Ukraine will have the municipal elections on October 31, 2010, the Halloween Day. These elections are more likely to become the first non-democratic elections since the 2004 Orange Revolution. The political situation is very dramatic. The Yanukovych administration ruthlessly suppress the political opposition.
Most municipal and mayor elections will be the one-candidate elections. The red tape of the centralized bureaucracy hinders the democratic process of candidate nomination and registration. Facing outrageously ruthless government pressure, candidates from the political opposition could neither nominate nor registerr themselves for the upcoming elections in several provinces, strongholds of the presidential party, Party of Regions. Some candidates are forced to revoke their nomination in support of the incumbent candidates who are members of the Party of Regions. By default, most municipal and mayor elections become the one-candidate elections. In Eastern provinces such as Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk advertising companies refuse to provide time and space for political advertisement of the opposition’s candidates.
The government cements the vertical integration of power at the speed that reminds the second term of the Kuchma administration. The Yanukovych administration forces all government officials to enlist in the Party of Regions. Also, President Yanukovych abuses his power by calling for criminal investigations of the opposition’s politicians. Many allies of Mrs. Tymoshenko are arrested or under investigation. Her former deputy and closest political ally, Oleksandr Turchinov, is under investigation. The General Procurator issued the arrest warrant for Bohdan Danylyshyn who was Minister of Economy in the Tymoshenko government. All recent events remind the tragic events of 1937.
Several NGOs called for responsible public action in the upcoming elections. Most Ukrainian voters tend to agree on the new consensus that they have to vote "against all" since there are no other options in most provinces. The following banner says: "Election on the Halloween. October 31st. If you don't vote, the evil will win!"
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