Posted on 12/26/2004 5:04:42 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared victory Monday in Ukraine's fiercely contested presidential election, telling thousands of supporters they had taken their country to a new political era.
"We have been independent for 14 years but we were not free," Yushchenko told the festive crowd in Kiev's central Independence Square, the center of weeks of protests after the fraudulent and now-annulled Nov. 21 ballot in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner.
"Now we can say this is a thing of the past. Now we are facing an independent and free Ukraine."
Yushchenko spoke after three exit polls and partial results projected him winning easily in Sunday's Supreme Court-ordered rematch.
"Now, today, the Ukrainian people have won. I congratulate you," he said.
Earlier, Yushchenko told journalists and others crammed into his campaign headquarters that Ukraine had opened a new era, which would include neither current President Leonid Kuchma nor Yanukovych, the prime minister and candidate hand-picked by Kuchma to be his successor.
With ballots from just over 50 percent of precincts counted, Yushchenko was leading by 56.34 percent to 39.85 percent, election officials said.
Earlier in the evening, a dejected-looking Yanukovych told reporters in Kiev "if there is a defeat, there will be a strong opposition." But he did not concede, saying "I am ready to lead the state," and hinted he would challenge the results in the courts.
"We will defend the rights of our voters by all legal means," he said, ruling out negotiations with Yushchenko were the opposition leader to win.
And if Yushchenko doesn't win then it's voter fraud, and he seizes power. He must be getting instructions from the DU and Al Bore, but we know Soros is pulling the strings behind the curtain.
The current winner was referring to a concern about vote fraud, and trying to head it off, back six months ago. So much water has passed under the bridge since then, would not you agree?
Just who is "we?"
President Bush DOES NOT supports Yushchenko's election. Bush has called for ah honest and transparent democratic process. But there are clearly elements within the State Dept and American NGOs which do support Yushchenko's party.
Ahem...I hate to be a stickler, but Italy and Israel are hardly "Anglo-Saxon."
The State Dept is its own boss with its own agendas in areas the president does not gaze his eyes on.
Closing down industries and putting people out of jobs in order to secure EU entry is a prospect of better life? Basicly what happens is this EU says that all the industries in Ukraine which supply for home market and export with Russia are below standard and must be scraped in order to clear the way for Eu products... This frees up markets as well as boosts prices due to lower competition.
Czhech Republic is a super example of this performed, also Estonia/Latvia is a good example. (Czechs used to export arms but had to close down the factories in order to become Eu/Nato standard compliant which basicly made them a consumer of French/German/Italian arms industries and killed their own). There were electronics plants in (estonia/latvia (dont remember which one) which got closed down because they weren't up to Eu standards.
An honest and transparent election process means what? It sure didn't mean that election back in November. By supporting the negation of November's election, Bush implicitly supported Yushchenko. He would have found it a lot easier to acquiesce in the November election, but he didn't do so.
They aren't Franco-Germanic-Spanish either if you're talking ethnicity. I'm talking their outlook and philosophies of their governments.
There is no proof that Yushchenko lost beyond exit polls and testimonials. In fact Yushchenko's side seems to have had the same electorial irregularities.
Almost all international election observers said that the November election was flawed. The government-dominated news media said that the November election was flawed.
I will gladly concede that neither Yushchenko nor Yanukovich are angels, but let's not pretend that the November election had any validity.
(The only international election obervers that I know of who confirmed Yanukovich's election were former Democratic congressmen whose trips were paid for by Yanukovich.)
we are so fortunate that Soro's money wasn't able to buy the US election for Kerry.
Let's hope that they will eventually realize how Yushchenko's antics threaten democracy everywhere.
This will only make Soros, et. al. try even harder o buy his way into the US presidency in 2008
With sadness I will tell a lot of these same people, I told you so, in 2008. That so many RINOs inhabit the conservative faction is pretty bad, that so many neocons, who will switch over to the democrats as soon as they come to power, is a plain tragedy.
I'm watching Hildabeast already play on the defend the jobs and borders issue, dancing circles around the many RINOs in Congress, who are paid and bought by the China/India outsourcing lobbies and the Fox guys for open borders.
Ditto
I have no doubt that Hildabeast will call the crowds after she survives dioxine "poisoning" from the head of Homeland Security. Soros is pretty consistent in his soap operas, once something works.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.