Issue 2,
9 June 2006
Prior to the election, the popular misconception was that the Orange revolution had lost its way; that the nation was divided and that voters, disillusioned with Ukraine’s flirtation with the west, were flocking to support the pro-Russian candidate from the east. Yet reality proved very different, as a majority of voters once again rallied around the former Orange camps. The message was emphatic: the move toward European integration and the course of change, set in 2004, was now irreversible.
Notwithstanding the current anti-NATO sentiment in the Crimea and east – indicative of historical antipathy and the need for a nationwide public information campaign – the claim that Ukraine is forever a politically divided nation was discredited by the electoral impression made by BYUT in the east.
BYUT performed well, winning in the historically eastern-leaning Kirovohrad Oblast with 33% of the vote and came a strong second in the eastern stronghold region of Dnipropetrovsk with over 15%. Strong second places were also secured in the eastern regions of Zaporizhia and Kharkiv.
Tammy Lynch, a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology & Policy, at Boston University, USA, observed: “BYUT was placed first in 14 of 27 regions, and accomplished the best ever showing in eastern Ukraine of any West-oriented party. These votes, when added to Our Ukraine and the partner Socialists, show that a plurality of Ukrainians support Ukraine’s movement westward and that support for Party of Regions has decreased in the last year.”
A forecast surge of support towards the pro-Russian Party of Regions failed to materialise. Despite its huge campaign costs, which were 29% more that BYUT and Our Ukraine combined, and its heavy use of advertising and western-spin doctors, the share of the vote for the Party of Regions actually declined, from 44% in the third round of the presidential election in 2004 to 32% in 2006.
“We actually saw new patterns of political behavior,” said BYUT leader, Yulia Tymoshenko. “Despite the prevalence of traditional political allegiances, we made serious inroads into the east where issues of employment and modernizing industry are key. The goal for the new government must be to transcend any geo-political divide and build greater political consensus by eliminating corruption and delivering economic prosperity for all Ukrainians.”
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