More Timoshenko supporters converge on Kiev
It is the third day of protests in Kiev and the camp outside Ukraine's Central Election Commission keeps growing. About 3,000 supporters of Yulia Timoshenko have arrived from regions today and are now camping in front of the Election Commission.
People are dancing, singing and playing cards. The weather is not as hot as it was for the last two days and it is much easier for people to camp outside.
Deputies of the party of Yulia Timoshenko visit them regularly to explain to people what is going on in the CEC. 450 deputies failed to register. They corrupted application forms and as a result the CEC refused to register them – the Commission says. So Yulia Timoshenko brought people to the streets explaining to them that this must be a campaign against her party in order to exclude it from the election process.
Ukrainian politicians from the Party of Regions believe that this scandal was masterminded by Timoshenko in order to start the election campaign early and draw as much attention as possible to her party.
Their colleagues from the Communist Party of Ukraine and their leader Petro Simonenko say it is an attempt to disrupt the
What is going on after the central election commission refused to register the candidates of Yulia Timoshenko's Bloc is not a mere dirty PR-move, as it may seem at first glance. Their plan is to destroy the credibility of the elections and usher a state of emergency in Ukraine. Mrs Timoshenko has already made such a demand to the President. Then they plan to hold a referendum, forge its results and change the form of government to a nationalist dictatorship.
Pyotr Simonenko,
Ukraine’s communist party leader
Members of the CEC are dissatisfied with the protest behind their walls. They say that this is not a sanctioned protest but nothing but a PR campaign and that they did nothing wrong with the registration. In fact, they say, Yulia Timoshenko can submit correct papers anytime she wants. Under Ukrainian law, all the parties subject to the election process could submit their papers until September 2 in order to run the elections.
“If they submit their correct forms today, I promise we will register them. Until September 2, they have time to make as many changes as they like and correct their mistakes if they were not deliberate,” Mikhail Okhendovsky, CEC member, noted.
Election officials say the same law must apply to all, and if the three other front runners submitted their papers correctly why should the code be changed for Yulia Timoshenko?
Clearly, all is not lost for Yulia Timoshenko. And while her supporters are protesting about the way their leader is being treated, some responsibility must lie with Ms Timoshenko to ensure the paperwork is completed so her party can legitimately contend the election.
