Transparent Elections: Process or the Result?
March 22 saw a long string of reactions to the US House of Representatives Tuesday resolution calling on the Ukrainian leadership to hold a fair and transparent election. Moreover, not a single Ukrainian politician has spoken in favor of the US initiative. Many called it interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs. There also were many moderate comments, among them the reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Tellingly, Ukrainian diplomats opted for more than a cautious approach to the issue.
The foreign ministry’s statement received by The Day does not have even a word about the resolution. It is quite obvious, however, that the ministry was “conditioned” into drafting this kind of comment by the statements of foreign politicians about the electoral process in Ukraine. This is why this comment can be considered as an answer to both the US resolution and the last week’s utterances of Russian deputies about the Ukrainian elections. “...We hope that ALL (Editors’ emphasis) will show respect for the people of Ukraine in their actions, will display a balanced approach and caution, and be guided by such generally accepted principles of international law as non-interference in internal affairs, recognition of sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” the statement emphasizes.
Russia’s Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin expressed on March 22 his displeasure over the resolution. In his words, the adopted document “writes in black in white: the US Congress dictates the conditions under which Ukraine must hold elections.” “I think the US, which elected one president but have another ruling now the country, has no right to lecture a state of fifty million,” he stressed.
Volodymyr Lytvyn also expressed his opinion about the interest of foreign politicians in the elections on March 22 in a phone-in with the newspaper Komsomolskaya pravda v Ukraine (a Russian paper reregistered in Ukraine — Ed. ). He noted one cannot deny the interest of the world community in the Ukrainian elections. At the same time, he said he noticed a somewhat “biased attitude” toward the elections. “I sometimes gain the impression that they will only be considered democratic and transparent if one specific force wins,” he said.
“But I am sure saying that the elections will be fixed means humiliating the voters, the Ukrainian people, as if they are unable to correctly appraise the parties, blocs and candidates,” Mr. Lytvyn emphasized.
President Leonid Kuchma has said the US House of Representatives resolution to call Ukrainian government for fair elections is an unprecedented event. Asked by journalists at the March 22 press conference in Artemivsk, Donesk oblast, the head of state expressed surprise at the passage of this resolution, noting that in Ukraine “the economy is developing, as is democracy.” He said he “intended to see the Ukrainian public reaction” to this resolution. “Either we will be a nation, a state, or a soccer field for strategic partners to play on,” Mr. Kuchma said, noting, “Is the Ukrainian nation a soccer ball to roll?” The president believes that Ukrainians, in particular Ukrainian politicians, “should have their own pride” instead of discrediting their state abroad, Interfax- Ukraine reports. Mr. Kuchma also pointed out that the passage of a Ukraine- related resolution would be thoroughly studied by Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs. He stressed he shared the words of Representative Ron Paul (the only one who voted against the motion, with 408 “for” — Ed.). The president also expressed gratitude to Askold Lozynsky, president of the World Congress of Ukrainians, and said he had sent a letter thanking him for his statement to Congress. Mr. Kuchma quoted Mr. Lozynsky as saying in this address, “Look what you are doing. First learn it yourselves, and then teach others.”
