http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10212-2004Nov24.html?sub=AR
washingtonpost.com
U.S. Rejects
Tally, Warns Ukraine
By William
Branigin
Washington
Post Staff Writer
November 25,
2004; Page A36
The United
States yesterday rejected the announced results of Ukraine's disputed
presidential election and warned the government of the former Soviet republic
to uphold democracy or face consequences in its relationships with the United
States and Europe.
In a news
briefing at the State Department, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered
a sharp rebuke to the Ukrainian authorities who yesterday declared Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of a runoff election Sunday that
Ukrainian protesters and foreign observers said was marred by fraud.
"We
cannot accept this result as legitimate because it does not meet international
standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and
credible reports of fraud and abuse," Powell said.
His comments
came shortly after Ukraine's Central Election Commission announced that
Yanukovych, whose candidacy was backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, won
the runoff with 49.46 percent of the vote, defeating pro-Western opposition
candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who was said to have received 46.61 percent. Exit
polls on election day had put Yushchenko well ahead, and U.S. and European
observers said there were widespread irregularities.
Powell's
remarks were more forceful than those the administration made Tuesday when
President Bush issued a statement saying the United States was "deeply
disturbed" by "indications of fraud" in the elections.
Yesterday,
Powell called for "a full review of the conduct of the election" and
tallying of results. "It is time for Ukrainian leaders to decide whether
they are on the side of democracy or not, whether they respect the will of the
people or not.
"If the
Ukrainian government does not act immediately and responsibly, there will be
consequences for our relationship, for Ukraine's hopes for a Euro-Atlantic
integration, and for individuals responsible for perpetrating fraud," he
said.
Powell said
he has discussed the situation with Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine's outgoing president
and a Kremlin ally who backed Yanukovych, and with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, among other officials. In his conversation with Lavrov, Powell
said, "I underscored our strong support for a fair investigation of the
election and the absolute importance that no violence is used against the
Ukrainian people."
Powell said
the United States and Russia want to find a solution to the problem based on
legal procedures.
"We're
not looking for a contest with the Russians over this," he said.
"We're looking for a way to make sure that the will of the Ukrainian
people is respected. . . ."
He declined
to specify the consequences he said could flow from Ukraine's failure to ensure
a fair election outcome. "At the moment, we're not taking any
actions," he said. "We want to see what the ultimate results are. So
I would not get into any specifics."
Sen. Joseph
R. Biden Jr. (Del.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee,
said Ukraine's leaders should "immediately invalidate the election
results, invite an independent commission to investigate the numerous reports
of fraud and protect all peaceful demonstrators."
Germany has
also criticized the election and expressed concern about the situation in
Ukraine, which declared independence from Moscow 13 years ago. "There has
been massive electoral fraud," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told
the country's legislature.
Another
country expressing similar criticism was Canada, which echoed Powell's
statement by announcing that it cannot accept the election results.
© 2004 The
Washington Post Company
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