Jump to content

2004 Ukrainian presidential election

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Andris (talk | contribs) at 17:54, 22 November 2004. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The preliminary vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 October 2004, to elect a successor to Leonid Kuchma. No candidate held a 50% majority, so another vote will be held on 21 November to choose between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and former prime minister Viktor Yushchenko.

There were 26 candidates in the initial vote, of whom Yanukovich and Yushchenko were viewed as the chief contestants for the office. Yanukovich is considered to be more conservative and pro-Russian, while Yushchenko is seen as a reformer interested in bringing Ukraine closer to Western Europe.

The election was held in a highly-charged atmosphere, with allegations of media bias, intimidation and even an alleged poisoning of Yushchenko. Many commentators saw the elections as being influenced by outside powers, notably the United States, the European Union and Russia, with the U.S. and E.U. backing Yushchenko (sending former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Senator John McCain to visit with Yushchenko), and Russian president Vladimir Putin publicly backing Yanukovich. In the media the two candidates are contrasted, with Yushchenko representing both the pro-Western Kiev residents as well as the rural Ukrainians, whereas Yanukovich represents the Eastern, pro-Russian industrial laborers. The United States and Europe fear that a Yanukovich win will halt the Ukraine's move toward integration with Europe (especially as regards any future accession to NATO or the EU). Russia fears that without a close relationship with Ukraine its ability to develop and prosper will be severely limited, and that the Ukraine could develop into a mildly hostile neighbor, much like the Baltic states have become since their integration into NATO and the EU. Putin has offered Ukraine an economic union and signed legislation permitting visa-less travel between the two countries in an attempt to underscore the potential relationship that would be available. Prominently anti-Soviet statesman Zbigniew Brzezinski casts the election as an opposition to renewed Russian imperialism:

"Russia is more likely to make a break with its imperial past if the newly independent post-Soviet states are vital and stable. Their vitality will temper any residual Russian imperial temptations. Political and economic support for the new states must be an integral part of a broader strategy for integrating Russia into a cooperative transcontinental system. A sovereign Ukraine is a critically important component of such a policy, as is support for such strategically pivotal states as Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan."

The initial vote produced a near draw: official figures gave Yanukovich 39.32% and Yushchenko 39.87% of the votes cast. As no candidate reached the 50% margin required for outright victory, a second round of voting was held on 21 November. Although a 75% turnout was recorded in the initial vote, observers reported many irregularities, particularly in the regions where Yushchenko's support was seen to be strongest. It was unclear how much of an impact this had on the result.

In the 21 November runoff, Ukraine's electoral commission has declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner. According to electoral commission data, Yanukovich has 49.42% of the votes cast and Yuschenko has 46.69% of the votes cast. Observers for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the run-off vote "did not meet international standards" and U.S. senior election observer, Senator Richard Lugar, called it "concerted and forceful program of election day fraud". Viktor Yushchenko is calling for supporters to protest "the total falsification of the vote." City councils of Lviv and Ivana-Frankovsk have refused to recognize the official results and have declared that Yuschenko has won the election.

Preliminary election results

Results of the preliminary vote held 2004-10-31. A runoff election, to decide between Yushchenko and Yanukovych, will be held 2004-11-21.


27,897,559 voters participated. 1.98% of voters didn't choose a candidate.

candidate nominated by % votes
Viktor Yushchenko self-nominated 39.87 11,125,395
Viktor Yanukovich Party Of Regions 39.32 10,969,579
Oleksander Moroz Socialist Party of Ukraine 5.81 1,621,154
Petro Simonenko Communist Party of Ukraine 4.97 1,388,045
Nataliya Vitrenko Progressive Socialist Party 1.53 426,897
Anatoliy Kinah Party of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine 0.93 260,890
Oleksander Yakovenko Communist Party of Workers and Peasants 0.78 218,214
Oleksander Omelchenko Party "Unity" 0.48 136,502
Leonid Chernovetsky self-nominated 0.45 128,037
Dmytro Korchinsky self-nominated 0.17 49,641
Andriy Chornovil self-nominated 0.12 36,086
Mykola Grabar self-nominated 0.07 19,550
Mykhailo Brodsky self-nominated 0.05 16,400
Yuriy Zbitnyev Party "New Power" 0.05 16,249
Sergiy Komisarenko self-nominated 0.04 13,692
Vasil Volga non-governmental organization "Public Control" 0.04 12,874
Bohdan Boyko Movement of Ukrainian Patriots 0.04 12,717
Oleksander Rzhavsky Party "United Family" 0.03 10,664
Mykola Rogozhynsky self-nominated 0.03 10,242
Vladislav Krivobokov People's Party of Depositors and Social Protection 0.03 9,280
Oleksander Bazilyuk Slavic Party of Ukraine 0.03 8,917
Igor Dushin Liberal Democratic Party 0.03 8,598
Roman Kozak Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in Ukraine 0.02 8,360
Volodimir Nechiporuk self-nominated 0.02 6,141

