from predatory buying of [agricultural] lands." A few years ago, a statement
of this type would have been a scandal; today it is considered to be
relatively normal campaign rhetoric.

11. PROGRESS ALONG THE ROCKY ROAD TO DEMOCRACY

COMMENTARY: Peter Dickinson, Business Ukraine magazine
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 24, 2007

With less than a week to go before Ukraine goes to the polls, there remains
much muttering and resentment that an election is being held at all. There
is, however, more cause for optimism than many believe

At first glance the election has all the makings of a serious setback for
Ukrainian democracy.

A worrying percentage of the population remain adamant that they will not
be voting at all, while others seem to be viewing their vote as a social
duty
to their regional chieftains rather than a moral obligation or opportunity
to stand up for their personal beliefs or initiate change for the better.

The old mantra that the political classes are all the same has gained new
currency and campaign promises are largely regarded with unconcealed
disdain.

There is little here that needs explaining, given the steady stream of
disappointments that followed the euphoria of 2004. However, the fact
remains that amid all the moans and groans, the fires of Ukrainian democracy
continue to burn despite numerous attempts to quash the flames with
bucketfuls of cynicism and sabotage.

Three years since the Orange Revolution shook the populace out of its
apathetic slumber, the idea that Ukraine's great democratic breakthrough
could somehow be reversed now lies in tatters.
POLITICAL CLIMATE CHANGE
At every level there have been indications of an emerging democratic culture
which holds promise for the country's European ambitions.

The election campaign has been well covered by the increasingly professional
and unhindered Ukrainian media, and the various parties have been accorded
their fair share of airtime without the mysterious electrical blackouts and
blatant propaganda of yesteryear.

Meanwhile, the institutionalised spoiling tactics and administrative
manipulation of previous campaigns have made random but mercifully brief
appearances, much like the fading symptoms of a once-sick patient well on
the road to recovery.

Whereas in 2004 Viktor Yushchenko found himself barred from landing at
airports throughout the country and his activists were harried and harassed
wherever government support was considered sufficient to allow it, this
year's campaign has seen opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko holding

massive public rallies in city centres throughout the government strongholds

of south-eastern Ukraine, an unthinkable development just a few years ago.

We will still doubtless be treated to all sorts of polling day tricks and
accusations, but the very fact that such irregularities are now seen as
potent political weapons by all sides of the political spectrum is evidence
in itself that fraud and falsification are no longer regarded as a valid
part of post-Soviet politics in today's Ukraine.

The historical fissures that scar the Ukrainian landscape remain a factor in
any political debate, but the move away from Soviet-style them and us
rhetoric towards policy issues that has marked this campaign suggests that
the ugly politics of ethnicity is losing its potency as a tool to divide and
polarise the Ukrainian population.

Ukraine has yet to reach the level of political maturity where ideas can
genuinely triumph over personalities, but this is nevertheless progress
worth noting.
TIME FOR THE POLITICIANS TO CATCH UP

If they are to entertain hopes of staying in office, Ukraine's politicians
must now reinvent themselves in line with the national dynamic.

Viktor Yanukovych will have to do a lot more than learn how to smile and
refrain from swearing in public if he wants the electorate to take seriously
the spin that he is somehow a new man.

Likewise, his party will have to add substance to the oft-cited refrain that
they are interested in embracing international business practices and moving
out of the shadows.

Attempts by the Regions-led coalition to return to the practices of old led
directly to the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada this year and if this
lesson is not taken on board there is no reason to assume that the exercise
could not be repeated.

Despite their long and loud protestations, the governing coalition
eventually accepted the president's decree and faced up to the inevitability
of new elections. They now need to demonstrate that other lessons have also
been learnt.

The shaky Orange alliance will have to overcome its childish infighting and
perceived populism if it is to regain power and, crucially, hold onto it for
any meaningful period of time.

Yulia Tymoshenko has responded to criticism over empty promises by focusing
much of her bloc's campaign on concrete policy objectives that have been
painstakingly spelled out for voters and others have found themselves forced
to follow her lead or be left behind in the process.

