Ukraine has come up to the critically important point – the second round of the presidential election. The stake of the November 21, 2004 is really tremendous and comprehensive. Its main dimensions include prospects for the State and society for at least the next decade, the developments in the post-Soviet space and impact on the European security.
The social tension caused by the election, as well as the attention of the international community to it are unprecedented. They probably can be compared only to the reaction to the Chornobyl disaster at that time.
Having testified to both high activity of the people and existence of powerful opposition which are signs of the country’s democratization, the first phase of the presidential campaign, at the same time, practically imposes on us the thesis of the society’s authorities-versus-people division. Today we have a quarreled country. This can result in serious complications both on the polling day and for a long-term period.
The reasons for this do not lie only in the imperfect Law on the Election of the President as some people are prone to think. The matter is that this Law is oriented for a society with a sustainable and mature democracy. And we are moving, although in a complicated and contradictory manner, towards such a level of the social organization.
But where and by what law manipulations with voting lists or absentee voter certificates are stipulated? What law envisages voting by one person for several times or for several other electors, forcing people to vote for this or that candidate as well as blocking election commissions’ activities? What law permits ignoring and distorting the will of the people for the sake of the results wished by somebody?
On the contrary, all this is forbidden by the acting legislation and should be inevitably punished under it.
In order to be convinced of numerous instances of disregarding the law and, in fact, of both humiliation of the people and discrepancy between the politics and the morality, there is even no need to monitor and summarize everything what is happening in various parts of the country – it is quite enough to watch Ukrainian TV channels. One gets an impression that a war has been declared on one’s own people. Under such conditions the more one speaks about the fair, transparent and democratic election, the less people believe that such things may be real.
Thus, those people, who have been put in charge of the matter, should do everything to immediately eliminate shortcomings and violations that may exert a negative impact on the second round of the election distorting the process of the expression of people's will and its results.
At the same time, it is high time now for us to speak of the urgent need to implement other, long-term tasks, i.e. development of the civil society, guaranteeing the rule of law, freedom of expression, real independence and demonopolization of the mass media, cardinal reorganization of law-enforcement bodies, elimination of the impact of clans and oligarchic groups on the social and political life.
The candidates for the presidency do not need an illegitimate victory gained by dubious means.
The Ukrainian people need an honest and democratic election procedure which would enable everyone to put into life one's own vision of the country's development, its place and role in the World.
The only real and the only significant issue that should and, I hope, will matter is people's opinions and votes. So that the notorious maxim "it is not important how the people vote, it is important, in what way the ballots are counted" would become unacceptable for the Ukrainian reality.
As Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - the supreme representative body of the people – I am calling on you, honorable countrymen, to freely, deliberately and fearlessly use on November 21 your constitutional right , which the Law safeguards.
I consider it necessary to draw the attention of the authorities, chiefs of law-enforcement bodies and chairpersons of the election commissions to their personal responsibility for prevention of violations that could hinder people's expression of will or, God forbid, trigger civil conflicts.
Ukraine has the right for a President, who will be recognized by his own nation and respected by the world community.
It depends upon every and each one of us to make things happen this way.
Volodymyr Lytvyn