Ukraine's New Orange Alliance May Give Timoshenko Election Edge

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's Orange Revolution allies, Yulia Timoshenko and President Viktor Yushchenko, said their renewed alliance after a two-year split will bring them victory in tomorrow's parliamentary elections.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko (L) welcomes opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
Timoshenko, the president's first prime minister when he took office in 2005, will regain her post, Yuriy Lutsenko, the leader of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party, told several thousand supporters during an outdoor rally in the capital Kiev last night.

``We have signed an agreement with Timoshenko's bloc,'' said Lutsenko. ``We will form the cabinet the day after we know the results of the vote.''

Yushchenko's accord with Timoshenko restores the alliance swept to power in the 2004 Orange Revolution, which was triggered by rigged presidential elections. The two, who aim to move closer to the European Union and NATO, fell out during Timoshenko's premiership, allowing Viktor Yanukovych, who seeks stronger ties with Russia, to win elections last year and become prime minister.

``Ukrainians, please cheer up,'' said Yushchenko yesterday on Ukrainian TV. ``Ukraine has a great chance on Sept. 30 and it must use it. There is no alternative to democracy in the country.''

The president's Our Ukraine party was third in the last opinion poll before the elections, with the backing of 13.1 percent of voters, according to a Sept. 1-10 survey of 2,004 voters by the Kiev-based Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies. Timoshenko had 23.5 percent support and Yanukovych 33.9 percent.

Timoshenko and Yushchenko were shown embracing on television on Sept. 27, signaling their pact was restored. The reconstituted Orange bloc may gain enough seats to form a government because of rising support for Timoshenko, analysts said.

Orange Campaign

``Yushchenko's party mainly has support in western Ukraine, while central Ukraine belongs to Yulia,'' said Walter Zarycky, executive director at the Center for U.S.-Ukrainian relations in New York, in a telephone interview. ``Timoshenko also campaigns heavily in eastern and southern Ukraine, the core of Yanukovych's support and she can do really well there.''

To stay in power, Yanukovych's Regions of Ukraine party may have to continue its links with the Communist Party, which is supported by 5 percent of voters, according to the poll. Other smaller parties may garner enough seats to hold the balance of power. They haven't said which coalition they'll support.

Yanukovych's final rally last night took place in the central Kiev square that had been dominated by Orange flags three years ago. After thousands of supporters watched a concert with Ukrainian pop stars, the premier asked voters to elect his party, ``which respects both Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers.''

His party was the only one that can ``bring stability to Ukraine and make our country a nice and reliable neighbor of Russia,'' he said.

Source: Bloomberg