Orange Revolution Goes Through First Tough Election

KIEV, Ukraine -- A judicious test awaits the Orange Revolution as the government in Ukraine will be going through a parliamentary election for the first time today since 2004.

Yushchenko (L), Tymoshenko (C) and Yanukovych (R)
Ukraine is prepared to consider the odds of forming a stand-alone government after the first parliamentary elections. Viktor Yushchenko, the revolutionary President of Ukraine, will face a challenge, whatever the election results happen to be, reporters said.

Ukraine is aiming to gain membership to the European Union as well as to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the medium run. There will be approximately 10,000 foreign monitors for today’s crucial test of democracy.

Pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych could win 25-30 percent of the votes, becoming the winner of the elections. Yushchenko, the mastermind of the Orange Revolution, and Yulya Tymoshenko, the first lady of Revolution, are to have equal proportions of 20 percent of votes to come out second or third in the polls, according to the recent public surveys.

None of the three parties are decorated with enough credentials to rule alone, a sign the a coalition government will be formed.

The limit was set to three percent for Yuschenko’s Our Ukraine Bloc, Tymoshenko’s Byut Bloc, and Yanukovych’s Regions Party, aside from two or three other small-scale parties, to win a place in the 450-seat parliament.

Business circles support “Yushchenko-Yanukovych” coalition

A possible Yushchenko-Yanukovych coalition, will pave the way for presidency for the female politician Tymoshenko in the next elections. President of Kiev Political Evaluations Center, Oles Doniy told big business circles are in favor of a Yushchenko-Yanukovych coalition as they do not want to damage the stability.

On the other side, sociologist Viktor Nebojenko say that the government may go out of Yuschenko’s control, which will be shaken by economic and political turbulences after the elections.

On the contrary to the presidential elections, which resulted in the orange revolution, the public is lacking “enthusiasm and hope”. Yet, the revolution supporters who were disappointed by the orange revolution, seem not to have changed their sides against pro-Russian Yanukovych.

In his last statement before the presidential elections,” This will be an election between the past and future. You must go to the ballots and cast your vote in favor of democratic forces,” told Yushchenko to the public. On the other side, Yanukovych defended that the Yushchenko government deceived the public and caused the country to experience big troubles.

Source: Zaman Daily