Ukraine court: Hold runoff again
Friday, December 3, 2004 Posted: 12:44 PM EST (1744 GMT)
KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- Ukraine's Supreme Court has nullified the results of the country's disputed presidential election and called for a repeat of the runoff in three weeks.
Friday's ruling was a big win for opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who claimed that widespread fraud robbed him of victory in the November 21 vote.
The judges' decision was met by cheers from opposition supporters in Kiev's main Independence Square, where they have gathered by the hundreds of thousand for nearly two weeks.
"This is a great victory of all people who have been standing at the square, a great victory for Ukrainian democracy," Mykola Katerinchuk, Yushchenko's lawyer, said.
In its decision, the court partially recognized Yushchenko's claims of election fraud in eight of Ukraine's 25 administrative districts.
The court also ruled that the Central Election Commission's decision to declare Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of the runoff was unlawful.
There was no immediate reaction from the candidates.
The fraud is alleged to have taken place in the eastern region where Yanukovych has most of his support. Yanukovych also claimed fraud, but in areas that supported Yushchenko.
After a five-day court session, both sides wrapped up their final arguments Friday. The judges deliberated for about seven hours before announcing their decision.
The dispute has pitted the country's Western-leaning western regions, which mostly back Yushchenko, against the industrialized, mostly Russian-speaking east, which largely backs Yanukovych.
On Wednesday, the rival candidates reached a compromise agreement in which they said they would honor the court's ruling.
The agreement also called for the opposition to lift its blockade of key government buildings and for both sides to work on unifying the country.
In addition, a working group has been formed to review Ukrainian law and to introduce appropriate proposals.
On Thursday, outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma flew to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Without Russia's efforts to settle the political crisis, Ukraine would fail to overcome it without losing face," Kuchma said.
"Ukraine that existed before the elections no longer exists. It has been split up into two sides with absolutely opposite opinions."
Kuchma also accused the opposition of acting in a "forceful, revolutionary way, disregarding economic consequences."
Putin -- who backs Ukraine's government and has openly supported Yanukovych -- said it is up to Ukrainians alone to resolve their problem and blasted the opposition's call for a new runoff.
"A repeat of the second round may yield nothing and then ... are you going to have to conduct it three, four, 25 times until one of the sides gets the desired result," Putin said.
In Washington Thursday, U.S. President George Bush appeared to warn Russia against meddling in Ukraine's affairs, saying he believes "any election, if there is one, ought to be free from any foreign influence."
"These elections ought to be open and fair," he said. "The position of our government is that the will of the people must be known and heard. And, therefore, we will continue to monitor and be involved in a process that encourages there to be a peaceful resolution of this issue."
Meanwhile on Friday, Ukraine's parliament passed a measure demanding that Kuchma remove the country's nearly 1,700 troops from Iraq. (Full story) Earlier this week the parliament passed a no-confidence vote in Yanukovych's government.
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