UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARY CAMPAIGN DIGEST: MAR 5-12

BBC Monitoring research in English 12 Mar 06
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom;, Sunday, Mar 12, 2006

The propresidential Our Ukraine bloc ran a hard-hitting election broadcast
attacking the opposition Party of Regions on state TV. Donetsk-businessman
Rinat Akhmetov, who is running for parliament on the Party of Regions list,
was called as a witness in a high-profile murder case. The Party of Regions
accused the authorities of planning steep price rises after the election.

A number of representatives of the authorities alleged that they were
victims of wiretapping by the Security Service of Ukraine when it was headed
by Oleksandr Turchynov, now the campaign manager of the Yuliya Tymoshenko
Bloc. Pollsters presented their final results before a ban on publication of
poll data came into force after 10 March.

The following is a digest of Ukrainian parliamentary election campaign
developments in the week of 5-12 March 2006:

             OUR UKRAINE-PARTY OF REGIONS FEUD
An election broadcast by the propresidential Our Ukraine Bloc accused the
opposition Party of Regions of intimidating the residents of its Donbass
stronghold and using force against Our Ukraine campaigners in eastern
Ukraine.

The 30-minute broadcast suggested that a number of Party of Regions
candidates have "an overt criminal past" and are seeking immunity from
prosecution in parliament or on local councils.

The broadcast described the party's most influential figure, tycoon Rinat
Akhmetov, as the "master" of Donbass. It described a "wave of criminal
warfare" in the region in the early 1990s which was aimed at gaining control
over "profitable metallurgical plants, mines and spheres of influence in
other sectors".

The broadcast included graphic footage of the remains of victims of a
criminal gang said to be linked to the former authorities being recovered
from an abandoned mine in 2005. (UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1700 gmt 10

Mar 06)

The Donetsk court of appeals ruled that about 20 witnesses, including Rinat
Akhmetov, should be brought to court by police to give evidence in the trial
of a former police officer accused of causing the explosion at the Shakhtar
stadium in Donetsk in October 1995, which killed Akhmetov's predecessor as
president of the Shakhtar football club, Akhat Brahin. (One Plus One TV,
Kiev, in Ukrainian 1730 gmt 6 Mar 06)

An election advertisement of the opposition Party of Regions warned that

the authorities are planning huge price increases after the election and that
"heating will be too expensive for ordinary Ukrainians". (One Plus One TV,
Kiev, in Ukrainian 1630 gmt 8 Mar 06)

Speaking at a news conference in Lutsk, Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov
described election advertising about imminent price rises as "scare
stories". Yekhanurov asked journalists to reassure the public and refrain
from fuelling an artificial panic over rising prices for sugar, potatoes and
vegetables. (UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1548 gmt 10 Mar 06)
               

 EAVESDROPPING SCANDAL
Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko said in an interview with an analytical
weekly that the Prosecutor-General's Office had opened a criminal case over
wiretapping of his conversations as well as those of the presidents of
Ukraine, Russia and Turkmenistan by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU),
when it was headed by Oleksandr Turchynov, who is now the campaign chief of
former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko's bloc. (Zerkalo Nedeli, Kiev, in
Russian 4 Mar 06)

Turchynov described Lutsenko's statements as "nonsense" and "blatant lies"
and said he is planning to sue Lutsenko for libel. He insisted that, under
his leadership, the SBU worked within the bounds of the law and the
constitution, and did not engage in illegal surveillance of politicians,
state officials or interstate conversations. "All this is simple lies and
pre-election provocation," Turchynov said. (Interfax-Ukraine news agency,
Kiev, in Russian 1755 gmt 5 Mar 06)

Former Deputy Prime Minister Roman Bezsmertnyy, the campaign manager of

the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc, said in a TV interview that he had seen
transcripts of conversations that allegedly took place in the offices of
former National Security and Defence Council Secretary Petro Poroshenko,
former Justice Minister Roman Zvarych, and some ambassadors.

Bezsmertnyy said that the transcripts "had long been making rounds from
office to office", but that he was unable to prove this. He said that after
Turchynov's dismissal in September 2005 "a great deal of computer material
was destroyed, but some fragments did remain". (NTN, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1730
gmt 5 Mar 06)

Zvarych, who is Our Ukraine's deputy campaign manager, said during a chat
show on One Plus One TV that he had been summoned to the
Prosecutor-General's Office on 9 March in connection with the wiretapping
case and was given the status of victim.

"I state that I was bugged when I was justice minister, and I also state
that this was done by the SBU under Oleksandr Turchynov," he said.
Turchynov, who was also a guest on the show, denied this. (Ukrayinska

Pravda website, Kiev, in Ukrainian 10 Mar 06)

The head of the presidential secretariat, Oleh Rybachuk, said that
Turchynov's successor, Ihor Drizhchanyy, had confirmed that there had been
several cases of wiretapping by the SBU "after the orange team came to power
and the new government had been working for several months". (TV 5 Kanal,
Kiev, in Ukrainian 1400 gmt 11 Mar 06)
                                                 COALITIONS
Our Ukraine campaign manager Roman Bezsmertnyy said that the new parliament
may be dissolved if a propresidential coalition is not created after the
election. Bezsmertnyy said that former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko "has
no other option but to sign an agreement in the framework of an Orange
coalition. And if she does not, the only remaining option is to dissolve
parliament".

Bezsmertnyy dismissed suggestions that Our Ukraine is engaged in secret
negotiations with the Party of Regions. (NTN, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1730 gmt 5
Mar 06)

President Viktor Yushchenko said during a TV interview that he favours Prime
Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov continuing in the post after the election.
Yushchenko praised Yekhanurov as a "rational prime minister" who was able to
reverse negative economic trends observed under his predecessor, Yuliya
Tymoshenko.

