Home>News Center>World
         
 

Ukraine president says new vote possible
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-11-30 09:03

Facing a relentless tide of opposition protests, embattled President Leonid Kuchma said Monday that a new election might be the only way out of a spiraling crisis that threatens to split the country into a pro-Russian east and a pro-Western rest of Ukraine.


A supporter of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko waves a flag as he looks down at the supporters of rival presidential candidates gathering in front of the Ukrainian Supreme Court in Kiev on Monday. [AP Photo]

Kuchma warned that "we cannot in any instance allow the disintegration or division of Ukraine," and US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he had telephoned the Ukrainian president to express concern about reports of a possible splintering of the country.

Kuchma ! who along with the Kremlin has staunchly supported the official winner of the disputed Nov. 21 runoff, his Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych ! has called for compromise throughout the standoff but had not previously endorsed another vote.

"If we really want to preserve peace and harmony, if we really want to build a democratic state ... let's hold new elections," said Kuchma, who did not seek another term. He said Ukraine needs a "legitimate president" and added that the crisis could be resolved through a "constitutional agreement" endorsed by parliament, suggesting existing law might not be flexible enough to accommodate a settlement.

Yanukovych, who was declared the winner of the runoff by a margin of 871,402 votes, said he would support another vote if allegations of fraud in the election are proven ! but that he had yet to see such proof.

Yushchenko has pushed for a new vote to settle the runoff, but Kuchma's remarks suggested the government may want to start the whole election process over. Kuchma's statement could also indicate a desire to win a respite from the relentless opposition blockade of official buildings.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (L) delivers his speech as Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich listens during a meeting with regional officials near Kiev, November 29, 2004. Outgoing President Kuchma said on Monday Ukraine's financial system could collapse within days "like a house of cards" and that neither he nor his government could be responsible. [Reuters]

Kuchma spoke as Yushchenko's supporters contested the vote in the Supreme Court, demanding that it cancel the official results because of evidence of fraud.

Addressing tens of thousands of supporters who flooded central Kiev for the eighth straight day, Yushchenko urged them to maintain their vigil despite freezing temperatures. "The next couple of days will bring a solution," Yushchenko said, as the crowd shouted in support.

He said he expects the court's verdict soon, and added that the opposition would also try Tuesday to topple Yanukovych's Cabinet through a no-confidence motion in parliament.

But in a sign of division in Yanukovych's camp, Serhiy Tyhypko resigned as his campaign chief and also stepped down as Central Bank chairman.

Kuchma warned that the country's financial system could "fall apart like a house of cards" in "a few days."

"Neither the president nor the government can be held responsible for this," he said. "The government cannot work in a normal way as you can all clearly see."

Yanukovych told Powell's deputy, Richard Armitage, that he had sought to moderate the pro-Russia eastern regions' push for autonomy, but added that "if the opposition fails to compromise, the threat of Ukraine's break up remains real," the Interfax news agency reported.

"There is little time left for finding a balanced political decision: not even days, but hours," Yanukovych said, according to Interfax. "If we don't do that, the situation may spin out of control."

Yanukovych's native Donetsk province scheduled an autonomy referendum for Sunday, and other eastern regions threatened to follow suit if Yanukovych is shut out of the presidency.

Russian-speakers are concentrated in the eastern industrial heartland of Ukraine. Many easterners feel a growing alienation from the more western regions ! ruled by Poland until the 1700s ! where voters overwhelmingly supported Yushchenko's reformist program and orientation toward Europe. Eastern Ukraine is more heavily populated than the west, and many of its citizens ! coal miners and factory workers ! see themselves as holding the country together economically.

A spokesman for Yushchenko's campaign in the eastern Luhansk region, Dmitriy Malikov, said several dozen Yanukovych supporters armed with brass knuckles and hammers beat about 70 Yushchenko supporters. He said some 20 people were injured, including a Canadian election monitor.

In a conversation with Armitage, Yanukovych said that his son had been attacked and other family members had been pressured by the opposition, prompting him to send his family out of Kiev.

The opposition has voiced fears that Kuchma or his aides might try to introduce a state of emergency, but Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk ruled it out and said the army wouldn't move against the people.

Ukraine's election crisis has pitted Russia against the United States and other Western nations, which have refused to accept official results. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Powell on Monday that the dispute must be resolved in accordance with Ukrainian law.

Under Ukrainian legislation, the Supreme Court cannot rule on the overall results but can declare results invalid in individual precincts. Mykola Katerinchuk, a Yushchenko aide, said the appeal focused on results in eight eastern and southern Ukrainian regions ! more than 15 million votes, almost half of the total cast in the runoff.

The Supreme Court said last week that the official election results could not be published until it rules on Yushchenko's challenge ! effectively blocking Yanukovych's inauguration. On Saturday, parliament passed a nonbinding resolution declaring the election invalid.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

ASEAN tariff-cut pact steps toward free trade

 

   
 

Three-way dialogue goes win-win

 

   
 

"Income gap" tops senior officials' concerns

 

   
 

Al Qaeda's Zawahri says will keep fighting US

 

   
 

Death toll rises to 50 in Shaanxi mine blast

 

   
 

Half Chinese not feel "close" with Japanese

 

   
  Suicide bomber kills 12 in attack on Iraqi police
   
  Ukraine president says new vote possible
   
  US death toll in Iraq nears record
   
  Al Qaeda's Zawahri says will keep fighting US
   
  33 dead or missing in Philippines storm
   
  WHO: Bird flu far more deadly than SARS
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Ukraine: Court debates validity of election
   
Ukraine's supreme court weighs election appeal
   
Ukraine in danger of splitting
   
Ukraine opposition urges PM's ouster
   
Ukraine's election controversy drags on
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement