On Sunday will be held parliamentary election considered by Europe as an exam of democracy. A direct chronicle from Kyiv lead.
On next week end an European country is called to an important exam on democracy. On Sunday the 10/28 Ukrainians are going to elect a new national parliament in an atmosphere of political democratic regress.
According to last Research and Branding Group pool observation, the ruling Party of Regions - the President Viktor Yanukovych political force - is going to lead the competition with the 22% of votes.
The second position could be covered by the United Opposition Fatherland with the 15,4%, followed by the other opposition party UDAR with the 14% of votes, and by the Communist Party of Ukraine with the 9.6%.
Pool observations generated several controversies. Several pool observation centers estimated a lower United Opposition Fatherland rating, and recognized the UDAR party as the second political force in Ukraine.
The ruling Party of Region propose to continue economic and social policy Viktor Yanukovych administration started in order to reach stability and overcome the economic crisis.
The United Opposition Fatherland supports a radical change in the country, restoring a democratic Ukraine which consider the EU as the first geopolitical priority.
The UDAR party, led by former boxing champion Vitaliy Klychko, proposes to erase corruption from the country and promises a new younger ruling class in Ukrainan politics.
Ukrainian Parliamentary election is and important exam for Ukraine. If the election will be recognized as regular, Kyiv could still hope in a political rapprochement to Europe. On the other hand, falsifications and irregularities will be considered by Bruxelles as an Ukrainian democratic regress confirmation.
On this topic, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU Foreign Minister Catrine Ashton wrote an article on the NYT in which two western community politicians expressed a deep concern on the use of national budget money by the ruling Party of Regions.
According to an European Commission press note, several MEP are going to observe Ukrainian parliamentary election in several towns. EU parliament mission, coordinated by ECR MEP Pawel Kowal, it's composed also by EPP MEP Michael Gahler, S&D Marek Siwiec, and Green MEP Rebecca Harms.
After the 2004 democratic process known as "the Orange Revolution", Ukraine is now facing a democratic regress due to arrests and political trails on opposition leaders.
Former PM and United Opposition Leader Yulia Tymoshenko has been arrested afted a non-objective judge retained gas contracts signed by Tymoshenko with Russia in 2009 considered as "inconvenient" for Ukrainian national interest.
The sentence, and the conduction of the trail, during which Tymoshenko advocates had no possibly to prepare a their strategy defense, caused several protests in the EU and the USA, and the European Commission stopped procedures of an Association Agreement signature with Kyiv.
Moreover, since President Viktor Yanukovych came to power in 2010, press freedom decreased. The most critical to President national media - as the 5 th Channel and the TVi - have been constricted to resign from a lot of frequencies in the Eastern regions of Ukraine, and several journalist of the Ukrayinska Pravda have been kicked and openly blackmailed by governmental exponents.
From the foreign policy's point of view, President Yanukovych fostered the relationships with Russia, China, Turkey, Belarus and Kazachstan, and preferred the integration in Russian Euroasiatic Union over a Free Trade Market Agreement signature with the EU.
According to an EU Embassy in Ukraine press note, Ukrainian parliamentary are considered by the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, as the last possibility Kyiv has got to keep the road to European integration opened.
Matteo Cazzulani
Tomasz Kobylanski
