Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

Controversy and doubt remain over Yushchenko's alleged poisoning with question being asked Was he in fact poisoned and if so who and by how still unresolved.  The evidence Yushchenko's claims he has to back up the allegation of poisoning has never been presented in a court of law or even the subject of a judicial inquiry.  It is all just hear say. The death of JFK, Princess Dianna and other notable assignation attempts and conspiracy theories,  including 9/11 have all been subjected to a an open inquiry with the evidence subjected to cross examination. President Yushchenko has been in office for nearly  five years and still the evidence has not been tested. Why?  Was he even poisoned?  A few months back  Yushchenko's allegations were brought into question with one of Ukraine's senior officers investigating the veracity of Yushchenko's allegations raising concern that the blood samples sent to Europe for analysis were sent via the U...

Poll: Yanukovych, Tymoshenko have highest presidential ratings Interfax-Ukraine Party of Regions of Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko have the highest ratings among all the potential presidential candidates to run in the 2010 elections, a poll conducted by the Social and Political Psychology Institute under the Ukrainian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences has found. Candidate Percentage Viktor Yanukovych 27.17% Yulia Tymoshenko 20.00% Arseniy Yatseniuk 9.40% Petro Symonenko 6.00% Viktor Yushchenko 3.70% Volodymyr Lytvyn 3.50% Sergiy Tigipko 3.10% SUM 72.87%

YANUKOVYCH SCHEDULED TO WIN 2010 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Source: Research and Branding and Kyiv Post   T he Research & Branding Group conducted the survey due to evaluate the population's attitudes to the actual issues of the socio-political life of Ukraine. Information collection were done by personal interview method in 24 oblasts of Ukraine and Crimea. Respondents were selected by quota sample, representing the state's adult population by place of residence (oblast), sex and age. The volume of the sample - 3118 persons. Expecting middle sample's error ± 2,2%. If Yanukovych and Tymoshenko had participated in the run-off, they would have received 41.9% and 29.8% of the vote respectively Previous Research and Branding poll comparison table Candidate October August Swing V. Yanukovich 31.00% 26.0% +4.0% Y. Timoshenko 18.40% 16.5% +2.1% A. Yatsenyuk 9....

Ukraine's opposition leader, Viktor Yanukovych , has been registered as a candidate for Ukraine's Presidential election scheduled to take place on Sunday January 17, 2010. Yanukovych is the highest polling candidate and is generally expected to win the election at a second round ballot to be held sometime in February 2010. Yulia Tymoshenko , the second highest polling candidates has yet to submit her documents for registration.  Other candidates who are expected to put the name in the hat but have not yet applied for registration include Oleksandr Moroz , leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine Yuriy Kostenko Ukrainian Peoples' Party and member of the Our Ukraine bloc, Prosepective candidates for election must submit their application for registration prior to November 6. The Central Election commission then has three days to process any nomination.

Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yushchenko, has submitted his nomination form for a second term  in office. Yushchenko continues to struggle to gain attraction and support.  He remains stuck on 3% coming in near the bottom of the list with over 86% of Ukrainians indicating that they will not support his re-election. There are already three additional members of his own party nominating to replace him,  Yuriy Kostenko, Oleh Tyahnybok, Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk .  Each nomination weakening his chances of a comeback. The list to date. Inna Bohoslovska [26] [27] [28] Anatoliy Hrytsenko , member of Our Ukraine , former Minister of Defense [29] [30] [31] Volodymyr Lytvyn , parliamentary speaker [32] [33] Oleh Ryabokon [34] Petro Symonenko , Leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine [35] [36] Serhiy Tihipko , former CEO of the National Bank of Ukraine [37] [38] [39] Arseniy Yatsenyuk , former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada member of Our Uk...

Ukraine's embattled President, Viktor Yushchenko, will self nominate for the position of President raising speculation that he no longer has the support of his own party Our Ukraine. Yushchenko will now pay the 2.5 Million hrivna election deposit himself.  Currently there are two other members of Our Urkaine who have nominated to contest the Presidential election against Yushchenko. ( Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk ) Public opinion polls have consistently place Yushchenko's support rating at below 3% and he is not considered a serious contender for a second term. Prospective candidates have until November 6, 2009 to register with the Central Election Commission .

