You're reading: Lutsenko congratulates Ukrainians on anniversary of Orange Revolution, urges opposition to unite ahead of presidential elections

Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has congratulated Ukraine on another anniversary of the Orange Revolution, and said that only by nominating a single candidate for president in 2015 will the opposition parties be able to defeat their opponents.

An Interfax-Ukraine reporter said that on Wednesday evening, delivering his last statement at a meeting of Kyiv Court of Appeals, Lutsenko said that Ukrainian society had faced ideological changes that are a sign of the rapid healing of society.

“These ideological changes in the readiness of Ukrainians to personally protect their human and national dignity, of course, were more evident in those parts of our country where there is more freedom of the Orange Maidan [Independence Square in Kyiv]. And it gives energy to all those involved in the historical events of 2004,” Lutsenko said.

He also noted that the recent parliamentary elections had shown that voters “understand quite well the supposedly clever maneuvers of domestic politicians” and that the presidential elections in Ukraine in 2015 could be held only under three scenarios.

“It’s obvious for everybody that there are only three scenarios for the presidential campaign in 2015. The first, in the style of 1999, when the government won, leading to a second round with a convenient candidate who could not win a priori. The second, in the style of 2009, as a result of mutual quarrels of wars and malignant unions, each of the democratic leaders put themselves first, and none of them could not win because of this. So only the third scenario, of a single candidate, according to the example of the Orange Revolution in 2004, brings victory to the democratic majority,” he said.

Lutsenko and his wife, Iryna, arrived for the court session on Wednesday with orange ribbons.