Candidates

The candidates were, alphabetically:

  • Oleksander Bazilyuk
    • Nominated by the Slavic Party of Ukraine. Since 2002, he has been a pensioner. In May 1992, he created the Public Congress of Ukraine, which was renamed the Slavic Party. He has also been a head of the "Congress of Russian Organizations in Ukraine" since 1996 and is one of the chairs of "Union of Orthodox Citizens.". Was a presidential candidate in 1999, receiving 0.14% of the votes. He speaks German, English, Italian, and French.
  • Bohdan Boyko
    • Nominated by the "Movement of Ukrainian Patriots.". Before 2002 he was a national deputy of Ukraine. Since 2002 he has been chair of the "National Movement of Ukraine for Unity", which is one of the branches of former "National Movement of Ukraine" of Vyacheslav Chornovyl. Never been a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Follows a nationalist policy, opposed to Ukrainian "oligarchs".
  • Mykhailo Brodsky
    • Self-nominated candidate. Chair of the "Yabluko" ("Apple") Party since 2003. Was a national deputy of Ukraine, 1998-2002. Was a chair of the publishing house "Kyivskie Vedmosti" in 1998. Main policy is opposition to "oligarchs", and declared when registering that he was running for president to bar the current prime minister, Victor Yanukovich, from power.
  • Grigoriy Chernish
    • Nominated by the Party of Rehabilitation of Infirm People, which he has chaired since 1994. In 1992, he founded an international charity named the "Worldwide aid organization for infirm people" and the medical diagnostic concern "Aesculapius," which he chairs. In 1994, he was elected an Active member (academician) of Russian Federation Academy of Medical Technical Sciences for alternative methods of medical treatment. In 1995, he was elected an Academician of Social Sciences of the Russian Federation for new forms of market relationships between commercial organizations (Charity). He is the poorest candidate for President of Ukraine, his official annual income, including the income of his family, is a little larger than US$55. His election program consists of 18 articles. The first one is the "Revival of spiritual and material welfare of the people of Ukraine on the basis of the four spiritual laws that were laid in the foundation of our origin." Another article states that the candidate is going to give out medical adornments made of topaz mineral to every resident of Ukraine.
  • Leonid Chernovetsky
    • Self-nominated candidate. A national deputy of Ukraine. Chair of the board of the Ukrainian Fund of Peace. Since 2001, he has been the President the "Kyiv Bank Union". He is a chair of the Christian Liberal Union and Christian Liberal Party of Ukraine. In 1998-1999 he was a co-chair, and in 1999-2000 he was the chair of the party "For beautiful Ukraine." Since 2000, he has been a member of presidium of the party of regional revival "Labor solidarity of Ukraine." From 1997 to 2001 he was a member of a Superior economic council of the President of Ukraine. He is a chair of the board of "Pravex Bank", one of the largest banks in Ukraine.
  • Andriy Chornovil
    • Self-nominated candidate. He is an elder son of the famous Ukrainian dissident and a leader of National Movement of Ukraine, Vyacheslav Chornovil. He is a deputy of Lviv regional board. Since June 2004 he has been an Assistant Professor if Infection Illnesses at the National Medical University of Lviv. From 2002 to 2003, he was a leading expert at the board of health care of the Regional National Administration of Lviv, and a senior inspector of Western regional customs.
  • Igor Dushin
    • Nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party. From 1994 to 1998 he was chair of the secretariat of advisers of the President of Ukraine in the area of regional politics. From 1998 to 1999 he was a scientific consultant of the charitable organization "Sodruzhestvo" ("Concord"). From 1999 to 2000 he was a chair of Center of Business collaboration at the Fund of Assistance for Local Governments of Ukraine. He favors acknowledging the Russian language as a second official language in Ukraine, and also speaks in support of transforming Ukraine into a federal republic and the creation of a two-chamber parliament.
  • Mykola Grabar
    • Self-nominated candidate.. Previously a national deputy of Ukraine. Since 1998 he has been a lawyer of the Kyiv Bar. He was a member of the Kyiv City Council three times. If elected, he promises to double the income of Ukrainian citizens by 2006 and to return $20 billion that were taken out from Ukraine to the United States illegally.
  • Anatoliy Kinah
    • Nominated by the Party of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine, which he has chaired since 2000. Prime Minister of Ukraine between 2001 and 2003. In 2002 he was elected a National deputy of Ukraine, representing the bloc of parties "For United Ukraine!" From 1995 to 1996 he was a minister responsible for industrial politics. A particular feature of his election program is a pro-Ukrainian choice in foreign policy, saying that entry to the European Union should not be a barrier to the development of relationships with all NIS countries as well as with Russia.
  • Sergiy Komisarenko
    • Self-nominated candidate. He is a chair of O. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Since 2001, he has been a member of the board of "Public Initiative 'Forum of National Salvation.'". Since 1999, he has been the First vice-chair of Ukrainian Board of Peace. He is a president of Ukrainian biochemistry society, a president and a founder of Ukrainian international institute of peace and democracy, a member of interagency committee in charge of the newest biotechnologies. In 1999 he was campaign manager of presidential candidate Evgen Marchuk. He was an Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Britain from 1992 to 1998 and to Ireland from 1995 to 1998. His election program includes a guarantee of a state monopoly for manufacturing of tobacco and alcohol products, and gradual realization of political reform after 2006 parliamentary elections. In his program, he pays great attention to development of science and education. In international relations he favours a policy of neutrality.
