Ukrainian Campaign Relaunched

KIEV, Ukraine — Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko relaunched his presidential campaign with a massive but relatively somber rally Saturday evening after failing to win a deal in Ukraine’s parliament to strengthen guarantees against fraud in the hard-won repeat runoff.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, meanwhile, announced through an aide that he would stand in the rematch with Yushchenko despite believing that the Supreme Court erred in ruling his disputed Nov. 21 runoff victory invalid a day earlier.

“The prime minister thinks that the court decision was made under great political pressure, and the constitution was violated,” the prime minister’s press secretary, Anna Herman, told a news conference. But she quoted Yanukovich as saying, “There is nothing left for me to do than to run in the election and win it.”

Foreign observers and domestic critics charged after the first runoff that absentee voting rules had been abused and voter registration lists manipulated to inflate the vote tally of the pro-Moscow Yanukovich and hold down the total for the pro-West Yushchenko.

The opposition has demanded new anti-fraud rules and a change in membership of the Central Election Commission, which on Saturday formally set Dec. 26 for the revote. If a rematch between Yushchenko and Yanukovich were to be held without those changes, the door could be opened to a repeat of opposition charges that the vote was rigged and Yushchenko was robbed of victory.

Speaking to tens of thousands of supporters who were gathered in central Kiev’s Independence Square for a 13th consecutive evening rally, Yushchenko warned that “there are very cynical and difficult negotiations going on behind our backs” aiming to delay or disrupt the revote. He called for international organizations to send large contingents of observers to guard against fraud.

“Despite Christmas, the international community must ensure strong observers’ presence,” he said. “That will be the day that will determine Ukraine’s fate for decades and centuries ahead.”

Yushchenko defended his decision not to go along with the demand of other parliamentary factions Saturday that passage of fresh guarantees against vote fraud be linked with constitutional reforms transferring many of the president’s powers to the prime minister. Had Yushchenko agreed to that deal, his path to the presidency would appear much clearer, but the power he would then exercise would be severely limited.

“They realized that they aren’t going to win, so they decided to make constitutional changes to revise presidential powers,” Yushchenko told supporters in the square.

In parliament, Yushchenko found himself embroiled in bitter argument with new political allies, including the parliamentary speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn, and Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz. They wanted the various reforms to be passed as a single package.

But Yushchenko and his core supporters demanded that any vote on constitutional reform be delayed until after the Dec. 26 balloting.

“Combining electoral changes and constitutional reform is legally illiterate,” said lawmaker Yulia Tymoshenko, a key Yushchenko ally. “We must first create legal conditions for holding elections. No one in the world passes constitutional changes in a rush.”

Yushchenko’s parliamentary critics charged him with reneging on an agreement to link the measures. He and Tymoshenko denied that charge.

Among the electoral reforms reported to be under consideration were forming local election commissions from equal numbers of Yushchenko and Yanukovich supporters and trimming the number of absentee ballots permitted from 4% of the total to 0.5%.

Parliament adjourned for 10 days without taking action, although it could be called back into session earlier if various faction heads agree to do so.

Protesters in the square appeared to support Yushchenko’s stance. “It’s bad if Yushchenko gets less power,” said Maryana Shevchuk, 18, a medical student. “The people have been standing here so that Yushchenko can change things.”

In his speech to the rally, Yushchenko criticized outgoing President Leonid D. Kuchma for refusing to implement a parliamentary vote last week that dismissed Yanukovich as prime minister.

Yushchenko also charged that Kuchma was resisting taking steps to ensure a fair election. He demanded that Kuchma appoint a new Central Election Commission to replace the body that oversaw the tainted vote.

Kuchma’s press office released a statement accusing Yushchenko of reneging on agreements, including the lifting of a blockade of government offices by protesters, that were reached during negotiations between the two sides last week.

The talks were held in the presence of mediators that included European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

“The opposition isn’t fulfilling practically any of the agreements reached at a round table that involved European politicians,” Kuchma said. “That exacerbates the situation in the country.”

On Saturday, Kuchma and Kwasniewski agreed that the next round of internationally mediated talks would be held in Kiev on Monday, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.

While still hoping for the changes in electoral law that it has demanded, the Yushchenko camp appeared to believe that even without fresh legal guarantees it could mobilize enough support to come out on top in the revote.

Yushchenko said that in recent days, 160,000 forms had been distributed to demonstrators to establish a database of campaign activists that would be used to organize volunteers for local election commissions and observer spots. More forms were being handed out Saturday evening.

Arkadiy Dyadenko, 50, a businessman who attended the Yushchenko rally, said he was sure that the opposition leader would win and that authorities would not dare to crack down on protesters.

“It’s over,” he said. “Even Kuchma can’t stop this. Even if there are no amendments in the law, the people won’t let them cheat.... We see the king is naked.”