She should pounce if she has reason and evidence behind her. Major fraud should be unveiled and challenged in court. This helps the democratic process.
Tymoshenko is suspicious about home voting, the difficult-to-observe practice of letting people cast ballots in their residences if they can’t get to a polling station for a compelling reason, such as a physical ailment. Her supporters claim that more than 1 million citizens voted at home, mostly in the eastern part of the country that overwhelmingly supported Yanukovych. Many of these voted without required permission, such as a doctor’s note.
Tymoshenko allies also question why an unusually high 20 percent of voters in Yanukovych’s core constituencies cast their ballots within just a few hours after polling stations opened. If true and exposed, the official results and Ukraine’s democracy would be dealt a serious blow.
Although her cause is noble, Tymoshenko is simply reluctant to admit defeat. All observers rated the election as essentially democratic.
Moreover, all six exit polls showed Yanukovych winning by margins close to the official results. If the election truly was stolen from Tymoshenko, one would think the exit polls would have shown it. The gap between the two candidates – 888,000 votes, or 3.48 percent – would not be narrow enough to deserve a recount in a mature democracy.
If Tymoshenko thinks that crowds will come out to the streets on her behalf, she’s misreading the mood. There will be no revolution this time. Ukrainians seem to have accepted the official results and Yanukovych’s victory.
She may want to resign and take up the mantle once again as a tough opposition leader, a role she excels at and one that the nation badly needs.