Ultimately, as they decide whether to vote or not, Ukrainians should bear in
mind that a healthy distrust of their political classes is part and parcel
of just about every functioning democracy in the world. It is a sign of a
strong, open society, not an indication that the situation is hopeless.
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12. DEVOID OF ORANGE REVOLUTION OPTIMISM, UKRAINE
HEADS INTO FOURTH ELECTION IN THREE YEARS

Associated Press (AP), Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sep 27 2007

KYIV - Ukrainians vote this weekend in the fourth national elections in
three years, attempting to break a political deadlock that pits seekers of
cautious change against bold reformers, Russian against Ukrainian speakers,
guardians of Slavic heritage against champions of European integration.

The cast of characters vying for control is the same as during the 2004
Orange Revolution: the Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko; his
archrival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych; and the glamorous opposition
crusader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Gone, however, is the hope that swept the nation three years ago when
thousands of protesters gathered in the bitter cold of Kyiv's main square
and stood up for democracy and reform.

In its place is a widespread sense of the futility of the political process.

"I am disappointed in everybody - they have no programs, they have no
shame," said Zinaida Ivanova, a 70-year-old retiree who supplements her
monthly pension of about $100 by selling cigarettes in downtown Kyiv.

The Sunday, Sept. 30 election "is not going to liquidate the deep crisis,"
predicted Vadim Karasyov, head of the Kyiv-based Institute on Global
Strategies.

Polls suggest a three-way split between the country's main parties, leading
to the prospect of protracted coalition talks. After the vote, all three
political leaders are calling for changes in the Constitution to break the
political paralysis.

Ukraine's Constitution, hastily revised during the Orange Revolution,
divides executive powers between the president and prime minister - leaving
it unclear who has the power to do what.

Last year, Yanukovych's allies blocked Yushchenko's choice for foreign
minister from attending Cabinet sessions for several weeks, provoking his
resignation. In the spring, Yushchenko fired his prosecutor general, a
Yanukovych ally. But police loyal to the prime minister prevented the
prosecutor's removal.

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko want Ukrainians to decide in a referendum who
should hold more power, the president or the premier. Yanukovych, meanwhile,
wants to change the constitution to make Russian the second official
language and block any NATO bid.

But it seems unlikely Ukraine's bickering politicians will find it any
easier to rewrite the constitution than to govern together.
Ukraine's voters will pick from 20 parties, but no more than six are
expected to pass the 3 percent threshold needed to win seats in the
450-member Verkhovna Rada.

Of those six, just the parties led by Yushchenko, Yanukovych and Tymoshenko
are expected to gain enough seats to form the base for a potential governing
coalition.

Yushchenko's ambition to bring Ukraine closer to the European Union and
implement pro-market reforms suffered a major blow in 2006, when his
plummeting popularity opened the way for the once discredited Yanukovych to
take over as prime minister.

Since then, neither has been able to impose his vision for Ukraine, with
Yushchenko putting his dreams of quickly joining the EU on hold and
Yanukovych moderating his pro-Russian stance.

Tymoshenko could hold the key to the hopes of Western-looking, self-styled
reformers. She aims to unite with Yushchenko's forces in Parliament and
return as prime minister - a post she held briefly until Yushchenko
dismissed her government in September 2005.

Smaller parties such as the communists and the socialists are likely to
drive hard bargains for their support, if they get in.
International observers praised last year's elections as Ukraine's most
democratic ever, but some fear this vote will not be as free and fair. It is
being run by the government of Yanukovych, whose 2004 presidential election
victory was declared fraudulent by a court.

The Orange Revolution that swept Yushchenko to power despite the Kremlin's
open backing of Yanukovych sent shock waves through Russia and the rest of
the former Soviet Union.

The image of Yushchenko - his face disfigured by dioxin poisoning - battling
on for victory inspired millions around the world. Yushchenko's victory led
some to predict that a tide of non-violent revolutions would turn out a
number of governments with strong links to the Soviet past.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of other former Soviet
republics tightened controls on opposition groups and planned for ways to
prevent their own political upheavals.

In Ukraine, Yanukovych has staged a stunning comeback since the days when he
suffered the double stigma of being linked to a rigged election and seen as
a Kremlin tool.

