Opposition blow as Ukraine fails to pass electoral changes

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko suffered a setback in the Ukraine’s parliament today when his foes blocked electoral amendments intended to avert fraud in a new presidential runoff later this month.

Buoyed by yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling to throw out the original poll on November 21 as fraudulent, Yushchenko had pushed for quick passage of the legal changes, saying they were essential to a fair ballot in his rematch on December 26 with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

But the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, instead adjourned for 10 days. It avoided passing the opposition-initiated bills, which would have amended election laws and reshuffled the central election commission.

Communists, socialists and pro-government factions in Rada had promised to back the electoral changes in exchange for opposition support for constitutional changes that would transfer some of the president’s powers to the parliament.

Yushchenko’s supporters, who are resisting weakening the presidency, suggested that the parliament vote on the electoral amendments now and consider the constitutional reform after the re-run of the presidential election.

Opponents, however, blocked the entire legislation before voting to adjourn until December 14 – 12 days before the new poll.

Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz, who supported Yushchenko in the re-run in exchange for backing the constitutional amendments, accused Yushchenko of reneging on his promise.

“No one is going to win by reneging on the agreement,” Moroz said.

Pro-Yushchenko lawmaker Ihor Ostash called today’s developments in parliament “an attempt at revenge” after Yushchenko’s victory in court.

Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who has strongly pushed for the constitutional reform, today lashed out at the opposition for reneging on its pledges.

“The opposition isn’t fulfilling practically any of the agreements reached at a round table that involved European politicians,” Kuchma said in a phone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

“That exacerbates the situation in the country,” Kuchma said according to his office, calling for a quick new round of European-sponsored consultations.

Wednesday’s compromise agreement, which was sponsored by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and other European mediators, mentioned the need to pursue a parliamentary vote on the package of electoral and constitutional changes.

The Central Election Commission, meanwhile, formally set the date for the runoff for December 26.

Yanukovych’s camp said the prime minister had decided to participate in the re-run poll, as widely expected. “There’s no other way but to participate and win,” spokeswoman Anna Herman told journalists.

Tens of thousands of Yushchenko supporters flooded Independence Square today, posing for photographs in front of the sprawling tent camp and the throngs of people awash in their orange colours.

Anna Ponova, who has lived in the tent camp for 10 days, said supporters would await word from Yushchenko about how long to remain camped there.

“If he wants us to stay until victory, we’ll stay,” she said.

Yushchenko and his aides have said the protest should continue until opposition-drafted electoral amendments become law.

In Yanukovych’s stronghold in eastern Ukraine, backers expressed anger at the supreme court’s decision. The Donetsk region has already set a January referendum seeking a measure of autonomy.

In the eastern city of Kharkiv, where regional officials gathered today to discuss the situation, about 12,000 Yushchenko supporters demonstrated, shouting “We won’t be divided!” They outnumbered the quieter gathering of about 8,000 pro-Yanukovych backers, wearing his blue-and-white campaign colours.

The court’s decision was a rebuke to Kuchma, who had anointed Yanukovych as his successor, and a slap to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who feared Ukraine would tilt further to the West under Yushchenko.