The Central Election Commission has formally registered four candidates,  with an additional three submitting documents on Friday.  The Commission is required to process any application within three days of documents being submitted. Inna Bohoslovska , pending Anatoliy Hrytsenko , approved Volodymyr Lytvyn , pending Oleh Ryabokon , approved Petro Symonenko , pending Serhiy Tihipko , approved Arseniy Yatsenyuk , approved       * in alphabetical order source Wikipedia The big three contenders Viktor Yanukovych, Yulia Tymoschenko and incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko are yet to submit their request for registration. Each candidate is required to pay an election deposit of 2.5 million hryvina (approximately US$300.00) Only the two highest polling candidates who progress to the second round of voting re entitled to a refund of the deposit. Candidates are also required to furnish a financial disclosure statement within 3 days of nominat...

The Ukraine Parliament has overwelmingly rejected Victor Yushchenko's proposed Constitutional Reforms Yushchenko's has proposed that Ukraine revert back to a soviet style presidential autocracy where the President would have absolute power of Ukraine's parliament, the courts and the executive government. If implemented Ukraine would no longer be a democratic state.  Ukraine's Constitution can only be amended with the support of two-thirds majority (300 or more) of the parliament. 48 out of 450 members (11%) of Ukraine's Parliament voted to support the president's proposed reforms.

Kyiv Post has published a very insightful article into the recent "Sex scandal at Artek allegations". It raises a number of serious issues not the least the potential misuse and abuse of "free media". Media fails its first campaign test in coverage of sex abuse scandal Today, 21:15 | Otar Dovzhenko, Special to Kyiv Post Otar Dovzhenko gives an “F” to Ukraine’s media. The word “scandal” doesn’t do justice in describing the bombshell that exploded in the Ukrainian media a week before the official Oct. 19 start of the presidential election campaign. By its destructive potential and its ability to shape the political campaign, “the pedophile case” can be already compared to the “tapegate” scandal of nearly 10 years ago. The tape scandal involved the surreptitious taping of ex-President Leonid Kuchma by presidential bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko. The recordings – purportedly catching Kuchma and top officials running the nation as a criminal enterpris...

Ukraine's Constitutional Court has brought down its ruling .  As previously reported in a leak the Court has ruled unconstitutional five provisions of the Law on the Presidential Elections. 1. The provision that required voters abroad to be registered with the consulate before having the right to vote.  Now any citizen of Ukraine can turn up and apply to vote at a Ukrainian consulate abroad. In a strange and some what conflicting move the Court upheld the abolition of absentee voting.  Seems that if your are living abroad you can vote but if your holidaying in Ukraine or visiting friends or relatives you are denied the right to vote. If your voting abroad you still have to attend the consulate offices. In 2007 the number of voters voting abroad was less then 0.05% 2. The provision that members of the local CEC boards needed to be registered as living within the area has been removed This is a reasonable change but will not effect the conduct of the election 3. P...

Having spent much of this year undermining Ukraine's economy Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko, has come out and ad mitted that Ukraine's economic situation is more optimistic than it had been expected at the beginning of the year. What Yushchenko does not mention or give credit for is the handling of the crisis by the Tymoshenko government.

Ukraine's Parliament has voted 390 out of 438 taking the first step to amend Ukraine's Constitution and remove parliamentary immunity and limit Presidential immunity. Under the provisions of Ukraine's current constitution Ukraine's President is the only person who has absolute immunity. Members of parliament currently have the same immunity as that afforded to Judges. The proposed amendments means that the President can not be arrested or detained without the consent of the parliament. If the president is found guilty of an offense he automatically loses office. Members of Parliament will no longer  be able to claim immunity from criminal liability.  They can not be arrested or detained without the consent of the parliament or a court order. They can be prosecuted. The proposed amendment also removes a members of parliaments liability for defamation for actions and statements made within the parliament.  This brings Ukraine's constitutional provisions in li...