Aided by Western consultants, Yanukovych reinvented himself. He began
courting the West, distanced himself from Moscow and praised the very mass
protests that denied him the presidency in 2004.

As Yushchenko's fortunes dimmed, Yanukovych's grew brighter. Korrespondent
magazine called the prime minister Ukraine's most powerful politician of
2007.

In the current race, Yanukovych, 57, has promised to raise pensions and the
current average wage of $258 (?190), increase child support benefits and
improve health care. His message: The Orange forces of Yushchenko and
Tymoshenko can only quarrel, but his team means business.

Tymoshenko, the former prime minister and heroine of the Orange Revolution
who wears her blonde hair in a halo braid, has led an aggressive campaign
dubbed "the Ukrainian breakthrough."

The steel-willed politician - sometimes described as "the only man in
Ukrainian politics" - describes herself as the only leader able to rein in
corrupt businesses and end what she called "the carving up of Ukraine."

The 46-year-old vows to tackle corruption, raise living standards, build
homes for young families and help Ukraine quickly catch up with the rest of
Europe.

She has also vowed to annul the sales of a number of major enterprises,
which she contends were stolen from the state.

That drive alarmed investors when she was prime minister. But Tymoshenko
insists she will pursue recovery of state property to resell it in honest
auctions.

Yushchenko's team has struggled. Faced with sinking support, his bloc has
sought to rebrand itself by paring an embattled business tycoon and other
unpopular figures from its list of top candidates. It has replaced them with
what it portrays as energetic reformers.

The days when the 53-year-old Yushchenko, a former central banker, might be
seen as a martyr to democracy are long gone. This time around, he has not
managed to inspire much enthusiasm.

His bloc promises to strip lawmakers of immunity from prosecution, with a
bespectacled president proclaiming from billboards that "there is one law
for all."

Voters don't seem impressed. People are too preoccupied with their
pocketbooks, analysts say, to worry about loftier concerns.
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13. UKRAINE: PLAYING THE POPULIST CARD

By Jan Maksymiuk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, September 27, 2007

KYIV - If Ukrainians are to believe the promises being made by the parties
participating in the country's early parliamentary elections, their lives
should improve regardless of who wins.

The major players in the September 30 polls have all made generous pledges
to the electorate. The question is how they plan to overcome the
mathematical impossibility of paying for all that has been promised.

There are three clear frontrunners among the 20 parties and blocs registered
for Ukraine's September 30 parliamentary elections -- the ruling Party of
Regions led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and the pro-presidential
Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc and Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc -- two
former allies in the 2004 Orange Revolution.

Opinion polls suggest that none of the three forces is set to win an
outright majority in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada. They also indicate that,
as in the March 2006 elections, the Party of Regions' performance will
likely be matched by Our-Ukraine-People's Self Defense and the Yulia
Tymoshenko Bloc combined.
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
If such predictions turn out to be true, the fate of a future ruling
coalition may hinge on the performance of two other parties that pollsters
envision being in the next parliament: the Communist Party and the Lytvyn
Bloc.

Most polls forecast that the Socialist Party, which obtained 5.7 percent of
the vote in 2006, will not overcome the 3 percent threshold for
parliamentary representation this time around.

In contrast to the 2004 presidential and 2006 parliamentary elections,
traditionally divisive foreign-policy thorns like Ukraine's potential NATO
membership or domestic irritants like making Russian the second state
language have been conspicuously muted or even eliminated as campaign
issues.

Instead, the election frontrunners have focused on outdistancing one another
in promises of socioeconomic windfalls.

Four expenditure items are present in the election manifestos of each of the
three frontrunners: substantial payments to families bringing new Ukrainians
into the world and monthly child support as a way to reverse the country's
demographic decline; an increase in student allowances and stipends; the
development of rural areas; and a considerable increase in military spending
as part of the effort to develop a professional army.
UNFULLFILLABLE PROMISES?
In addition, each party has added its own unique promises to the mix. For
example, the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense wants to increase the
minimum wage and the average monthly wage by some 60 percent in 2008.

The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc vows to return, within two years, more than $25
billion of savings lost by Ukrainians as a result of the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991.

The Party of Regions pledges to provide workers with apartments upon the
conclusion of 20 years working for the state.

