U.S. relations with Ukraine hinge on...down-and-dirty presidential vote

[Rose Siding]

KIEV, Ukraine - When police, citing safety reasons, halted the first bus of supporters on their way to a rally for a popular opposition presidential candidate, Oleksiy Kozachenko was annoyed.

But when the calls kept coming that night, the Ukrainian parliament member realized police had grounded perhaps 10,000 supporters in remote villages, and he was furious.

"This is what passes for open government here," he said. "What followed was predictable: The national television stations - under orders from The Power - ignored the rally or reported that it was attended by only a few people, many of them drunk."

After a campaign that's been almost laughingly corrupt, Ukrainians on Sunday will vote in what's being called the most important election in the years since the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine gained independence.

Many neutral observers and political opponents say the stakes are high and that a victory for government-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych - referred to in Ukraine as "The Power" - will mean a long step away from democracy, with the government passing into the hands of a small collection of super-rich. That would seriously damage relations with the West, especially the United States.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10012822.htm

[Kimber Scott]

1. Democracy is as democracy does. nt