Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: In Ucraina niente di nuovo...

*Associated Press/AP Online
KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's prime minister was leading the
nation's run-off presidential election, according to partial vote
tallies released Monday, but his Western-leaning challenger held the
advantage in an exit poll funded partly by the United States.
Both camps complained of voting problems. Also, a policeman
guarding a polling station overnight was found dead of a head injury
apparently inflicted by intruders, news reports said.
With 69 percent of precincts counted following Sunday's
election, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych had 48.58 percent of the
vote, compared with Viktor Yushchenko's 47.78 percent, the Central
Election Commission said. About 2 percent voted against both
candidates.
But an exit poll conducted by anonymous questionnaires under
a program funded by several Western governments said Yushchenko had
received 54 percent of the vote compared with the Kremlin-praised
Yanukovych's 43 percent. A second exit poll, however, showed
Yushchenko's margin was much smaller at 49.4 percent to 45.9
percent, the Interfax news agency reported.
"The difference between Yushchenko and Yanukovych
displayed in exit polls shows that even if authorities attempt to
rig the vote they will not be able to falsify all of it,"
Yushchenko's campaign manager, Oleksandr Zinchenko, told about 5,000
people gathered Sunday in Kiev's Independence Square.
Yanukovych spokesman Stepan Havrysh criticized the exit poll
results, calling them "incorrect, unscientific and even
comical."
Sunday's run-off could determine whether the ex-Soviet
republic of 48 million pursues closer integration with the West or
moves more into Moscow's sphere of influence. There were concerns
the vote could turn violent.
Turnout was more than 77 percent, election commission
chairman Serhiy Kivalov said. That figure was based on one-third of
the country's 225 election districts.
Yushchenko and associates went to the election commission
Monday demanding more details on turnout. His campaign contended
that some precincts showed improbable turnout figures of 96 percent.
After meeting with Kivalov, Yushchenko accused the election
commission of dragging out the vote count, which he characterized as
"giving carte blanche to falsification." He urged his
supporters to again gather in Independence Square on Monday.
"The elections are being falsified. You cannot get the
truth from the Central Election Commission," he said.
Both camps complained of voting irregularities. In the
northern Sumy region, about 40 people forced their way into a voting
station and smashed everything, Interfax reported. Election
committee members managed to protect the ballot box but were injured
in the melee.
Yushchenko's campaign complained that Yanukovych supporters
received absentee ballots and were bused out of their native regions
and back again so they could vote twice. They also complained that
observers were barred from some polling stations, while Interfax
said attackers injured several people at Yushchenko headquarters in
Luhansk.
Yanukovych's side, meanwhile, cited voter list problems and
said some stations illegally refused to give out absentee ballots.
Absentee ballots were expected to figure significantly in
the contest. Lawmakers voted to prohibit their use, but Kuchma
refused to sign the measure Friday.
The Oct. 31 first-round vote also was marked by complaints
of voting irregularities and intimidation. Elections officials took
10 days to announce the results, raising suspicions.
That final count showed Yushchenko barely ahead of
Yanukovych, each with slightly more than 39 percent of the vote,
prompting a run-off.
Sunday's poll sponsored by Western governments was based on
questioning of 30,000 voters at polling places nationwide, according
to the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, which coordinated it.
The second poll, conducted by Ukraine's Sotsis and Social
Monitoring, was based on interviews with 13,000 voters, Interfax
reported.
The prime minister has the support of the Kremlin and
outgoing president Leonid Kuchma, a hard-liner accused of
suppressing opposition. In a nationally televised address before the
voting, Kuchma said "there will be no revolution," a clear
warning to opposition supporters.
The prime minister cast his ballot alongside his wife.
"I believe that reason will prevail, and the
deliberation and tolerance of the Ukrainian people will do their
part," Yanukovych said.
Yushchenko was greeted at a Kiev polling station by more
than 300 supporters, many wearing orange - his campaign color.
"I am sure there will be some falsifications but it
will not be enough to falsify the final results of the
election," Yushchenko said.
The vote comes after months of tension, including opposition
allegations of official interference, claims that Yushchenko was
poisoned and a cliffhanger first-round vote.
Policy issues have been overshadowed by concerns about the
election's fairness. International figures, including President
Bush, called on Ukrainian authorities to conduct a credible vote.
"A tarnished election ... will lead us to review our
relations with Ukraine," Bush said in a letter delivered Friday
to Kuchma, who was not seeking a new term.
Yushchenko, whose wife is U.S.-born, says he wants to push
the country to greater integration with Western Europe, and he has
suggested he would seek NATO membership. His critics worry he will
alienate Ukraine from Russia, its key trade partner and main energy
supplier.
Yanukovych was praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin
and was expected to pursue closer ties with Moscow.
Both candidates support withdrawing Ukraine's troops from
Iraq.

Grande Yakunovich ha vinto i fottuti imperialisti sono stati sconfitti ed
ora se protesteranno pių di tanto la palla passerā ai soldati armati di
tutto punto.

http://www.corriere.it/ultima_ora/agrnews.jsp?id=%7BC4F75CCA-F5A1-4F89-80CB-12CA8ED36496%7D
L'opposizione ucraina si da al terrorismo