The Communists want to increase the minimum pension level to 70 percent of
the average monthly wage, a measure that would cost the state an extra $20
billion per year. The Lytvyn Bloc proposes a dramatic wage hike that would
cost an extra $60 billion per year.

Four Ukrainian economic experts commenting in the September 22-28 issue of
the Kyiv-based weekly "Zerkalo nedeli" took the election promises at face
value and tallied them up.

Promises made by the Party of Regions would cost $40 billion, while those by
the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense bloc
were estimated at $20 billion each.

The most generous were the Communists, whose election program entails an
extra $60 billion in spending, and the Lytvyn Bloc, which would need no less
than an extra $90 billion to follow its program to the letter.

Adding a dose of reality to the situation, the four experts noted that
Ukraine's consolidated budget revenues in 2007 were expected to be just $40
billion.
ZEAL OVER IMMUNITY
A somewhat more realistic -- and no less populist -- goal is the solemn vow
of both the current parliamentary opposition and the ruling coalition to
cancel parliamentary immunity from prosecution, which is widely seen in
Ukraine as a shield for corrupt politicians.

But even on this tricky constitutional issue, the Ukrainian political class
could not avoid inflating the situation in an effort to garner cheap
applause.

The proposal to strip lawmakers of immunity initially came from President
Viktor Yushchenko and the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense.

But this sound idea was subsequently blunted by the ruling coalition through
their calls for the abolition of immunity not just for legislators, but also
for the president, the prime minister, and other high-ranking officials,
including judges.

Making the initial idea appear even more incongruous, the ruling coalition
held a controversial parliamentary session earlier this month (which was
condemned as illegal by the opposition) during which it voted to abolish
immunity for parliamentarians and the president.

For whatever reason, the prime minister and other government officials were
ignored in the coalition's rush to contribute to the elimination of
corruption in the country.

But it would be wrong to condemn Ukrainian politicians for exploiting the
gullibility of the electorate to achieve political goals. As long as voters
fail to hold politicians accountable for their promises, such practices will
continue -- and not just in Ukraine.

However, what remains of utmost importance in Ukrainian politics is the
continued perception among Ukrainians that, following the 2004 Orange
Revolution, elections offer them genuine political choice.

such circumstances, one day Ukrainian voters may also develop a taste for
distinguishing between empty pledges and practical ideas.
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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/9/4c9a4003-519c-4093-94cd-d0bb38c1a3e7.html
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
14. UKRAINE'S POLITICAL CLANS GRID FOR AFTER-

THE-PARLIAMENTARY-VOTE PROTESTS

FEATURE: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA)

Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, 27 September 2007

KIEV - The first vote in Ukraine's election Sunday has yet to be cast - but
irrespective of who wins, the country's warring political clans intend to
object strenuously to the result.

On Thursday afternoon on Kiev's Maidan Square, site of Ukraine's dramatic
pro-democracy Orange Revolution in late 2004, campaign workers in green
military tents were girding for the long haul, a good 60 hours before voting
opens.

"We are here because the Oranges (opponents of the pro-Russia Regions
Ukraine party) will do anything to win," said Halina Kotovska. "We will
fight for Democracy - and stay right here until the votes are honestly
counted."

During the 2004 mass marches, some 15,000 pro-Democracy activists took up
residence in tents and public buildings in central Kiev to protest a rigged
presidential election.

Hundreds of thousands of Kievites took to the streets as well, forcing the
government to hold a repeat vote, eventually installing reform president
Viktor Yushchenko.

Modern Ukrainian protesting on Thursday was, by comparison, modest. The
warmly-dressed Regions faithful in the Maidan encampment was hugely
outnumbered, and quite ignored, by Kievites going about their daily
business. Police presence was negligible.

Two hundred metres from the Maidan down Kiev's main street the Khreschatyk,
some seventy students milled next to ten camouflaged dome tents pitched in
front of the Kiev city administration. They had pitched their tents to
protest the protest, students explained quite seriously.

"Those people on the Maidan are pitching tents in the centre of our capital,
how does that look to foreign visitors?" asked Oksana Vorobei. "So we are
demonstrating to force our mayor to force the protestors on the Maidan to go
away, and then we will go away too."

