Ukraine's Opposition Threatens To Impeach President Over "Fraudulent" Election
Ukraine's main opposition parties, known as the United Opposition, have pledged to
impeach President Viktor Yanukovich after European leaders questioned the fairness
of recent parliamentary elections. The announcement came at the start of an international
gathering on Ukraine's future in neighbouring Hungary.
The United Opposition,
led by jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party, has demonstrated
in the capital Kiev against what they view as fraudulent elections.
They
also received a moral boost from European foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and
Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, who condemned the October 28 poll.
In
a statement, the EU officials said the elections were “marred by irregularities” and
"a “lack of transparency”.
AMERICAN WORRIES
U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden also voiced concerns about Ukraine's electoral process when speaking with the
country's president, Viktor Yanukovich, on Tuesday, the White House said in a separate
statement.
The United Opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, says they will
therefore go to parliament and demand the impeachment of president Yanukovich, the
resignation of the government and release of political prisoners.
“We clearly
stated that we will keep all options open in our fight – parliamentary and non-parliamentary,"
he said. "We do not exclude the possibility of dissolving Ukraine’s parliament.”
Yanukovich
has shrugged off international criticism of the election. His government says while
there may have been "some irregularities" they it would not have altered the election
outcome which officials claim was won by the president's Party of Regions and its
allies.
HUNGER STRIKE
Despite the controversy, the United Opposition
has urged jailed former Prime Minister Tymoshenko to end her over two week-hunger
strike in protest of October’s election amid mounting concerns about her health.
The
newly expressed concerns about the elections came while several officials from Ukraine's
government and parliament gathered at an international conference in Hungary's capital
Budapest.
Delegates were to discuss the theme: "Where is Ukraine headed
in the wake of the 2012 parliamentary elections?" at the Hungarian Institute of International
Affairs in Budapest.
Ukraine has come under international pressure to
improve democracy and the rule of law, soon.