Orange Revolution Faces Crushing Blow

Ukraine's fiery former prime minister called on her estranged Orange Revolution allies to rejoin her in a coalition Monday, insisting it is the only option to protect the pro-Western and democratic ideals that formed the basis of the 2004 mass protests.

Yulia Tymoshenko said President Viktor Yushchenko — smarting from his third place finish in Sunday parliamentary elections — had agreed to meet with her on Tuesday, when full preliminary results are expected to confirm that their pro-Moscow foe is the top vote-winner.

"I have not seen the president for a long time, and we have a lot to discuss," Tymoshenko said, adding that she believed they could reach agreement that would pave the way for the two to reunite in some form.

Yushchenko has said he would favor an Orange coalition, but he seemed reluctant to accept the idea of Tymoshenko returning to the No. 2 job. He fired her in September, accusing her of waging a behind-the-scenes battle for power that caused the much-vaunted Orange Team to implode in a volley of allegations and recriminations.

With just more than 50 percent of the ballots counted Monday evening, the Central Election Commission put the party of pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Yanukovych ahead with 27.4 percent. Tymoshenko's bloc came in second with 23.4 percent, and Yushchenko was a distant third with about 16 percent.

Yanukovych was dominating in the Russian-speaking east and south, and Tymoshenko led in the Ukrainian-speaking west and center. Yushchenko was ahead in only two of Ukraine's 25 regions.

Yushchenko's job was not at stake, but the newly elected parliament will enjoy vast new powers under reforms that give it the right to name — and dismiss — the prime minister and much of the Cabinet. With no party getting enough votes to dictate its will, the next step will be forming a parliamentary majority of at least 226 of the parliament's 450 seats to form the government.

Both Tymoshenko and Yanukovych want the prime minister's job. Neither, however, seems to be a very inviting option for Yushchenko. Tymoshenko told Ukraine's TV5 on Monday that Yushchenko's party appeared "to be in a state of shock."

Analysts have suggested that Yushchenko might find it more palatable to strike a deal with Yanukovych, whose ballot-stuffing attempt to win the presidency in 2004 triggered the Orange Revolution. But they warn such a union could erode Yushchenko's support base — handing more power and votes to the ascendent Tymoshenko, whose striking good looks and persuasive style have made her one of the country's most popular politicians.

Tymoshenko challenged Yushchenko to act immediately.

"We don't have another path," Tymoshenko, who wore her white campaign sweater adorned with a red heart emblem, said in televised remarks. "It's our only option."

Yushchenko put Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov in charge of coalition talks — a clear signal that the president wasn't ready to accept Tymoshenko's conditions, since Yekhanurov wants to keep his job.

"The crux of the problem is that Yushchenko's entourage is dead set against seeing Tymoshenko become prime minister again," said Ivan Lozowy, president of Kiev-based Institute of Statehood and Democracy. "They don't want her giving out government funds and getting more popular. And there's a lot of acrimony between the groups on a personal level that will be hard to overcome."

Vasyunik said that while the president favors a coalition of Orange forces, "various configurations" of coalition talks were possible. Yanukovych's strong showing will give him the dominant parliamentary faction, but he needs Yushchenko to partner with him if he hopes to return to power.

"The Party of the Regions has won a convincing victory," Yanukovych said after three exit polls put his party in a comfortable first place. "We are ready to undertake responsibility for forming the Cabinet and we are calling on everyone to join us."

Oleksandr Stoyan, a Yanukovych ally, said the Party of the Regions would insist on naming him the prime minister and predicted that Yushchenko would eventually accept such a deal. "We must consolidate our society," he said.

International observers called the vote "free and fair," and said it showed Ukraine had strengthened the democratic course adopted after the Orange Revolution.

"Ukraine has wonderfully passed this exam," Yushchenko said, adding that "in elections there is always one winner — it's the people."

Yushchenko, who retains the right to set the nation's foreign policy and appoint the foreign and defense ministers, pledged that Ukraine would continue on its Westward path. Yanukovych has called for closer ties with Moscow and an end to Ukraine's bid to join NATO, but he supports European Union membership.