The Kiev mayor is a Regions supporter - and Regions, with its pro- Russia
and pro-oligarch programmes, is unpopular with many liberal- leaning
Kievites, especially students, who generally support market reform and
closer Ukrainian relations with Europe.

Vorobei, like Kotovska, denied she was being paid to demonstrate - a common
practice in Ukrainian demonstrations this election season, allowing some
activists to earn as much as twenty dollars a day.

All of which would be a tempest in Ukraine's political teapot, except that
the country's powerful political clans, all apparently preparing to
challenge the results of the upcoming vote, first by mobilising street
protests, and then in courts.

Oleksader Moroz, the speaker of the last parliament and notorious for
deserting an Orange coalition in 2006 and thereby bringing the pro-Russia
Regions to power, on Thursday declared his party lawyers already had
prepared suits contesting the outcome of the election, and that the
challenge could be filed as early as the Monday morning after the Sunday
vote.

Ukrainian election law allows any party gaining 3 per cent or more of the
popular vote seats in the legislature, but Moroz's Socialists, once the
country's political kingmakers, now stand at about 2.5 per cent, according
to the most recent polls. "We will challenge the results in any case," Moroz

said, according to a Korrespondent magazine article.

More worryingly for hopes of Ukrainian political stability, Viktor
Yanukovich, Prime Minister leader of Regions, earlier this week alleged his
pro-Europe opponents "are buying every single vote with money", and warned
that the only way Regions could lose big, is if the competition cheats.

But Yanukovich main opponent, the anti-corruption Yulia Tymoshenko of the
eponymous Block of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT), in campaign speeches this

week has been promising just that: a Regions tumble at the polls, because
Yanukovich's party allegedly lacks widespread popularity.

And if Regions cheats, or even if there is a sign of Regions cheating, of
course she will go to the courts, Tymoshenko told the Interfax news agency.

Ukrainian political analysts almost without exception are predicting weeks
if not months of political gridlock, once the Sunday election is complete.
"We are are not going anywhere anytime soon," Kotovska said.
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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
15. UNITED STATES HELSINKI COMMISSION CHAIR HASTINGS

AND CO-CHAIR CARDIN URGE POLITICAL STABILITY IN UKRAINE
'September 30 Elections Vital to Advancing Democracy'

U.S. Helsinki Commission, Washington, D.C., Mon, Sep 24, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Chairman of the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission)
and Co-Chairman Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), issued the following
statement regarding Ukraine's parliamentary elections that will be held on
Sunday, September 30.

A longstanding political dispute between President Viktor Yushchenko and
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich - rooted in weak constitutional
delineations of their powers - resulted in a political crisis in April and
May. After weeks of tense standoff, agreement was reached calling for early
elections to be held on September 30.

"Since the 2004 Orange Revolution, Ukraine has continued to make real
democratic gains. And yet, one cannot turn a blind eye to the serious
political uncertainty that has unfolded within the past year.

"Prolonged instability is neither in Ukraine's best interest nor in the
interest of the region and it is our sincere hope that, following the
elections, its political leaders can find solutions that will advance
political stability and democratic development.

"The consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine will further
strengthen its independence and sovereignty, enhancing Ukraine's aspirations
for full integration with the West and serving as a positive model for other
former Soviet countries.

"It is our hope that these elections are free and transparent in keeping
with Ukraine's OSCE commitments. We wish the people of Ukraine much

success and look forward to continuing to strengthen U.S.-Ukrainian bilateral
relations," said Hastings and Cardin.

In July, Congressman Hastings, Senator Cardin and House Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) led a Congressional delegation to Ukraine for the 16th
Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's
(OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.

During the trip, the delegation met with Ukraine's President Viktor
Yushchenko and other prominent Ukrainian officials, where they received
assurances that Ukraine would not backtrack on the path to political reform
and good governance.

The U.S. Helsinki Commission plans to hold a briefing focusing on Ukraine's
September 30 parliamentary elections in October, details for the event to
follow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the
Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency that monitors progress in
the implementation of the provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The
Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from
the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of
State, Defense and Commerce.

