Ukrainians in vote likely to elect pro-West parliament
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WAR-WEARY Ukrainians voted yesterday in an election that is likely to install a pro-Western parliament and strengthen President Petro Poroshenko’s mandate to end separatist conflict in the east, but could also fuel tensions with Russia.
People wrapped up well on a cold, clear day to vote in the first parliamentary poll since protests in the capital Kiev last winter forced Moscow-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych to flee and ushered in a pro-Europe leadership under Poroshenko.
In eastern regions controlled by the army, soldiers armed with automatic rifles and wearing bulletproof jackets guarded polling stations under the yellow and blue Ukrainian flag.
There was no voting in areas held by pro-Russian rebels who will underline their autonomy with a separate election on November 2.
Poroshenko, a 49-year-old billionaire confectionery tycoon, went to a town in the Donetsk region held by the army to show support for the troops after a relatively calm night in the east under a shaky cease-fire that had been in force since September 5.
A loose political grouping that backs Poroshenko is expected to become the leading force in the 450-seat assembly, giving him a mandate to pursue his peace plan for the east and carry out deep reforms sought by Ukraine’s European Union partners.
Poroshenko said in a televised address on Saturday that he wanted a majority to emerge to see through laws supporting a pro-Europe agenda and break with the country’s Soviet past.
“Without such a majority in parliament, the president’s program will simply remain on paper,” he said.
Poroshenko’s forces may not win an outright majority on voting on party lists and individual constituencies, but he should be able to form a coalition with partners such as Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front as most big parties are pro-European, anti-Russian and favour a united Ukraine.
“This election is a very important event in our lives. We have a unique opportunity for the first time to get a Ukrainian parliament which would lead Ukraine towards Europe and towards NATO,” said Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko, a populist to whom Poroshenko may have to turn for support.
With diminished pro-Russian influence and following a strong European integration agenda, it will be one of the most radical parliaments since Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
The emergence of a strong parliament committed to a united Ukraine could put new strains on ties with Russia, which Kiev blames for backing rebels in a conflict that has killed more than 3,700 people and destroyed the economy.
A gas pricing row with Russia which has the potential to disrupt supplies to European Union countries via Ukraine also rumbles on unresolved despite a meeting between Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Poroshenko called the snap election with the aim of clearing out Yanukovych loyalists and securing further legitimacy for Kiev’s pro-Western direction after the protests last winter over Yanukovych’s pro-Moscow policies.
Many parties have enlisted war veterans and protest activists as candidates which will add to the strong patriotic and nationalist tone of the new parliament.
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