  • Vitaly Kononov
    • Nominated by the Green Party of Ukraine, which he chairs. He was a national deputy of Ukraine, has worked on youth politics issues, physical training issues, and sports issues. Since 1999, he has been a member of the Board of Ukrainian-wide union of democratic forces "Consent.". Was a presidential candidate in 1999, receiving 0.29% of the votes and finished 11th of 13 candidates. In his election program, he supports transition to parliamentary-presidential government, actively speaks in support of environment protection.
  • Dmytro Korchinsky
    • Self-nominated candidate. He is the only candidate among 26 candidates for President who does not have higher education. He is the President of the Institute of Regional Politics and Modern Political Science. He is a leader of a public movement "Brotherhood", which became a party during the election campaign. Before 1997 he was a vice chair of the party Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) and a chair of nationalistic association UNA-UNSO (Ukrainian National Assembly - Ukrainian National Self Defense). He is a co-author of a poem collection "Philosophy of distemper" (1998), an author of the following books: "War in the crowd" (1998) and "Authoritarian Alternative" (1998), and an editor of the book "War in the crowd" (1999). In his program, he speaks in support of "industrial manufacturing of mysticism", claims that the European Union is a set of countries saved by Ukraine and that one should demand especially respectful treatment of Ukraine from them.
  • Roman Kozak
    • Nominated by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in Ukraine, which he has chaired since 2001. He is a co-author of the book "Scientific notes of metropolitan Petro Mohyla", and a chair of "Petro Mohyla Scientific Association.". Features of his election program include a stiff defense of national interests, and 100 euro monthly support of the families with children.
  • Vladislav Krivobokov
    • Nominated by the People's Party of Depositors and Social Protection, which he has chaired since its foundation in 2000. In 1997, he created and chaired a public organization "For social protection of population", that aims to ensure social and rights protection of population. Since then, he has been constantly involved into public and political activities. On 9 January 1999 there was an assassination attempt on him – a hired killer fired at point-blank range at his car. Krivobokov received 10 bullet wounds, but survived. His election program features total privatisation, an amnesty for the population's debts, starting from utility debts to tax debts.
  • Oleksander Moroz
    • Nominated by the Social Party of Ukraine, which he has chaired since 1991. Presidential candidate in 1994 and 1999, when he won third place both times, with 13.04% of the votes in 1994 and 11.29% in 1999. Since 2001, he has been a member of a special board "Forum of national salvation", a representative of a Public Committee of Protection of the Constitution "Ukraine without Kuchma" in charge of negotiations with representatives of the regime. In his program he speaks in support of continuation of political reform, which will allow establishing public control over the government He also speaks in support of the preservation of land for Ukrainian farmers and gives many promises about resolving social problems.
  • Volodimir Nechiporuk
    • Self-nominated candidate. He is a national deputy of Ukraine. Since June 2002, he has been the chair of subcommittee that controls activities of law-enforcement bodies of a Committee of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament). He is a member of Social Democratic party of Ukraine (United). He is a co-author of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was first-category participant in liquidation of consequences of the accident at Chornobyl Power Plant. From 1991 to 1993 he was a chief of the Board of social protection of workers of law-enforcement bodies at the Ministry of Ukraine. He is a colonel of the militia. In his program, he speaks in support of 7-year terms for elections of the President of Ukraine, deputies of the Parliament, and chairs of all levels. He is also opposed to land sales.
  • Oleksander Omelchenko
    • Nominated by the "Unity" party, which he chairs. He has been mayor of Kyiv since 1999. He is the President of Association of the cities of Ukraine, the president of Ukrainian Hockey Federation. He is the only candidate for President whose son is a deputy of Ukrainian parliament. His program includes the urgent withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Iraq.
  • Mykola Rogozhynsky
    • Self-nominated candidate. He chairs the children's Arts Center "Zvezdopad" ("Starfall"), where more than 100 children aged from 5 to 18 study for free. This center has a theater. One of productions of this theater is a rock opera "Choice" about problems of child drug addiction, prostitution, AIDS, and the preservation of gene pool of the nation. He is a poet, his collection "If I could.." was nominated for the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. If elected, he promises to switch the Ukrainian economy to an innovative development model by development of hi-tech sector, modernization of science and education, investment in intellectual and labor potential of a human being. He also promises to turn companies that comprise the geostrategic potential of Ukraine into joint-stock companies with a majority ownership by state.