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[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
16. UKRAINE'S QUEST FOR MATURE NATION STATEHOOD
ROUNDTABLE VIII, UKRAINE-EU RELATIONS
October 16-17, 2007, Ronald Reagan Building, Washington, DC

Steering Committee, Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood
Roundtable VIII, Ukraine-EU Relations,
New York, New York, Friday, September 28, 2007

Dear Friend of the UA Quest RT Series,

You are respectfully invited to be a participant in the eighth annual
roundtable of the Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood series,
to be held at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in
Washington, DC on Oct 16-17, 2007. This year, the forum will be
entitled "Ukraine-EU Relations".

The two day conference will bring together government and key non-
government representatives of Ukraine, the EU and the US as well as
experts from the world of academia to examine and evaluate Ukraine's
capacity to "thrive alongside" its great Western neighbor as well as its
readiness, if asked to join, to eventually "thrive inside" the European
Union.

To facilitate the said examination, the event will run four regular sessions
featuring eight panels, six highlight focus sessions, two working lunches
and two conference receptions. In total, nearly seventy speakers are
expected to address the conference proceedings. The list of invited
speakers is provided below.

Former participants of the UA Quest Roundtable series include:
UA: B. Tarasyuk, O. Rybachuk, Y. Yekhanurov, A. Kinakh, V. Yanukovych,
I. Plyushch, A. Yatseniuk, V. Pustovojtenko, A. Hrytsenko, I. Mitiukov, Y.
Pavlenko, Y. Chervonenko, H. Nemyria, Y. Lutsenko, R. Shpek

EU & RU: P. Naimski, G. Jeszensky, J. Sherr, E. Koelsch, G. Burghardt,
A. Gross, C. Hartzell, J. Steinoff, R. Kacer, Y. Liuk, H. Wujec, V. Usackas,
M. Riekstins, P. Zurawski vel Grajewski, V. Igrunov, A. Lebedev

US: M. McConnell, C. Levin, P. Wolfowitz, J. McCain, R. Lugar, Z.
Bzrezinski, R. Holbrooke, P. Dobriansky, D. Fried, A. Wayne, D. Kramer,
C. Weldon, S. Levin, M. Hinchey, B. Taylor, C. Pascual, S. Pifer, W. Miller,
J. Herbst, K. Smith, W. Courtney, B. Futey, M. Kaptur, N. Lowey, C. Smith,
A. Cohen, M. Williams, C. Wallander, A. Aslund.

You are welcome to attend all of the specified plenary sessions. Your
presence will certainly enhance the proceedings you may choose to join.

In addition, you are welcome to partake in Roundtable's traditional
evening receptions. There is no registration fee for the Roundtable but
donations are encouraged to help cover the considerable expenses
necessary for such a Roundtable.

TWO-DAY PROGRAM SUMMARY:
Tuesday, October 16 (Day One); Wednesday, October 17 (Day Two)
DAY ONE: Oct 16, Tuesday, Registration & Coffee: 8:00-9:00am
Opening Remarks: 9:00 a.m., Last Session: 5:00 p.m.
Conference Reception: 7:00 p.m.
DAY TWO: Oct 17, Wednesday, Registration & Coffee: 8:00-9:00a.m.
Opening Remarks: 9:00 a.m., Concluding Remarks: 5:00 p.m.
Patron Reception: 7:00 p.m.

ENTIRE PROGRAM OUTLINE: The entire Ukraine's Quest

for Mature Nation Statehood, Roundtable VIII, Ukraine-EU Relations
program outline can found at the following link:
http://usukrainianrelations.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=56

REGISTRATION DUE BY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10
Due to the time constraints involved with organizing such a large forum,
we kindly ask that you respond by Wednesday, October 10, 2007
concerning your acceptance to participate.

SUGGESTED DONATIONS: There is no registration fee for the
Roundtable this year but donations of 50 US dollars per day are
encouraged to help cover the considerable expenses necessary for
such a Roundtable. If donating, please make out your check to:
"CUSUR-UA Quest RTVIII" or use the system online when you
register to make a donation.

