Ukrainians go to the polls

Rival candidates Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych faced each other again today in a repeat election.

The poll was triggered when a previous election was ruled to be fraudulent and follows massive protests that resulted in an unprecedented third round in Ukraine’s fiercely-fought presidential contest.

The vote is momentous for Ukraine, a nation of 48 million people caught between an eastward-expanding European Union and Nato, and an increasingly assertive Russia, its former imperial and Soviet-era master.

Opposition candidate Yushchenko, a former Central Bank chief and prime minister, wants to bring Ukraine closer to the West, while the Kremlin-backed Yanukovych, the current prime minister, emphasises tightening the Slavic country’s ties with Russia as a means to maintaining stability.

Yushchenko, whose face remains badly scarred from dioxin poisoning he blamed on Ukrainian authorities, has emerged as the front-runner, building on the momentum of round-the-clock protests that echoed the spirit of the anti-Communist revolutions that swept other East European countries in 1989/90.

His backers launched the demonstrations after Yanukovych was named the winner of the fraudulent November 21 presidential run-off.

The Supreme Court later annulled the results and ordered today’s repeat vote - an unprecedented third round being monitored by a 12,000 international observers.

Outgoing president Leonid Kuchma said he cast his ballot hoping the results will stick.

“In my opinion, the one who loses should call and congratulate the winner … and put an end to this prolonged election campaign.”

Casting his ballot at a different Kiev polling station alongside his wife Lyudmila, Yanukovych said: “I voted for the future of Ukrainian people. I am waiting for Ukraine to make the right choice.”

The election crisis has opened a rift between the Russian-speaking eastern regions, which largely back Yanukovych, and the cosmopolitan Kiev and the west, where Ukrainian nationalism runs deep and support for Yushchenko is high.

“I voted for Yanukovych because I am afraid of western extremists who will steal my pension,” said Galina Zhelivo, aged 63, who cast her vote in the prime minister’s eastern stronghold of Donetsk.

The vote has also has thrown a spotlight on Ukrainians’ starkly differing views of how to bring their nation into the 21st century.

Yesterday, the Constitutional Court ruled against some amendments passed earlier this month that would have allowed only people with certain disabilities to vote at home.

The court said all those unable to reach polling stations because of a disability or ill health should be allowed to vote at home. The Central Election Commission had less than 24 hours to comply.

Yanukovych enjoys strong backing from elderly and disabled Ukrainians who saw their pensions raised twice during his time as prime minister, and he had pushed for the restrictions to be lifted, saying they would deprive millions of their right to vote.

But it was unclear if the ruling would help or hurt his prospects. His campaign workers had planned to ferry many homebound elderly to the polls, and logistics may prevent more from taking advantage of the last-minute ruling.

“The court’s decision 15 hours ahead of the vote was a bitter pill for democracy,” Yushchenko said.

“I asked all members of my staff to send their own cars to help the disabled to get to the polling stations.”