Council for a Community of Democracies

Ukraine Presidential Election Set for Run-off
By: Benjamin Russell
January 20, 2010

With the first round of voting in the books, Ukraine is preparing for a February 7th run-off election between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovich, the former prime minister whose fraudulent election as president in 2004 sparked the Orange Revolution.

Yanukovich is the front-runner, having gained approximately 35% of the vote to Tymoshenko’s 25%, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Despite her frequent opposition to current president Viktor Yuschenko’s agenda, Tymoshenko, as prime minister of a government that oversaw deteriorating economic conditions in Ukraine, may find incumbency difficult to overcome.

Tymoshenko is now trying to chip away at Yanukovich’s support base in the largely industrial and Russian-speaking Eastern Ukraine. Born in the region, Tymoshenko is attempting to position herself as a natural advocate for the many metal and mining operations there; her success in this, and in gaining the support of her general election opponents, will determine whether she can overcome Yanukovich’s sizable lead.

Calls by both candidates for better Russian-Ukrainian relations discomfited many Western observers, according to Der Spiegel, but Yanukovich and Tymoshenko alike have signaled that they will take a measured approach to Ukraine’s former patron. Neither is likely to make major concessions when it comes to the country’s national interests, according to the Moscow Times.

Yuschenko, a key figure of the Orange Revolution, garnered only 5% of the vote in the general election. His loss is seen by many to be the repudiation of a revolution that failed to deliver economic stability and governmental transparency to the country. The Ukrainian public has begun to question Yuschenko’s commitment to democratic ideals after what many see to be erratic and authoritarian behavior, according to Business Week.

Sources:

Moscow is the clear winner – Der Spiegel
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,672442,00.html

Orange Leaders Face Shut Out in Ukraine Election – New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/13/world/AP-EU-Ukraine-Election.html?_r=1

Ukraine: The Road From Democracy – BusinessWeek
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2010/gb20100115_096490.htm

Ukraine presidential race revives bitter rivalry – Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0118/Ukraine-presidential-race-revives-bitter-rivalry

President Yanukovich’s Dilemma – The Moscow Times
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/president-yanukovychs-dilemma/397565.html