Yulia Tymoshenko: Ukraine stands before threat of democratic destruction

Presidential candidate and current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced that as a result of parliament’s adoption of amendments to the presidential election law, the country stands before the threat of democratic destruction.

"Today we are feeling that our country has come face to face before the threat of total democratic ruin. Everything that was left to us by the previous authorities – that is to conduct a free and fair election, but the Party of Regions wants to take this chance from us. They want to destroy the last achievement – holding fair elections," announced Yulia Tymoshenko today at a press conference in Kyiv.

The prime minister stated that the draft law was submitted by the Party of Regions contrary to rules and procedures, without the participation of key parliamentary committees, and without having a comparison chart given to members of parliament for comparing the old and new version of the bill.

"The law changes all the rules of conducting the election and opens a huge highway toward falsifying the vote. These kinds of unprecedented violations of the laws of Ukraine I don’t recall," emphasized Yulia Tymoshenko.

As reported, on February 3, parliament adopted in whole the draft law "On amending the Law of Ukraine ‘On elections of the President of Ukraine’", which was submitted by the Party of Regions. Two hundred thirty three members of parliament voted for it.

Yulia Tymoshenko gave a public statement in which she stressed: "I want the entire world to know who and on what grounds are they ruining the sprouting shoots of democracy in Ukraine. I want the entire world to know that fair elections in Ukraine have come to an end. And I want the entire world likewise, as all civil society organizations, all democratic people of our country, to give their personal assessment."

"I will fight for the law to remain in the edition it was earlier and for elections in the country to take place," added Yulia Tymoshenko.