Been watching this with much anticipation, especially given the direction their former mother country is currently headed. The big concern is, given the condensed time frame, can they get organized enough by the 26th (not that they have much choice) and can it be open in its process so that the international community will accept it. I find myself wondering how "valid" it will seem if the process is open and fair but the prime minister wins.# posted by Anonymous : 11:23 PM
Bird says:
Sorry I didn't get to this earlier! Been kind of swept up in the news that I haven't been paying attention to comments. (I know; bad bird).
What is happening in Russia is frightening. It does look like Russia is reverting to its imperial ways. One should remember that for Russians, an independent Ukraine is quite a paradigm shift. They are used to Ukraine being a subservient territory, and for Ukraine to become independent is quite a shock. Of course, that doesn't mean they're right to maintain their power grip on former territories, only that, to them this is the "natural" way of thinking. They're used to an autocratic style of government for themselves; they think this is the way most countries should be.
I'm late in responding to this post, but obviously they did have the election on time. Huge kudos to the international community for making this possible. Also, I think Maidan (the orangemen) have emerged as one of the most organized democratic movements in the world - most of the progress that has been made is due to their persistence and discipline.
Yushchenko's blog (Link) is reporting that he's getting congratulations and greetings from many of the countries in the neighborhood, including Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Romania, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, Poland, and Georgia, the first to congratulate him. His legitimacy grows every day. Of course, Russia has yet to congratulate him.
Yanukovych will try his best to challenge the results in court, but my sources tell me that is a dead end. Sooner or later he and Kuchma will have to bow to the inevitable. Unless they choose a violent method of preserving their power...Yushchenko should be sworn in as president quickly.
Comments