ONLINE REGISTRATIONS AVAILABLE AT:
http://usukrainianrelations.org/index.php?option=com_performs&formid=1&Itemid=84
Fill out the online registration and submit online or print out registration
form and fax to 212 473 2180 or print-out registration form and mail.

All completed registration forms [and donations] need to be sent online,
by fax or by mail to: Center for US Ukrainian Relations
43 St. Mark's Place, New York, NY 10003
For further information, kindly contact Marta Kostyk, UA Quest RTS
Technical Coordinator, by phone: (212) 473 0839, fax: (212) 473 2180,
or e-mail: cusur1014@gmail.com, at your convenience.

QUEST ROUNDTABLE VIII STEERING COMMITTEE:
William Miller, Co-Chair; Bob Schaffer, Co-Chair
Oleh Shamshur, Co-Chair; Walter Zaryckyj, Program Coordinator
MEMBERS STEERING COMMITTEE:
Olexandr Aleksandrovich; Ilan Berman
Nadia Diuk; Olga Fishel
Katie Fox; Nadia Komarnycky McConnell
Elizabeth Knight; Ilko Kucheriv
Nico Lange; Orysia Lutsewych
Lewis Madanick; Marta Matselioukh
John Micgiel; Jan Neutze
Steven Nix; Ulyana Panchishin
Jan Pieklo; Herman Pirchner
Jeff Smith; Morgan Williams
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVITED SPEAKERS:
Bob Schaffer (AFMC)
Paula Dobriansky (US Under Secretary of State)
Oleh Shamshur (UA Ambassador to the United States)
Andrii Veselovski (Dep. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine)
Orest Deychakivsky (CSCE)
Hryhoriy Nemyria (BUT)
Ellen Bos (Andrassy University)
Nelson Ledsky (NDI)
Steven Nix (IRI)
Bohdan Futey (US Court of Federal Claims)
Fred Kempe (Atlantic Council)
Kostyantyn Hryshchenko (RPU/APM)
Borys Tarasyuk (OU/IEAC)
Pawel Zalewski (FRC/Sejm)
David Kramer (DAS/EEA/DOS)
Adrian Karatnyckyj (Orange Circle)
Oleksandr Todiychuk (MOU/UA-EC)
Igor Chalupec (PKN-Orlen/Fmr. Pres.)
Friedemann Muller (Inst. for Int'l & Sec. Affairs)
Keith Smith (CSIS); Tom Spellman (Halliburton)
John Micgiel (Columbia University);
Janusz Reiter (PL Ambassador to the US)
Morgan Williams (SigmaBleyzer, US-Ukraine Business Council)
Yuri Yekhanurov (Fmr. UA Prime Minister);
David Sweere (Kyiv-Atlantic Farms)
Urszula Gacek (Senat Rzeczpospolitej)
Anders Aslund (Peterson Institute)
Nadia McConnell (USUF)
Mykhajlo Volynets (CITU/UA)
Robert Fielding (AFL-CIO/UA)
Marek Matraszek (CEC)
Keith Crane (RAND)
Jan Bugajski (CSIS)
Klaus Scharioth (DE Ambassador to the US)
Vitkor Nikityuk (UA DCM to the US)
Ilko Kucheriv (DIF)
Joao De Vallera (Ambassador of Portugal to the United States)
Jan Pieklo (PAUCI)
Yuri Sergeyev (UA Ambassador to the UN)
Audrius Bruzga (Lithuanian Amb. to the US)
Steve Pifer (CSIS)
Nico Lange (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung)
Roman Shpek (UA Delegation to EU)
Michael Gahler (FRC/Euro-Parliament)
Ariel Cohen (Heritage Foundation)
Herman Pirchner (AFPC)
Zbigniew Brzezinski (Senior Counselor/CSIS)
F. Steven Larrabee (RAND)
leksandr Biletsky (European Movement/UA)
Oleksandr Sushko (CPCFPU)
Vooldymyr Dubovyk (CIS/ONU)
Yuri Scherbak (Kyiv Mohylian University)
Hryhoriy Perepylytysa (Dipl. Academy/UA)
Lewis Madanick (Open World/LOC)
Bohdan Sokolovski (State Secretariat)
Bogdan Klich (Euro-Parliament)
Steven Sestanovich (Columbia University)
Ilan Berman (AFPC)
Yevhen Kaminsky (IWE/NASU)
James Sherr (Sandhurst)
Celeste Wallander (Georgetown Univ.)
William Courtney (CSC/Dyncorp.)
Angelos Pangratis (Dep. Head of the EC Delegation to the US)
William Miller (WWIC)
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Robert Bensh (Cardinal Resources)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPONSORS:
American Foreign Policy Council; Atlantic Council of the United States
Center For US-Ukrainian Relations; Congressional Ukrainian Caucus
Columbia University/ECEC; Democratic Initiatives Foundation
Embassy of Ukraine to the United States; Harvard University/BSSP
International Republican Institute (IRI); Johns Hopkins University/SAIS
National Democratic Institute (NDI); New York University /LAP
UA Center for Strategic Studies; U.S.-Ukraine Business Council
(USUBC); US-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTACT: Marta Kostyk, US Quest RTS Technical Coordinator
Center for US Ukrainian Relations, 43 St. Mark's Place, NY, NY 10003
Tel: (212) 473 0839, fax: (212) 473 2180, E-mail: cusur1014@gmail.com
http://usukrainianrelations.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=56
http://usukrainianrelations.org/index.php?option=com_performs&formid=1&Itemid=84
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
17. ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE: ORANGE OR BLUE?

