I think this is good news but I'm pretty confused myself.
Chalk one up for the good guys.
Wow. Good news, if true. I favor an alliance between the U.S. and Russia, but I do not favor Putin's efforts to rebuilt the Soviet empire. That can only lead to trouble.
"You say Yushchenko, I say Yanukovych... lets call the whole thing off."
Sung to the tune of "You say potato, I say potaato..."
That was relatively peaceful.
I suppose the fraud must have been obvious for the "winner" to step down.
confusing primarily because a lot of guys names start with Y.
This would be like Gore rigging the Florida vote so that he won and then being forced to step aside after fraud and outrage was revealed.
This isn't over yet. But I think this is good news! Very good news. The Kremlin backed guy is basically admitting that he rigged teh election if he conceeds.
Yeah, the names are confusing. "-chenko" is the pro-Western one. "-vich" (or "vych") is the pro-Russian one.
This is strange. What did the ruling party say?
"OK, you caught us. Here ya go."
"Well, fine! Nobody ever said DON'T steal the election!"
"Kidding! We were just KIDDING! Jeeze, can't anybody around here take a joke?"
etc...
Sounds like mob rule to me. What if the other guy DID win?
"But after calls from outgoing president Leonid Kuchma for talks between the two sides, Mr Yanukovych stepped aside."
No, I don't believe it.
What does Jimmmmmy Carter think?
Oops. I thought this was Washington State, but nope, it's the Ukraine... My bad.
So the guy that "won" the election, Putin-backed, stepped aside and the opposition leader is going to be president?
Confusing.
It would not at all surprise me if the Kremlin-bakced candidate brazenly stole the election. So perhaps the true winner will take office. I guess we have just have to wait to find out more.
Assuming that the election inspectors were correct in their assessment of the election as a failure because it was rigged; I am pleased that the guy who the people actually voted for is now in power. This could have been really ugly. I hope for the best for the Ukrainian people.
Widespread Vote Fraud Is Alleged In Ukraine
Observers also said state workers were forced to apply for absentee ballots from their managers and that the filled-in ballots were collected at their places of work. Students were coerced to vote by their professors and deans, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. At a news conference, the monitors said there were too many violations for them to enumerate.
Sounds like they've modeled their vote-getting techniques after the Democrats in the U.S. When you can't win--cheat!
"But after calls from outgoing president Leonid Kuchma for talks between the two sides, Mr Yanukovych stepped aside. Mr Yushchenko will now become president, it has been reported."
While most of the people on the streets are no doubt genuine, both Yanukovych and Yushchenko are completely controlled by Moscow IMO. This is pure theater designed to dupe the West into believing the Ukraine and Moscow are NOT working together as one.
Mr Yushchenko will now become president, it has been reported.
Beautiful outcome. Minimal/no violence, a peaceful transfer of power, and no stolen election.
I think us FReepers have to prepare for the possibility that the EU actually stood up for democracy and the resulting political pressure tipped the scales. Shocking as it sounds, maybe the EU can actually be a positive force in the world. Or maybe not; it's too early to tell.