UKRAINE: Party wakes up to ruling party's election win

Record ID: 804107

  • Title: UKRAINE: Party wakes up to ruling party's election win
  • Date: 29th October 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ENGINEER RAISA, SAYING: "I think they will all unite, with the others - with Klitschko, with Freedom party. There will be some result." CHURCH MONUMENT IN FRONT OF CHURCH
  • Embargoed: 13th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE4KQVJD5EI3STY29Q98SGKEZN
  • Story Text: The Ukrainian capital Kiev woke up on Monday (October 29) to a cold but very calm morning after the exit polls gave the election win to President Viktor Yanukovich's Party of the Regions.
    Initial results indicated that Yanukovich's party was on course to secure a parliamentary majority following the election but will face an opposition boosted by resurgent nationalists and a liberal party led by boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko.
    "I expect new political forces to come forward, and they will bring new people with them to parliament and to politics," Kiev-based lawyer Mikhail told Reuters on Monday morning.
    "I think this is another year of this continuing process. You understand that I'm not excited about the results. But nevertheless this is evolution, we should come through this. And as we are building the Ukrainian state, we must accept that this is one of the steps on this way," research assistant Vasily Davidchuk added.
    After about one third of votes had been counted, the Regions were ahead with 36.2 percent of the votes in balloting conducted by party lists.
    A senior Regions official said he expected the party would obtain two thirds of the remaining vote in individual districts, enough to give the party a simple majority in the former Soviet republic's 450-seat assembly. It has ruled until now as a coalition with communists and other allies.
    Kiev engineer Raisa said she expected the opposition to unite to form a stronger coalition in the Rada.
    "I think they will all unite, with the others - with Klitschko, with Freedom party. There will be some result," Raisa told Reuters.
    The partial results indicated the Regions alone would win more than 200 seats, and dozens of seats are expected to be won by independent candidates who will support the Regions or join them.
    Boris Kolesnikov, a deputy prime minister, said he foresaw the Regions picking up two thirds of the individual districts.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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