The party of imprisoned ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko claims they have evidence that Ukrainian authorities are falsifying election results.
“The authorities have moved on to massive election fraud,” said deputy head of the Batkivshchyna party Oleksandr Turchynov during a press conference late in the evening on Oct. 28.
He claims that in eastern regions of the country the authorities and its ruling Party of Regions are trying to artificially increase the voter turnout after the polling stations there closed.
The average voter turnout, according to Batkivshchyna figures, throughout Ukraine is at 56 percent of voters. In come districts, particularly, in Donetsk Oblast the voter turnout seems to continue growing even after 8 p.m. when the polling stations had closed, says Turchynov.
“When the polling stations [in Donetsk Oblast] have closed, the voter turn out there was at 48-54 percent,” said he. “As of now [at around 10 p.m.] in some districts the voter turn out suddenly jumped to 70 percent.”
He also drew attention to the fact that as of 10 p.m. Central Election Commission should have already published the ultimate voter turnout even after that time, which, according to Turchynov, is a sign that some people are trying to manipulate the voter turn out in their advantage.
Earlier today Mykola Azarov, the prime minister and leader of the ruling Party of Regions, said earlier today that elections are going fine and no major violations took place. Both Azarov and President Viktor Yanukovych have repeatedly said that are committed to hold this election fair.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at [email protected]
