Polls have opened in Ukraine's parliamentary election - in which the world heavyweight boxing champion is one of the main contenders.
Superstar boxer Vitali Klitschko has emerged as an unlikely challenger to the ruling elite in place of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
While Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's pro-business Regions party seems likely to win, it will face a re-energised opposition which has vowed to fight growing authoritarianism and corruption.
Klitschko, a famous Ukrainian sporting hero, has injected an element of unpredictability into the election and his liberal Udar party is expected to win a large number of seats.
It is the first ballot in the country since former prime minister Tymoshenko was jailed for abuse of office.
President Viktor Yanukovich The last parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic of 46 million took place in 2010 when Tymoshenko lost to President Yanukovych in a bitterly fought contest.
Commentators expect Regions, bankrolled by industrialists and drawing on state resources, to keep a majority in the 450-seat assembly with support possibly from communists and some independents.
"We have rebuilt the country, we have achieved stability," Mykola Azarov, prime minister and formal leader of the Regions, told a close-of-campaigning rally on Friday.
But if it wins, Regions faces a tougher time in Parliament.
WBC world heavyweight champion Klitschko has pledged to team up with the opposition led by former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk to fight corruption they say deters entrepreneurial spirit and foreign investment.
Supporters of United Opposition attend a pre-election rally in Kiev From her jail in Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast, Tymoshenko issued a statement that Yanukovich, who comes up for re-election in 2015, would set up a "dictatorship and never again give up power by peaceful means".
Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years last year for abuse of office relating to a 2009 gas deal with Russia she made when she was prime minister.
The Yanukovich government says the agreement saddled Ukraine with an enormous price for gas supplies.
Amid claims that her prosecution was politically motivated, Tymoshenko's imprisonment has prompted worldwide condemnation and anger.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Ukraine Goes To Polls With Main Rival Jailed
Dengan url
http://buangdwiet.blogspot.com/2012/10/ukraine-goes-to-polls-with-main-rival.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Ukraine Goes To Polls With Main Rival Jailed
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Ukraine Goes To Polls With Main Rival Jailed
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar