Ukrainian Presidential Elections 2010

The end of the Orange Revolution

Tymoshenko should have push forward with the good plans and ideas that stood at the basis of the Orange Revolution. With Yanukovych as winner, according to the exit polls on Monday, some still hold the trust that, given the previous experience, Yanukovych will pay more attention to what he declares and does and, hence, will choose wisely the future political direction and decision for Ukraine


By ROXANA CIUPARIU (roxana.ciupariu@wavemagazine.net)
from Bucharest, ROMANIA


The beginning of 2010 is marked by an important event in Ukraine: the presidential elections, fifth in number since 1991, the year when Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

The January 17th first round of elections gave none of the 18 candidates 50% or more, hence, the first two candidates went on a second round of elections, on the 7th of February 2010. These first two candidates were Prime-Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who obtained 25.05% of the votes in the first round, and rival Viktor Yanukovych, who obtained 35.32% in the same round, according to Kyiv Post. On Monday, the 8th of February, polls estimated Viktor Yanukovych won the elections, with 48.66%, as opposed to the 45.75% obtained by the Prime Minister.

The first ballot: who and what

The big fight was, at the beginning, between three candidates: the Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, widely remembered for the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yanukovych, opposition, who shares a long time feud with Tymoshenko, and one-time hero of the Orange Revolution, as BBC news describes him, President Viktor Yushchenko. If the positions of the first two are clearly pro Russia, Yushchenko's position was apparently towards the West and these five years were characterised, among other things, by an open attempt to get close to the rest of the world.

Disappointment hit Yushchenko and his supporters after the first ballot of elections, when he received only 5% of the votes. This was a hard strike for the one who challenged the 2004 elections, which lead to the Orange Revolution. The main reason for these results resides in the disillusionment and loss of trust that the people had in him, because he failed to tackle successfully (as promised and expected) the corruption, as well as to create better connections with the EU.

Ms. Tymoshenko was an interesting and valuable ally of Mr. Yushchenko during the Orange Revolution, which led to him becoming President and her Prime Minister. But things have changed in these five years and the discrepancies between them became more and more visible and might have something to contribute to the results obtained on 17th of January this year.

Like many elections, especially in former communist countries, when the stake is high, allegations of fraud accompanied the 2010 Presidential elections. The January elections were defended by international voices, such as the one from OSCE which, one day after the elections, declared the elections are viable and trustworthy, quite democratic in comparison to what was expected by some international actors. The allegations are not unfounded, since a poll presented by the Kyiv Post a week before the elections, stated that half of the interviewed believed the elections will be rigid, with a quite high possibility of fraud.

The duel and the winner

Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych "clashed" for power in the first Sunday of February 2007, with each of them having equal chances of winning. Yanukovych, bounced back from the villain that he was in 2004 to the first choice of Ukrainians, as viewed from the results of the first ballot. The other candidate, Tymoshenko, former ally of the President, was now running on her own, advocating the Orange Revolution purposes, and seeming quite capable to give it all for the Presidency, as the international press portrayed her.

The people, now given the power to decide, expressed their dissatisfaction and desire for change. The Orange Revolution has brought the potential of a change, but not automatically the change in itself the way it was desired. No matter the elected President, the result will, most probably, lead to a rekindle of the relations with Russia. Hope was that Tymoshenko will push forward with the good plans and ideas that stood at the basis of the Orange Revolution. With Yanukovych as winner, according to the exit polls on Monday, some still hold the trust that, given the previous experience, Yanukovych will pay more attention to what he declares and does and, hence, will choose wisely the future political direction and decision for Ukraine.

The results were quite close, and fraud allegations were raised anew, but international observers from OSCE judged once again the elections as fair and democratic. With 95% of the votes counted, Tymoshenko decided to hide from political declarations, and there are expectations for a court appeal from her part, says the international press. However, Yanukovych's win is regarded by analysts as leading to parliamentary elections, "which would only delay action to get the country back on its feet", quotes Reuters. One thing is for sure: the Orange Revolution has definitely ended.


(Published: 09.02.2010.)