People's deputy of Ukraine Inna Bohoslovska intends this week to present its candidature for the post of President of Ukraine. All necessary documents will be submitted to the CEC by 23 October ", - said I. Bohoslovska in comments, uploaded UNIAN. MP said that "the first time 90 days before the presidential election by more than half of the Ukraine did not want to vote for those who were in power. This means that the presidential elections in 2010 will be a choice between old and new. That's why I go to the president to protect people from the government that prokralasya and country - from the outside takeover. I like you, do not believe that someone from the old government can solve these problems". According to Inna Bohoslovska, "in the crisis became clear that those in power the last 5-10 years, not able to change the situation for the better. Ukraine needs new faces. Instead, we propose to make a choice of "best of the worst". Inna Boh...

Source Kyivpost Eighty-three percent of Ukrainians would definitely not vote for incumbent President Viktor Yuschenko at the next presidential election, an opinion poll suggests. Oleh Tiahnybok, leader of the nationalist Svoboda group, was second to Yuschenko in the "presidential anti-rating" poll taken jointly by the Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute of Social Studies and the Social Monitoring Center. Seventy-eight percent named Tiahnybok when asked, "Who would you vote for under no circumstances?" Parliamentary deputy Iryna Bohoslovska came third with 75%. Anatoliy Hrytsenko, head of the parliamentary committee on national security and defense, and Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko each received 73%. Former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych, leader of the opposition Party of Regions, and Arseniy Yatseniuk, leader of the Front for Change public initiative, were at the bottom of the list, with 45% and 47% respectively. Yanukovych also enjoys the gre...

Today is the official start of Ukraine's Presidential election campaign  90 days until January 17, 2010 when Ukraine goes to the polls to elect a new head of state. All public opinion polls have been consistent in showing a final contest between the leader of the opposition Viktor Yanukovych and Ukraine's incumbent Prime-minister Yulia Tymoshenko. All other potential candidates come in a far distance behind.  Under Ukraine's Presidential electoral system  the two highest polling candidates will face off in a second round ballot to determine the winner. Elections are not cheap and even more expensive when you have to two rounds of voting. The 2010 Presidential elections are expected to cost over 1 billion dollars with a direct cost of one hundred dollars per round and a further estimated 100 million dollars per candidate in campaign costs. Ukraine toyed with the idea of electing the head of state by a constitutional majority of Ukraine's Parliament as is the ca...

ELECTORAL SITUATION IN UKRAINE ON THE EVE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL START   Source: Research and Branding   T he Research & Branding Group conducted the survey due to evaluate the population's attitudes to the actual issues of the socio-political life of Ukraine. Information collection were done by personal interview method in 24 oblasts of Ukraine and Crimea. Respondents were selected by quota sample, representing the state's adult population by place of residence (oblast), sex and age. The volume of the sample - 3119 persons. Expecting middle sample's error   ± 2,2%. Comment :  This poll is incomplete as only 69.90% is accounted for. (Missing 30.10% could be others, unknown, against all, will not vote)  Research and Branding did not published expectations on the outcome of a run-off between Yanukovych and Tymoshenko. Based on other polls which have been consistent Yanukovych is still in poll position with an expect...

Review on Law of Presidential Elections The Venice Commission has published its " Joint Opinion on the Law on Amending some legislative acts on the election of the President of Ukraine adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 24 July 2009 " A. Nomination and Candidate Registration 14. Articles 9.4 and 56.5 include a restriction on candidacy based upon criminal conviction for any “intentional crime.” The Venice Commission has rightly criticised the Legislation in its application.  A common criteria in assessing a persons rights to nominate for public office and the seriousness of any offence is to restrict anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offence resulting in a five-year term of imprisonment.  Someone who has committed a serious felony.  As the law stands it could be used to unfairly prevent a candidate who has a minor conviction  from standing or worst still the conviction could be politically motivated.  A minimum five year prison term is...

