Viktor Yushchenko

Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (Ukrainian: ?????? ?????????? ??????) (born 23 February 1954) is the President of Ukraine. As leader of the Our Ukraine (Nasha Ukrayina) political coalition, he was the main opposition candidate in the October–November 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. Ukraine's Central Election Commission declared him the winner of the 26 December 2004 re-run of the runoff election, by 52% to 44% over Viktor Yanukovych. Yushchenko had previously served as the chairman of the country's central bank from 1993 to 1999 and as the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 1999 to 2001.

Presidential election of 2004

In 2004, as President Kuchma's term came to an end, Yushchenko announced that he was an independent candidate for president. His major rival was Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Since his term as prime minister, Yushchenko had slightly modernized his political platform, adding social partnership and other liberal slogans to older ideas of European integration, including Ukraine joining NATO, and fighting corruption. Supporters of Yushchenko were organized in the "Syla Narodu" ("Power to the People") electoral coalition, which was led by himself and his political ally Yuliya Tymoshenko, with the Our Ukraine coalition being the main constituent force.

Related Topics:
2004 - Independent - President - Prime Minister - Viktor Yanukovych - Liberal - European integration - NATO - Corruption - Yuliya Tymoshenko - Our Ukraine

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Yushchenko's campaign was built on face-to-face communication with the voters, since the government prevented most major TV channels from providing equal coverage to the candidates. Meanwhile, his rival, Yanukovych, frequently appeared in the news, even accusing Yushchenko, whose father was a Red Army soldier imprisoned at Auschwitz, of being "a Nazi."

Related Topics:
Campaign - Voter - TV - Auschwitz

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Dioxin poisoning

The campaign was often bitter, controversial, and violent, with accusations of "dirty tricks" from both sides. Yushchenko became seriously ill in early September 2004. He was flown to Vienna's Rudolfinerhaus clinic for treatment and diagnosed with "acute pancreatitis, accompanied by interstitial edematous changes", said to be due to "a serious viral infection and chemical substances which are not normally found in food products", which Yushchenko claimed to be the work of agents of the government. After the illness, his face became heavily disfigured, bloated, and pockmarked.

Related Topics:
Controversial - Violent - September 2004 - Vienna - Acute pancreatitis - Viral infection - Chemical

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After seeing Mr. Yushchenko's deformed face on the evening news, the Dutch toxicologist Bram Brouwer contacted the Rudolfinerhaus to test some of Yushchenko's blood at the Free University of Amsterdam for dioxin. According to Dr Michael Zimpfer, president of the Rudolfinerhaus, these tests provided conclusive evidence that Yushchenko's condition resulted from "high concentrations of dioxin, most likely orally administered". http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7061548 This theory had already been suggested by British toxicologist John Henry of St. Mary's Hospital in London, as the marks on Yushchenko's face are chloracne, a characteristic symptom of dioxin poisoning. Other scientists suggested that the illness might have been the result of rosacea but this theory failed to account for the severe internal medical problems suffered by Yushchenko. On December 11, Austrian doctors confirmed Yushchenko was poisoned with TCDD dioxin, and has more than 1,000 times (other sources say 6,000 times) the usual concentration in his body http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/12/11/yushchenko.austria/index.html. This is the second highest dioxin level ever measured in a human. Yushchenko's chief of staff Oleg Ribachuk has suggested that the poison used was a mycotoxin called T-2, also known as "Yellow Rain", a Soviet-era substance which was reputedly used in Afghanistan as a chemical weapon.

Related Topics:
Dutch - Toxicologist - Free University of Amsterdam - Dioxin - St. Mary's Hospital - London - Chloracne - Rosacea - December 11 - Mycotoxin - T-2 - Afghanistan - Chemical weapon

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Yushchenko has linked the poisoning to a dinner with a group of senior Ukrainian officials, including the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Ihor Smeshko, on the evening before Yushchenko fell ill. This theory is disputed by some toxicologists, who claim that symptoms of dioxin poisoning usually take 3-14 days to appear—Henry himself said "a few months after swallowing" or other contacthttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=3613230—and experiencing them a few hours after ingesting the poison would be unusual.

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Unprecedented three rounds of voting

Main articles:

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• Orange Revolution
• Post-election developments in Ukraine, 2004

The initial vote, held on 31 October 2004, saw Yushchenko obtaining 39.87% in front of Yanukovych with 39.32%. As no candidate reached the 50% margin required for outright victory, a second round of run-off voting was held on 21 November 2004. Although a 75% voter turnout was recorded, observers reported many irregularities and abuses across the country, such as organized multiple voting and extra votes for Yanukovych after the polls closed. Exit poll results put Yushchenko ahead in the western and central provinces of the country.

Related Topics:
31 October - 2004 - Margin - Run-off voting - 21 November - Voter turnout - Observer - Exit poll

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The alleged electoral fraud, combined with the fact that the exit polls recorded a result (an 11% margin of victory for Yushchenko in one poll) so radically different from the final vote tally (a 3% margin of victory for Yanukovych), prompted Yushchenko and his supporters to refuse to recognize the results.

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After thirteen days of massive popular protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, known as the Orange Revolution for the wearing of orange ribbons by Yushchenko supporters in a sign of solidarity, the election results were overturned by the Supreme Court and a re-run of the run-off election was ordered for December 26. Yushchenko proclaimed a victory for the opposition and declared his confidence that he would be elected with at least 60% of the vote. He did win the third round, but with a smaller, 8% margin.

Related Topics:
Orange Revolution - Supreme Court - December 26

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