Ukraine PM would support new vote if fraud proven

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has until tomorrow to study additional opposition evidence of electoral fraud after he said he would support another vote if it is proven.

Ukraine’s Supreme Court failed to rule on validity of the presidential election results today – giving pro-Moscow Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych until tomorrow to study additional opposition evidence.

He said he would support another vote if election fraud is proven.

An eastern province in the divided nation of 48 million today decided to call a referendum on autonomy and the opposition threatened to further paralyse the government through a blockade.

Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma said “we cannot in any instance allow the disintegration or division of Ukraine.”

Fears of a split rose after Ukraine’s giant industrial base, the eastern Donetsk region, scheduled a referendum on autonomy for Sunday.

Speaking at a meeting of eastern Ukraine officials, Kuchma said he believed neither opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko nor Prime Minister Yanukovych “wants to be president of one part of Ukraine”.

The Supreme Court, sitting in the capital Kiev, was considering an appeal by Yushchenko against official results of the presidential run-off, which declared Yanukovych the winner. Yushchenko claims he was robbed of victory by ballot rigging.

Mykola Katerinchuk, a Yushchenko aide, said the appeal focused on results in eight eastern and southern Ukrainian regions – more than 15 million votes, almost half of the total cast in the run-off.

The opposition claimed “severe violations of Ukrainian legislation” and asked the court to annul the results, he said. It is also asking the court to name Yushchenko the winner because he narrowly won the election’s first round.

Justice Anatoliy Yarema said the court would give Yanukovych’s lawyers until Tuesday to study the additional evidence presented by Yushchenko’s team.

Stepan Havrysh, a key Yanukovych aide, said his side was expecting a “fair decision … taken without emotion”.

Yanukovych said he would support a new election if allegations of fraud in the election are proven – but he said he had yet to see such proof.

While the Supreme Court’s decision is likely to boost the legitimacy of whichever side it seems to favour, it could also fuel anger in the other camp.

The crisis has deepened the divide between Ukraine’s pro-Russian east and Yushchenko’s strongholds in the capital and western Ukraine.

Russia and the West are at odds over the political stalemate. Russian President Vladimir Putin openly backed Yanukovych, while many Western nations have not recognised the official results.