Revolution in air in Ukraine

With tens of thousands of opposition demonstrators in the Ukrainian capital for a third consecutive day and the talk of revolution in the air, an ally of opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko said the only thing to negotiate is the transfer of power.

President Leonid Kuchma called for talks involving all sides, and Yushchenko’s allies, who claim ballot rigging has cost them victory, had appeared to be open to it initially.

But today, Mykola Tomenko, an MP and Yushchenko ally, told a crowd of supporters – awash with Yushchenko’s orange campaign colour – that the opposition would only discuss Kuchma relinquishing power.

“We are ready to negotiate only about the peaceful handing over of power to Yushchenko by Kuchma,” he told the thousands who maintained their vigil in Kiev’s central Independence Square and the adjacent main avenue.

Yushchenko has claimed victory over the Kremlin-backed prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych, in Sunday’s presidential run-off, which many Western nations said did not meet democratic standards.

While nearly complete official election results have put Yanukovych ahead, exit polls showed Yushchenko winning.

The opposition supporters have taken over blocks of Kiev’s main street, setting up a giant tent camp.

There has been a near total absence of police, although last night as the opposition supporters marched to the presidential administration building, they met phalanxes of riot police outside. The stand-off ended without incident, however.

Supporters of Yanukovych, who has the Kremlin’s backing, have become increasingly visible in Kiev, setting up hundreds of tents on a wooded slope about less than a mile from the opposition’s even larger tent camp.

They shouted their candidate’s name amid the trees throughout the night, and at one point a car bearing a large Yanukovych banner drove tauntingly past the edge of the opposition gathering.

Later, about 50 Yanukovych supporters gathered opposite the Cabinet of Minister’s building, facing 50 young Yushchenko supporters across the street. The groups shouted insults at each other.

Official results released by the Central Election Commission, with more than 99% of votes counted, put Yanukovych ahead with 49.39% to his West leaning challenger’s 46.71%. But several exit polls indicated Yushchenko was the winner.

The Central Elections Commission said it plans to announce the final results today. Opposition members suggest that declaring the results final could trigger swift and severe police action to break up their gathering.

Two members of the elections commission urged their 13 colleagues not to sign the final protocol making the election results official.

Yushchenko accuses authorities of rigging Sunday’s vote in favour of Yanukovych and has announced a campaign of civil disobedience.

“Ukraine is on the threshold of a civil conflict,” Yushchenko told MPs gathered for an emergency parliament session yesterday. “We have two choices: either the answer will be given by the parliament, or the streets will give an answer.”

In a statement read on state television, Kuchma referred to the demonstrations as “political farce … extremely dangerous and may lead to unforeseeable consequences” and called for talks to propose “real steps for getting out of the crisis”.

The European Union stepped up pressure for the election results to be reviewed, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has already congratulated Yanukovych on his victory.

But Kiev’s city council and the administrations of four other large cities – Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsia and Ivano-Frankivsk – have refused to recognise a Yanukovych victory.