Ukraine's incumbent president Viktor Yushchenko earlier this month stated that he would win the next Presidential election. An extraordinary achievement given that the polls have consistently shown him with less then 3% support. The latest poll published by FOM has Yushchenko listed at 2.2% KIEV, October 12 ( RIA Novosti ) The leader of the opposition Party of Regions is leading public opinion polls in Ukraine ahead of presidential election scheduled for January 17, 2010, the UNIAN news agency reported on Monday. According to a poll conducted by the Ukraine Public Opinion Foundation, 26.8% of voters are ready to cast their votes in favor of Viktor Yanukovych, a former prime minister widely seen as pro-Russian. Incumbent leader Viktor Yushchenko trails with a mere 2.2%. Yushchenko defeated Yanukovych five years ago in an election re-run, which followed street protests against alleged ballot rigging. The power shift to a pro-Western leadership was known as the Orange Revolution....

Fairvote USA challenges America to embrace democratic electoral reform and the introduction of IRV (preferential voting)

US President Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace prize amidst concern and puzzlement as to why? Many also ask why was Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko, who along with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 . Four years on the latest Nobel Prize nominee will not meet with Ukraine's President Yushchenko during his visit to the United States, such is his fall from grace. 52% support in 2005 now as low as 2.8% in 2009 . and Mikhail Saakashvili is considered a war criminal Whilst Obama is worthy of consideration I am not sure he as yet warrants such recognition.

Having been rebuffed by the US President during last weeks UN meeting in the United States, Yushchenko has again been denied another meeting with a head of state.  This time Russia .  Medvedev had no time to meet with Yushchenko during the regional meeting in Moldova this week.

Viktor Yushchenko was denied a meeting with newly elected President Obama.  Yushchenko hoped to meet with the President last week during Yushchenko's visit to the UN.  The shunning of Ukraine's President by the US is another sign of Yushchenko's diminishing influence on the international stage. The US administration clearly has written Yushchenko off as a bad investment and wants to remain at a distance knowing full well that he will not be in office in four months time.

With less then 99 days to go The trend is pretty much lock in. Yushchenko is still below 3% and Yatseniuk has lost ground to Tymoshenko. Only Tymoshenko and Yanukovich are in position to progress to the second round of voting all other candidates are so far behind it is a two horse race. All other contenders are wasting their money and will lose their 2.5 million deposit. At a cost of over one billion dollars the notion of holding a direct election seams pretty much a stupid idea and a total wast of limited resources. Source Kyivpost SOCIS  Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's popularity ratings have been on the upturn in recent months, while the rating of the Front for Change leader, Arseniy Yatseniuk, has dropped by more than 30%, the SOCIS pollster reported after a poll, conducted from September 20 to October 1. Yanukovych would be supported by 28.7% of those polled (up 0.9% against July) and Tymoshenko by 19.0% (up 2.1%)...

Source Russia Today . The evidence of the 2004 poisoning of the Ukrainian President was falsified by high-ranking officials and Viktor Yushchenko’s family members, a representative of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office has said. Larisa Cherednichenko, the head of the department for supervision of investigations into criminal cases of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office, was working for the parliamentary commission looking into the circumstances surrounding the alleged poisoning. The findings add yet another twist to the mysterious story that’s been puzzling many for five years. Foreign Notes reports on an article published by Ukrainian Pravda which includes an transcript of the alleged telephone conversation. Two questions stand out "Who was recording the conversation and why? and why was the blood sample routed to the Netherlands (Holland) via the USA?"

Doubt and suspicion has been cast on the identity of the decapitated corpse believed to belong to Ukrainian Journalist Georgiy Gongadze. Georgiy Gongadze disappeared on September 16 2000. Later a beheaded corpse was found in the Tarashcha forest which was believed to belong to Gongadze. Mykola Dzhyha, a member of Parliament, questioned the identity of the body found claiming that "Chief forensic medical expert of Ukraine, Yuri Shupik, and well-known anthropologist, Oleg Pylypchuk,stated that the body found could not belong to Gongadze because it had been lying there decaying since the previous winter". The unsolved murder of Georgiy Gongadze has raised its head when prime suspect Oleksiy Pukach was arrested and detained in August amidst concern that the arrest was politically motivated and timed to coincide with the 2010 Presidential election. Gongadze's mother , who has refused to bury the body of her son, has called for DNA testing to be made outside Ukraine ...

