By Vestnik Kavkaza
The early presidential elections took place in Ukraine yesterday. According to data of exit polling which were published right after closing of ballot stations, MP and businessman Pyotr Poroshenko wins in the first round with 55.9% of the votes. Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko got 12.9%, while Oleg Lyashko received 8%. Poroshenko has already promised to built a new system of global security in Ukraine and stated: “Russia is our largest neighbor. Despite the huge problems in our bilateral relations, which appeared through no fault of Ukraine, we have many formats which enable us to start solving existing problems.” However, Moscow treats the Ukrainian elections skeptically.
Alexey Martynov, director of the International Institute for Modern States, is afraid that “observation missions are biased at the elections. In the majority of cases at least; several statements calling the elections legitimate and well-organized have already been issued. These statements are absolutely baseless. No serious research has been conducted so far. There was no actual analysis, there are no certain figures… The ongoing political process can hardly be called democratic elections. Similar schemes were used by the Americans in several countries where they wanted to legitimize the authorities, such as in Central Asia or in Afghanistan. No second round of voting was held.”
Igor Borisov, the chairman of the Board of the Russian Public Institute of Electoral Law, thinks that “it can hardly be called democratic procedures of voting. There are international principles which are being violated to the full extent.”
Political scientist Sergei Mikheyev called the elections in Ukraine an imitation: “A significant factor in making a decision whether to recognize or not recognize elections is the only factor – what is the new president going to do? Is he going to stop the violence and stop the military operation? Is he going to conduct a real dialogue on a constructive reform? Is he going to pay debts for gas? He can’t act as if there is no Russia and Ukraine doesn’t care whether Russia recognizes it or not… Anyway, there are two scenarios for Ukraine – a bad one and the worst.”
Mikheyev believed that “Kiev has no positive decision for the southeast; and that’s why clashes are happening there and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics appeared. It is suggested that they associate with Europe economically, which will destroy the economy of the southeast; and these families will be bankrupted. Politically, they have been suggested the following concept – you are second-rate people in our beautiful Ukrainian Reich. Culturally, they have been suggested forced Ukrainization. And Kiev thinks that a dialogue could be provided in such a format. I think this “dialogue” could lead only to war.”
