Ukraine Protesters Mob Cities, Charging Presidential Election Stolen

Monitor Wire Services

An estimated 200,000 Ukrainian voters mobbed the streets of Kiev again today, protesting the outcome of Sunday's election where the prime minister claimed to have won the presidential runoff by a narrow victory. The protesters were marching in support of his opponent, who has claimed fraud and says he will challenge the result.

Neither the U.S. or European Union recognize the outcome of the vote as valid, and using uncharacteristically blunt language, the Dutch foreign minister said yesterday that the EU considers the results "fraudulent." Various groups within the EU have already threatened Ukraine with "repercussions."

In the vote on November 21, Moscow-backed Prime Minister Yanukovych apparently defeated challenger Viktor Yushchenko by around 3 percent. Yushchenko -- seen as pro-Western and pro-EU -- warned that the country is "on the verge of civil conflict" as his supporters filled the streets.

The crowd, chanting "Yushchenko! Yushchenko!" and waving orange opposition flags and banners moved toward the presidential offices, occupied by outgoing president Leonid Kuchma, and stopped at a cordon of riot police some distance from the building, according to Reuters. Demonstrators have called on police surrounding the presidential building to join the protests as a Yushchenko ally warned that if the parliament doesn't take action to solve the crisis, the opposition has no choice but to block roads, airports, and seize city halls.

"This political farce being played out now...is very dangerous and can lead to unforeseen consequences," Kuchma said in a statement read out by a newscaster on state television and quoted by Reuters. "I urge representatives of all political forces in Ukraine to sit down immediately at the negotiating table."

Kuchma, who effectively backed candidate and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the presidential race, vowed that authorities would not be the first to employ force. But he also indicated that they are "ready to uphold law and order," but his office said earlier today that he cannot intervene in the results of the disputed presidential election.

Prime Minister Yanukovych went on television today to accuse the opposition of being radicals and said he has no intention of working with "individual politicians who call people to the barricades."

"A group of radicals has set itself the aim of splitting Ukraine by violence and illegal methods," Yanukovych said. "They are following a previously prepared scenario and are trying to drag in young people."

But many of the supporters of his opponent who took to the streets were old and frail, and stayed gathered well into the evening despite the freezing temperatures, while tens of thousands protested in at least five other major cities. Accusing the authorities of falsifying the election, Yushchenko told supporters that he had acted in line with the real choice of the people. He took a symbolic oath of office on the floor of the parliament and asked parliament to take up a nonbinding vote of no confidence in the Central Election Commission and call for official results showing his defeat to be nullified, but legislators could not muster a quorum. With 99 percent of the vote counted, Yanukovych has a nearly 3 percent lead over Yushchenko despite several exit polls showing Yushchenko had won. The Central Election Commission announced yesterday that Yanukovych is ahead of Yushchenko with nearly all the votes counted.

Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the runoff fell far short of European democratic standards. The official observer from the United States, Senator Richard Lugar, said there had been "concerted and forceful" fraud and the European Union called on Ukraine to review the election. Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly congratulated Yanukovych on his election victory, saying that "the battle has been hard-fought, but open and honest."