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Monday, Nov 5, 2012 5:15 PM UTC

Revote urged in 5 election districts in Ukraine

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Revote urged in 5 election districts in UkraineOpposition parliament candidate Yuri Levchenko speaks to election authorities during vote-tallying in a Kiev district, accusing them of election fraud in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Nearly a week after Ukraine's parliamentary election, officials on Friday still scrambled to tally votes in several key districts across the country, in what the opposition says is a clear example of widespread vote rigging by the ruling party. As the vote-counting dragged on in one Kiev precinct, fists flew, tear gas was fired, opposition activists shouted angrily and an election official sobbed hysterically. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)(Credit: AP)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s election authorities on Monday called for a recount of the results of last month’s parliamentary vote in five disputed districts, saying tallying there had been unlawful — a small but significant victory for opposition forces.

Western observers deemed the Oct. 28 parliamentary election unfair, saying the imprisonment of President Viktor Yanukovych’s arch-foe, Yulia Tymoshenko, and non-transparent vote tallying were a step back for democracy.

Three pro-Western opposition parties made a strong showing in the proportional voting that chooses half of parliament’s 450 seats, but they accuse authorities of rigging results in a number of individual races in an attempt to secure Yanukovych’s allies a majority.

Some 2,000 protesters rallied outside the Central Election Commission building in Kiev on Monday protesting the alleged fraud and demanding an honest vote count. Opposition forces threatened to hold round-the-clock protests and even boycott the new parliament and demand an entirely new election.

The Central Election Commission declared Monday night that vote-tallying in the five disputed districts violated Ukrainian laws and the Constitution and asked the current parliament to order a repeat election in those districts.

It was unclear, however, whether the Verkhovna Rada, dominated by Yanukovych loyalists, would heed the call. There was no immediate reaction to the election authorities’ call from Tymoshenko party and two other pro-Western opposition parties.

Monday’s demonstration was far smaller than the hundreds of thousands who turned out in 2004 to protest the fraud-tainted presidential election that Yanukovych purportedly won. Those rallies, which came to be known as the Orange Revolution, forced a rerun that Yanukovych lost, though he won the next election in 2010.

“They stole the opposition’s votes, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t honest, it wasn’t pretty,” said Roman Vorobei, 18, a university student in Kiev, who came to the protest.

Western election observers said last week that although the vote itself was satisfactory, the count prompted concern. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Monday urged Ukrainian authorities to quickly produce final results — “which should reflect the genuine will of the Ukrainian voters.” Complaints should also be dealt with swiftly and effectively, she said.

While the proportional share of the vote was tallied relatively quickly, the count of votes in individual races took days, prompting brawls between government and opposition supporters, the use of tear gas and even the storming of one election commission by riot police.

The opposition accuses election officials of inflating the count in favor of government loyalists, annulling votes for opposition candidates and even outright falsifying of results. The government insists that violations were few and isolated.

The stakes were high for many government-backed candidates vying for the perks and immunity from prosecution enjoyed by Ukrainian lawmakers as well as for Yanukovych’s Party of Regions as a whole, which will have to search for allies in the new parliament to get a majority.

“Things seem to be getting tense as every seat in parliament seems to count now for the party of power,” said Timothy Ash, head of emerging markets research at Standard Bank in London. “They did not do as well as first thought, and might now struggle to secure a parliamentary majority.”

More Maria Danilova.

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