Europarl.europa.eu, Brussels, Belgium, Thu, 27 Sep 2007

On Sunday, the Ukraine, one of the European Union's most important
neighbors, goes to the polls and a delegation from the European Parliament
will be there to observe whether or not the elections are up to
international standards.

The three main parties are led by President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister and
an ally of the President during the 2004 "Orange Revolution". The President
and Prime Minister agreed to hold early parliamentary elections in May after
a mounting political crisis.
European Parliament to observe elections
A delegation of 14 MEPs heads to the Ukraine on Thursday to observe the
elections. Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, the deputy head of the Ukraine Mission to
the EU, who participated in preparations for the visit said, "Ukrainian
society and politicians listen very attentively to what the EP is saying
(and would be) grateful if EP delegation would not only observe but also
articulate a message and give advice."
Recent political developments
In 2004 Ukraine underwent the "Orange Revolution", when large-scale popular
protests broke out after the presidential elections, which were officially
won by Viktor Yanukovich, who was backed by the outgoing president. The
result of the unrest was a re-run of the presidential election sweeping Mr
Yushchenko to victory in early 2005.

Yulia Tymoshenko, his close ally became prime minister. However their
alliance soon fell apart and the President sacked the Tymoshenko govenment
in September 2005.

In March 2006 Yanukovich´s party won the new parliamentary elections and he
eventually took office in August. He has since built a majority in the
Parliament.

Amid concerns that an increased majority would allow Mr Yanukovich to reject
presidential vetoes, make changes to the constitution, and impeach the
president, President Yushchenko dissolved parliament on 2 April and called
early elections.

Initially Parliament rejected his authority do so, but eventually the
President and Prime Minister agreed to hold elections on 30 September.
EU focus on Ukraine
After the EU-Ukraine Summit in September, EU leaders said that Ukraine's
move towards strengthening democracy, the rule of law and the respect of
human rights will reinforce political and economic links between the two. If
elections are free and fair, it's the best evidence of the country's ability
to accomplish the goal, they said.

In a July resolution, the Parliament called for the adoption of political
reforms, a fight against corruption and a reform of the civil service. It
has closely followed political developments in Ukraine.

It was among those denouncing irregularities in the 2004 election and a
Parliament delegation was in Independence Square in Kiev, which was at the
epicenter of the Orange Revolution. It subsequently sent an observation team
to monitor the re-run election. The EP was among the first of President
Yushchenko's foreign trips.
An important neighbor
Ukraine, a former constituent republic of the Soviet Union, became an
independent country in 1991 and is one of the EU's most significant
immediate neighbors.

It has a population of about 47 million and covers a geographical area of
603,700 square kilometer - about 10% greater than metropolitan France. The
country borders four EU Member States: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and
Romania. Its capital is Kiev. (www.Europarl.europa.eu<