A brief synopsis of the Ukrainian Presidential Election dilemma, for those of us in the West who cannot name the players without a scorecard.

By BonnieBlueFlag

(Note from Aussiegirl: BonnieBlueFlag has undergone a crash course in Ukrainian Byzantine politics and now emerges from under the mountains of links she has ammassed to give us this excellent rundown of the latest -- I hereby declare that she now qualifies for the Order of the Trident, and a Lifetime Membership in the Society of Honorary Ukrainians, which entitles her to an endless supply of grandmother's borscht, sour cream and blinchiki, and Ukrainian sayings and advice. Thanks BonnieB. for this excellent summary.)


The Ukrainian opposition (supporters of pro-western Yushchenko) have given current President Kuchma 24 hours to fire PM Yanukovich (the pro-Russian candidate), and to submit for parliamentary approval new members of the Central Electoral Committee to replace all members of the committee that helped to falsify the vote.

If Kuchma fails to fulfill their demands, the protesters will begin blocking roads and his movements in Ukraine.

In eastern Ukraine, two regions have voted to seek independence in protest over Yanukovich's victory having been challenged.� The regional legislature in Donetsk voted 164-1 yesterday to hold a Dec. 5 referendum on autonomy for the province, AP reported.

Mr. Yushchenko wants his rival's victory annulled and a new vote to be held on Dec. 12 or Dec. 19.

Meanwhile, 21 members of the Highest Ukrainian Court (the total number of judges is approximately 100) will rule on the case that was brought before them today.� The names of the 21 judges will be kept secret, in order to protect them from outside pressures.� The results of their ruling may be known in a few days, or it may take weeks, depending on how much evidence will be presented to the court.

Please note however, that under Ukrainian Election Legislation, the court is not allowed to make a determination on the election outcome.� They can only invalidate the election results in individual precincts (news.scostman.com)� Therefore, the most beneficial judgment of the court to the supporters of Yushchenko would be the invalidation of the election results.

The need for an emergency session of the parliament will be debated today.� This session would be for the purpose of a no confidence vote for PM Yanukovich.� A simple majority vote of 226 would be sufficient to oust Yanukovich.

As it presently stands, the supporters of Yanukovich in eastern Ukraine will only be pacified by a court ruling in favor of their pro-Russian candidate.� If this does not occur prior to Dec. 5, they will vote for succession on that date.� They have given no indication that they would cooperate with the west in a new election.

It would seem that this has become a situation that can only be resolved by someone with the wisdom of the biblical Solomon.� Let us pray that by whatever means, that the people of Ukraine will be able to remain united, free to determine their own destiny and to fashion a democracy of their own choosing.

Update:� Just about two hours ago, PM Yanukovich announced that he favored a total rerun of the presidential election, not just a runoff.� A rerun would mean that other candidates could be nominated for president, while the Nov. 21 election that is in question, was only a runoff between two runner-up candidates.� This announcement appeared in The Moscow News/ http://www.mosnews.com

written and submitted by BonnieBlueFlag