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The Today's News

Ukraine heads to polls without jailed Tymoshenko

KIEV: Ukrainians vote Sunday in parliamentary elections overshadowed by the absence of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and marked by EU worries over the fate of democracy in the ex-Soviet state. The ballot will be Ukraine's first national vote since Viktor Yanukovych beat the 2004 Orange Revolution mastermind in a bitterly contested 2010 presidential poll that was soon followed by charges against Tymoshenko. The fiery 51-year-old with her traditional blond braid was sentenced to seven years in October on abuse of office charges that both she and Western states view as a politically motivated bid to sideline her from politics. Tymoshenko was considered a promoter of Western-leaning policies while prime minister before the 2010 vote. She now lobbies for a loose opposition coalition from a state hospital where she is being treated for back problems. But she was not allowed to contest a seat in the Verkhovna Rada herself -- a decision met by EU leaders with "regret". The 27-nation bloc has already postponed its end-of-year annual summit with Ukraine over the case and has preferred to wait until after the polls are conducted before making a decision about whether to resume talks with Kiev. Brussels has insisted that Tymoshenko and other former cabinet members who have been jailed on similar charges must be released before it can sign a pact with Kiev opening the door to discussions of its long-sought EU membership. Yanukovych and his ruling Regions Party both dismiss the European worries as misguided and insist that all the conditions are in place for the nation of 46 million to hold a fair vote. "It is in our utmost interest to ensure that the elections are fair, transparent and democratic," Yanukovych said earlier this month.