Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

Various statements by marginal presidential candidates about the likely electoral fraud are aimed to create a background for their post-election information campaigns and lawsuits, the leader of the Yedyny Tsentr Viktor Baloha said Nov. 24. Source zik.com.ua   Alarming declarations about the likely vote rigging directly point to organizational weaknesses of some candidates as the law allows for reliable barriers against any electoral fraud. For instance, any presidential candidate can send his 2 representatives to sit on local and regional electoral commissions, appoint observers to keep an eye on voting and counting of ballots. Proxies of candidates who have wide authority can also supervise the course of the voting. “These representative must have absolute trust of their patron. Everything depends on the correct choice of a candidate and professional level of his team,” Baloha summed up. Other effective barriers to electoral fraud are the Central Election Commission [wh...

Ukraine's embattled and disgraced President, Viktor Yushchenko, having caused the collapse of the orange revolution, and betrayed all those who supported his election, has stated for the first time that he will bow out of politics following the next presidential election. Yushchenko's support rating is less then 4 percent and he is set to lose office in the first round of the election. Many commentators believe he should have bowed out long ago and should not have re-nominated. By standing for a second term he is denying opportunity for those who support his candidacy to transfer their support to another candidate.  Those who will vote for Yushchenko in January will be throwing their vote away, they would be better off staying at home and not voting at all or voting "against all". In 2005 Yushchenko enjoyed the support of 52% of Ukraine and was even nominated for a Nobel prize.  His fall from grace could not be more dramatic. Where once he was the toast of the ...

50 days to go and Yanukovych is set to win the second round of voting with over 50% of the vote According to the lastest Research and Branding electoral poll also published on KyivPost Under Ukraine's flawed first-past-the-post voting system only the two highest polling candidates progress to the second round of voting. Yushchenko still remains the biggest loser stuck on 3.5% Lytvyn is holding ground doubling his last months rating. Yatseniuk is dropping by the week but still remains in third place ten percentage points below Tymoshenko. On a  two candidate preferred basis Yanukovych is on 47.4% to Tymoshenko 28.1%   - adjusted for the expected turn out (87%) Yanukovych wins over 50% of the vote Candidate Nov Oct Swing V. Yanukovich 32.40% 31.00% 1.4% Y. Timoshenko 16.30% 18.40% -2.1% A. Yatsenyuk 6.10% 9.60% -3.5% V. Litvin 4.50% 2.30% 2.2% S. Tig...

In what has been a full on news day for Ukraine it has become obvious that Ukraine will face another fresh round of Parliamentary elections in the new year. Party of Regions, Viktor Yanukovych has indicated that they aim to secure both the presidency and the prime-ministership once the Presidential election is over. Effort will be made to form a new coalition to appoint a new government. If that fails the newly elected president will seek ways to dismiss the parliament and hold fresh elections. Any possibility of meaningful long term constitutional reform will fall by the wayside as Ukraine becomes a one party state. This is what’s at risk the most. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yanukovych may soon forsake the ideal of Ukraine adopting a European Parliamentary system in favor of short-term power and control. Yulia Tymoshenko has conceded as much. Parliamentary elections should not allowed to proceed without first addressing the fundamental issue ...

Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yushchenko, has launched his bid for a second term of office promising a host of things he cannot deliver, He claims he will secure Ukraine the right to visa free travel within Europe and will dismiss Ukraine's parliament if they do not conform to his demands and adopt his proposed new constitution which would see the President invested in absolute power and control. His platform for a second term was presented to a less then packed audience of members of his staff and the remnants of his party Our Ukraine who have remained loyal and supportive of the president. Yushchenko's statements and reports in the media have demonstrated why he should not and will not be re-elected to a second term. Yushchenko's demands that the parliament must adopt his proposed constitutional reforms or face dismissal shows a complete lack of understanding of Ukraine's laws and democratic values. Yushchenko attempts to force a referendum to i...

With less then eight weeks left before the next presidential election little has changed in terms of expected results. Ukraine's embattled President, Viktor Yushchenko, will launch his bid for a second term today, a bid that will surely fail.  Whilst the first set of official opinion polls are yet to be published there is little change expected in the overall outcome. The two highest polling candidates remain Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko.  Yasteniuk comes in a distant third - 10 percentage pointed behind Yulia Tymoshenko with the rest of the flotilla lagging even further behind. With little prospect of any significant change occurring in the next 8 weeks. Yushchenko's party Our Ukraine is floating four candidates in this election with each candidate competing against each other dividing their share of the overall vote. With Yushchenko expected to lose outright in the first round his Party Our Ukraine will soon after dissolve and split into two with one sec...

Unburied bodies tell the tale of Detroit — a city in despair by Tim Reid in Detroit    The abandoned corpses, in white body bags with number tags tied to each toe, lie one above the other on steel racks inside a giant freezer in Detroit’s central mortuary, like discarded shoes in the back of a wardrobe. Some have lain here for years, but in recent months the number of unclaimed bodies has reached a record high. For in this city that once symbolised the American Dream many cannot even afford to bury their dead. “I have not seen this many unclaimed bodies in 13 years on the job,” said Albert Samuels, chief investigator at the mortuary. “It started happening when the economy went south last year. I have never seen this many people struggling to give people their last resting place.” Unburied bodies piling up in the city mortuary — it reached 70 earlier this year — is the latest and perhaps most appalling indignity to be heaped on the people of Detroit. The motor city ...