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Elections in Ukraine Declared Invalid |
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Written by Administrator
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Nov 29, 2004 at 01:32 PM |
Ukraine's pro-Western opposition, which has poured onto the streets to protest the declared result of the presidential elections, has won its first serious victory.
Meeting in a special session yesterday after the country had been caught in paralysis for a week, the Ukrainian parliament voted to declare the November 21 presidential elections invalid. On the legal front, the decision will create serious political pressure on the Supreme Court, which will meet tomorrow. While a new date is expected to be set for renewed presidential elections, tight precautionary measures will be taken in order to prevent irregularities.
After long discussions in the Ukrainian parliament, which has been a major cause of contention between Russia and the West, the results of the presidential elections in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner were ruled as invalid. Outside parliament, over 150,000 protestors who had gathered Independence Square in the capital Kiev welcomed the decision with great cheer. Watching developments in parliament live through a large screen set up in the Square, the supporters of opposition candidate Viktor Yushenko roared the chant: "goaaalll". Speaking to Zaman in Kiev, supporters of Yushenko claimed that if the elections are re-held, they would win a landslide victory.
225 out of 429 parliamentarians who voted in the parliament voted to rule the elections invalid. The 450-seat parliament also passed a vote of no confidence in the decision by Ukraine's Central Election Commission to declare Yanukovych as the winner. Although Ukraine's parliament has no authorization to annul the election results, its decision will create a serious political pressure on the Supreme Court, which will meet tomorrow. Pro-Western leader Yushenko's party had submitted a file on violations in election results to the Supreme Court and made an official application for annulment of the elections. The Ukrainian parliament has decided to form a temporary commission to look for violations in the elections until November 30th.(zaman) |
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Last Updated ( Nov 29, 2004 at 01:39 PM )
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