Ukraine president seeks new vote

KIEV, Ukraine – President Leonid Kuchma on Monday called for new elections to resolve a divisive crisis that has grown since government opponents and international monitors charged that a presidential runoff vote eight days ago was fraudulent.

Until Monday’s televised address about the political situation, Kuchma, who chose not to run for re-election, had supported the government candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was declared the official winner.

But opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko also has claimed victory, charging the Nov. 21 ballot was tainted, and hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated to support him. As a result of the increasing trouble, regional disputes are raising fears the country could break up into separate republics.

“If we really want to preserve peace and consensus, if we really want to build a democratic state … then let’s hold new elections,” Kuchma said on Ukrainian television. “The situation we find ourselves in today in Ukraine demands not only strictly legal decisions, but also political decisions.”

The Supreme Court, which can nullify results from local districts but not the overall national vote, began considering the validity of ballots in eight eastern and southern regions. The regions account for about half of the approximately 30 million ballots cast in the election. Court officials said a decision had been delayed until at least today.

In a nonbinding resolution Saturday, the Ukrainian parliament declared the runoff was invalid. Despite a rising consensus in favor of a new vote, it was not clear if or when nationwide or regional balloting might be scheduled.

Yanukovych won by 871,402 votes, according to the Central Elections Commission. But the Yushchenko campaign staff, backed by the analysis of some Western embassies in Kiev, believes as many as 3 million votes counted for Yanukovych were fraudulent, Western diplomats said in interviews.

The Supreme Court proceeding was televised, an unusual occurrence in Ukraine that was considered a reflection of the pressure from massive street demonstrations across Kiev. As the judges convened, thousands of people, including Yanukovych supporters, rallied peacefully outside the court.

The possibility of a new vote has won increasing support from pro-government forces who were hostile to it when it was first proposed by the opposition. The details of a potential new vote are the subject of intense negotiations between the two candidates’ camps. One question is whether a new election should be limited to certain regions or be carried out countrywide.

A spokeswoman for Kuchma, Olena Hromnytska, said candidates who ran in a first round of elections and the runoff should not be eligible in new voting. That position could reflect an attempt by government supporters to dump Yanukovych for a potentially stronger candidate.

The opposition, which wants Yushchenko to remain as a candidate, supports a new nationwide ballot Dec. 15 under the supervision of new elections commissions, monitored by more local and international observers than in the last vote.

In hedged remarks, Yanukovych said he would be open to a new vote in two eastern regions where his opponent – backed by the reports of international election monitors – said there was widespread fraud.

“If there is proof of cheating, that something illegal occurred there and if there is no doubt among experts, I will agree with such a decision,” Yanukovych said in televised comments, referring to the possibility of a vote in the areas of Donetsk and Lugansk.

In a sign that there is increasing pressure on Yanukovych to support a new nationwide election, his campaign manager, Sergei Tyhypko, resigned Monday and said a new vote was necessary. Tyhypko also said threats by local leaders in eastern Ukraine that they would seek autonomy if Yushchenko became president were “insane.”

Talk about autonomy in eastern Ukraine drew immediate statements of concern from the United States and the European Union.

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters he had spoken to Kuchma by telephone and stressed the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“If we can keep things calm and allow the leaders and the politicians and members of the international community who are trying to help the Ukrainians all come together, then hopefully, a peaceful solution will be found,” Powell said.

Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, told reporters in Brussels, “The unity of Ukraine is fundamental.”

As sleet and snow continued to fall on protesters in Independence Square in the capital, Yushchenko implored his followers to stay with it for a little while longer.

“Please be patient and you will see a democratic country,” he said. “I’m begging you. I’m provoking you to say no to yourself if you feel like taking up your coat and going home.”