YUSHCHENKO TO LEAVE FOR AMERICA AFTER ELECTION It turns out that Viktor Yushchenko has already figured in the summer of their future. That's when the American vice-president Joe Biden brought the news that Obama, unlike the previous administration, it has not seen the president of Ukraine. After that Yushchenko would not only put paid to the revival of "Our Ukraine" to create a campaign headquarters. He began to pack suitcases in the literal sense of the word. In late summer with the Zhitomir airport to send a few planes in Canada. According source closer to the Presidential Secretariat, there were two or three "side", led by first lady uvezshih extensive collection of antiques collected by Viktor Andreyevich for many years. Sources in the PR and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Yushchenko enthusiastically watching all the time in his presidency, believe that the Canadian property through diplomatic channels exiting the U.S., home of Chicago-born Kateryna Yushche...

A group of West-Ukrainian intellectuals on Thursday urged President Viktor Yushchenko and politicians from the 'democratic' camp to renounce plans to run for presidency in the upcoming election and to offer their supporters to vote for Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, "who has more chances to win in January 2010." Dr. Stepan Pavlyuk, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the chairman of the Congress of Ukrainian Intelligentsia of the Lvov Region said this at a news conference in Lvov. He said an appeal to Yushchenko and other politicians to unite around Timoshenko as a single democratic candidate had been endorsed at a congress of West-Ukrainian intellectuals in the town of Rakhov in sub-Carpathian Ukraine. The document that carries fifty signatures says the intellectuals view Timoshenko as the only candidate capable of running against the leader of the Regions Party, Viktor Yanukovich, who has huge electoral support in the industrialized eastern regions...

Yushchenko spent 21 million for foreign trips   Ukraine's president Viktor Yushchenko has spent up big on international travel amidst concerns that there is little to no gain from the expenditure leaving Ukraine to pick up the tab.    Yushchenko always takes big suite in his foreign trips, spends millions, but often brings nothing useful back – no important agreements or serious contracts. The president has made 76 trips for the years of his presidency. In his first year Yushchenko spent 15.7 million and this year 20.9 million UAH. Leonid Kuchma, for example, spent only 5.9 million for trips in 2004. Commenting on the president’s trip to Turkmenistan on September 15-16, vice speaker Mykola Tomenko, BYuT faction, said that Yushchenko used two planes and took with him a lot of officials, attendants and musicians. Expenses for president’s upkeep rose by 31%, 1.6 milliard UAH from the budget.

Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) has published the time table for the Presidential election October 19: Official 90 day Election Campaign  period commences October 20 to November 6 : Nominations open November 9 : Deadline for nomination documents/submissions      CEC has five days to assess and approve or reject nominations November 11 : Deadline for candidates to submit any corrections to documentation November 13 : CEC to finalise registration of nominations November 15 : CEC to publish nomination lists of candidates      CEC provides certified copies of the voters list to all candidates.      Within Three days of registration Candidates must provide a statement of assets and income      Candidates allowed to commence official campaign one day after registration is finalised. December 15 : CEC to approve ballot paper format ready for printing. January 2 : Last day for ...

Viktor Yushchenko continues to push for his Constitutional reform . If implemented it would spell the end to Ukraine as a democratic state. Instead of being a democracy Ukraine would become a Presidential autocracy. Holding an open public debate where Yushchenko's version of constitutioanl reform is the only item up for discussion is not the way to go about seeking reform Yushchenko can not legally change Ukraine's Constitution without the support of the Parliament. Ukraine's Constitution can not be amended before the next Presidential election.  The Parliament is the only body that can amend Ukraine's Constitution. In accordance with Chapter XIII: Ukraine's Constitution can only be amended with the consent of no less than two-thirds of the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In addition amendments to Chapter I — "General Principles," Chapter III — "Elections. Referendum," and Chapter XIII — "Introduci...