Yushchenko rejected Tymoshenko's campaign slogan calling for Ukrainians to
go to the polls to vote for the new prime minister. Yushchenko said that the
coming election "is not the election of a chancellor or prime minister".
(UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1920 gmt 6 Mar 06)

Tymoshenko agreed to a secret deal to join an Orange coalition in the future
parliament after Yushchenko agreed to her demand to drop the Swiss-based gas
intermediary Rosukrenergo as supplier of Russian and Central Asian gas to
Ukraine, a business daily reported quoting a source in the presidential
secretariat. (Kommersant-Ukraina, Kiev, in Russian 7 Mar 06)

Tymoshenko said during a TV interview that she will do her best to prevent
the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc and opposition Party of Regions
forming a coalition.

Tymoshenko insisted that she is not competing with President Viktor
Yushchenko in the parliamentary election, but she reiterated her opposition
to a number of his close allies running on the Our Ukraine list, including
Bezsmertnyy, former National Security and Defence Council Secretary Petro
Poroshenko, former Emergencies Minister Davyd Zhvaniya, Zaporizhzhya
governor and former Transport Minister Yevhen Chervonenko, Our Ukraine
parliament faction leader Mykola Martynenko, and former first presidential
aide Oleksandr Tretyakov. (Inter TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1900 gmt 9 Mar 06)

After meeting Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus in Kiev, Yushchenko said
that forces representing the comeback of the old authorities will poll a
maximum of 30-35 per cent. He said the most important thing is to find a
formula for the consolidation of democratic forces. (UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian
1900 gmt 11 Mar 06)

Yekhanurov, who is number one on the Our Ukraine bloc list, said that he
does not believe that a coalition with the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc will be
created. Yekhanurov attributed the Party of Regions' lead in opinion polls
to the authorities' mistakes in personnel policy and their failure to
complete the process of bringing representatives of the former authorities
to account. (Inter TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1800 gmt 11 Mar 06)

ELECTION PREPARATIONS
Central Electoral Commission head Yaroslav Davydovych warned that the
election process may be disrupted in some areas since district election
commissions were short of over 10,000 members just 20 days before the
parliamentary election.

Davydovych urged parliament to amend election legislation to allow executive
bodies to appoint members of polling station commissions. Currently, this is
up to political forces only. (ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1645 gmt 6
Mar 06)

During a meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko, the head of the OSCE
mission for the observation of parliamentary elections in Ukraine, Lubomir
Kopaj, expressed concern over the formation of district electoral
commissions and hoped that the issue would be settled soon.

Kopaj said that the election campaign is proceeding in a calm manner, while
the OSCE's monitoring shows that TV and radio audiences receive a broad
range of information about election participants from mass media.

He said that election participants have access to mass media, while the
Central Electoral Commission acts in a "professional and open" manner.
(Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1335 gmt 7 Mar 06)

Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Maymeskul has said that Moldova cannot
guarantee that voting in the Ukrainian parliamentary election in the
breakaway Dniester region will not be disrupted. The Moldovan Foreign
Ministry has said that it is very difficult to ensure a smooth vote in a
country where a state of emergency is in effect. (NTN, Kiev, in Ukrainian
1500 gmt 9 Mar 06)
                                         LAW AND ORDER
The public reception office of MP and Lviv mayoral candidate Petro Pysarchuk
(Party of Regions) was set alight on 7 March. The fire destroyed all office
equipment and documents, and seriously damaged the building. Lviv police
also reported that an activist working for Pysarchuk was attacked and beaten
up in Lviv on 4 March. (UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0655 gmt 7

Mar 06)

The Communist Party's Lviv Region election HQ was pelted with stones on the
night of 4-5 March. The secretary of the Lviv Region Communist Party
committee, Taras Sapuha, said that windows were smashed, and the walls and
furniture were damaged. ( UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1117 gmt 6
Mar 06)
                                                POLLS

A number of pollsters announced their latest results on 10 March, the last
day when poll results can be made public. The Democratic Initiatives
Foundation polled 2,009 respondents on 26 February-6 March.

The following figures are percentage of those who are going to vote on 26
March: Regions of Ukraine, 30.4 per cent; Our Ukraine, 17.1 per cent; Yuliya
Tymoshenko Bloc, 16.9 per cent; Socialist Party, 5.4 per cent; Communist
Party, 3.7 per cent; People's Bloc of Lytvyn 3.4 per cent; Pora-Reforms and
Order, 2.3 per cent; People's Opposition Bloc of Vitrenko 1.8 per cent;
Viche 1.7 per cent; against all, 2.1 per cent; undecided, 8.1 per cent.

The sample error did not exceed 2.2 per cent, the agency said. (UNIAN news
agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1241 gmt 10 Mar 06)

The Kiev International Institute of Sociology polled 2,011 respondents on 25
February-5 March. The report did not specify whether the following figures
represent the percentage of eligible voters or only of those who are going
to vote: Party of Regions, 36.2 per cent; Our Ukraine, 20.9 per cent; Yuliya
Tymoshenko Bloc, 14.3 per cent; Socialist Party, 6.4 per cent; Communist
Party, 3.9 per cent; People's Bloc of Lytvyn, 2.5 per cent; Pora-Reforms and
Order, 2.2 per cent; People's Opposition Bloc of Nataliya Vitrenko, 1.3 per
cent.

The sample error did not exceed 2.3 per cent. (Interfax-Ukraine news agency,
Kiev, in Ukrainian 1352 gmt 10 Mar 06)  -30-