  • Oleksander Rzhavsky
    • Nominated by the "United Family" Party, of which he is the head. Presidential candidate in 1999, when he won 0.37% of the votes, and finished in 9th place. He was vice-chair of the board of Montazhspetsbank in 1996-97, and president of Koral Bank in 1997-98. In his program, he promises to establish order in Ukraine, using the methods of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  • Petro Simonenko
    • Nominated by the Communist Party of Ukraine. Party member since 1978, and party chairman since 1993. He is a Ukrainian delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. From 1994 to 1996 he was a member of the Ukrainian parliament's Constitution Commission. Presidential candidate in 1999, when he got 22.24% of the votes in the first round, finishing in second place. In the second round he won 37.8% of the votes when losing to Leonid Kuchma. His election program has classic communist leader content.
  • Nataliya Vitrenko
    • Nominated by the Progressive Socialist Party, which she has chaired since 1996. In the 2002 parliamentary elections her party won 3.22% of the votes. Presidential candidate in 1999, when she won 11% of the votes to finish in 4th place. She is a consistent opponent of euro integration and speaks in support of union of Slavic countries (Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus). Her election program is strongly critical of economic reforms. She speaks against collaboration with the International Monetary Fund. She claims that she knows how to make Ukraine independent from foreign energy resources. If elected, she promises to cancel land trade operations, to prevent Ukraine from entering NATO and European Union. She also promises to make Ukrainian budget 6 times larger in 4 years.
  • Vasil Volga
    • Nominated by the non-governmental organization "Public Control", of which he has been chair since 2000. Born in 1968 he is one of the youngest presidential candidates. From 1997 to 2000 he was chair of the International Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs. The major thesis of his program is great attention to public control of governmental organizations achieved by the creation of labor unions and advisory panels in these organizations.
  • Olaksander Yakovenko
    • Nominated by the Communist Party of Workers and Peasants, which he has chaired since 2001; this party won 0.41% of the votes in the 2002 parliamentary elections. From 1993 to 1994 he was a chair of ecology department of the town council of national deputies in Enakievo (Donetsk region). Enakievo is a hometown of current Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich. In his program he speaks in support of socialism, soviet power, and renewed Union. At the end of the program, he promises that if more than 3 million people vote for it, the elected president will have to conduct a Ukraine-wide referendum about unification of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus into a single Union. If this happens, in his view, the problem of equal rights of Ukrainian and Russian languages will be resolved.
  • Viktor Yanukovich
    • Nominated by Parliamentary majority. Since 2002, he has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine. He has chaired the Party of Regions of Ukraine for over a year. This is the second-largest party in the Ukrainian parliament, with 63 deputies. He is also chair of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee. In 1968, he was convicted and sent to a colony for teenagers. The convictions were later cancelled. He is Academician of the International California Academy of Science, Education, Industry, and Arts. He is also a member of Academy of economic sciences of Ukraine, and a Corresponding Member of Transport Academy of Ukraine. In his program, he presents a large list of problems that have to be solved to improve life of Ukrainian people.
  • Viktor Yushchenko
    • Self-nominated candidate. The bloc "Nation Power" was created to support him, including the "Batkyvshchyna" ("Motherland") Party and the "Our Ukraine" bloc of parties. He was Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine between 1993 and 1999, then prime minister for 18 months. He is the only Prime Minister in Ukrainian history who was forced to resign by vote of no-confidence of parliament. Since March 2002, he has been the deputy in Parliament and the chair of the largest parliamentary group "Our Ukraine". From 2001 to 2002, he was the chair of Boris Yeltsin Ukrainian-Russian institute of management and business at Inter-Regional Academy of Personnel Management. His election program consists of "Ten Steps towards the Nation". He is considered the major opposition candidate and protégé of the West. His second wife, Kateryna Chumachenko, is a U.S. citizen.
  • Yuriy Zbitnyev
    • Nominated by the "New Power" Party. He was a founder of the "Young Ukraine" party in 1999 and is a member of the coordinating board of public non-governmental organization "Union of tax payers of Ukraine". In 2000, he founded a Ukraine-wide association of manufacturers of infusion solutions, which includes 14 enterprises. In 1999 he created a company "Gramed", which manufactured pharmaceutical medications. From 1995 to 1996 he was first vice-chair of Central Board of the Social Democratic party of Ukraine (United). In his program he proposes reducing the number of administrative divisions of Ukraine (oblasts) from 24 to 9.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2004_Ukrainian_presidential_election&oldid=7755569"