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Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2004

The simultaneous sessions of Ukraine's highest judicial and legislative branches came amid rising support for an opposition-demanded revote as the best way to avoid splitting Ukraine into a pro-Russian east and pro-Europe west.

Ukraine's government has been paralyzed since the Nov. 21 presidential runoff sent hundreds of thousands into the streets of the capital for round-the-clock protests to support opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who claims massive fraud robbed him of victory.

Ukraine's eastern Russian-speaking regions, which support the declared winner, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, retaliated with threats of autonomy, sparking fears that this eastern European nation of 48 million might break apart.

Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma said Monday he would support a repeat vote.

Yanukovych said Tuesday that if he becomes president, he will offer Yushchenko the post of ``first person,'' or the prime minister's job, according to remarks broadcast on Ukrainian television. Yushchenko's aides have said he would reject such an offer.

In parliament, speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn criticized ``many state, regional and local officials in the east and south of the country for inciting separatism ... and unconstitutional and illegal aspirations for independence and autonomy.''

The Ukrainian Security Council said Tuesday that it had opened a criminal investigation into threats to the country's territorial integrity from officials and other people who ``publicly declare the necessity of splitting the southeast regions from Ukraine,'' the Interfax news agency reported, citing spokeswoman Marina Ostapenko.

The Prosecutor General's Office also launched an investigation.

Parliament tried unsuccessfully to pass a vote of no-confidence in the government due to the appearance of separatist threats in the nation. Only 196 of the 410 lawmakers present supported the measure, less than the 226 votes needed. Parliament then called a break.

The calls for autonomy came ahead of an opposition appeal to the Supreme Court to annul the Nov. 21 election results, which found Yanukovych the winner with a margin of 871,402 votes. Under Ukrainian legislation, the court cannot rule on the overall results but can declare results invalid in individual precincts.

The appeal focuses on results from eight eastern and southern regions _ more than 15 million votes, almost half of the total cast in the runoff.

Yushchenko's lawyers on Tuesday, the second day of the appeal, cited turnout of above 100 percent in hundreds of precincts in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, problems with voting lists and multiple voting with absentee ballots.

``Serious falsifications were used against Viktor Yushchenko and against millions of Ukrainian voters,'' said Yushchenko's lawyer, Svetlana Kustova.

The opposition also asked the court to annul the vote, and name Yushchenko the winner based on his winning a narrow plurality of the votes in the first round on Oct. 31.

Kuchma's support for a rerun of the election indicated the government was feeling mounting pressure from both the throngs of opposition protesters in Kiev's Independence Square and the fearful and increasingly rebellious east.

The West has refused to recognize the election results, while Russia _ which still yields considerable influence over Ukraine - congratulated Yanukovych and complained of Western meddling.

``Don't forget that the crisis started when the government began toying with people's votes,'' Yushchenko said.

Yanukovych said Monday he would support a revote if allegations of fraud are proven - but that he had yet to see such proof.

On Tuesday, he even suggested he could withdraw from the race - if his rival did.

``We need to overcome the crisis and for the sake of this I propose that neither Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko nor I participate in the (new) election if the result of the vote will be declared falsified,'' Yanukovych said, according to Interfax.

Yushchenko urged tens of thousands of supporters flooding central Kiev to maintain their vigil despite freezing temperatures.

The Kharkiv regional legislature on Monday retracted its threat to introduce self-rule, but Yanukovych's native Donetsk pressed ahead with plans for an autonomy referendum scheduled Sunday. Kuchma has warned against allowing Ukraine to split.

The political crisis has led to fears that Ukraine could plunge into economic turmoil. Many Ukrainians, unsettled by the rising instability, have waited in long lines to exchange the national currency for U.S. dollars, and there have been warnings of runs on bank deposits.

© 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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