Unease in Ukraine

The political future of Ukraine remains uncertain after pro-Western parties won a razor-thin victory over Russia-leaning parties in parliamentary elections held September 30. With some 99.98 percent of the vote counted, so-called "orange" parties (pro-Western parties linked to 2004's Orange Revolution) had won some 44.8 percent of the vote, while pro-Russian "blue" parties had won 43.8 percent. The result gives "orange" parties 227 representatives in Ukraine's parliament, while "blue" parties will have 223.

During the campaign, President Yushchenko, of the "orange" Our Ukraine party, had promised to back a coalition of the "orange" parties, but changed tack last week after the results of the voting became clear, saying talks to form a government should not only include the "orange" Tymoshenko bloc and his own party but also the "blue" Regions Party of arch-rival Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.

While Yanukovich welcomed the move, the Tymoshenko Bloc, said it would meet with Yanukovich's Regions Party only once an "orange" coalition was in place. The "orange" parties began talks of their own - without the Regions Party - last Friday.

Analysts were surprised by Yushchenko's appeal, pointing to a year of rocky cohabitation since Yushchenko appointed his rival as Prime Minister in August 2006. "We are seeing, the same recycled ideas over and over. What Ukraine needs to do is move forward," said Tammy Lynch of the US Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy.

"I think there will eventually be an [orange] government, but Ukraine faces a long, drawn-out negotiation process - a scenario EU officials wanted Ukraine to avoid," she added. (Reuters)