You're reading: Ukraine needs to hold fair, transparent parliamentary elections, says Yanukovych

The upcoming parliamentary elections should show to the whole world that Ukraine is a civilized European country, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.

"There is a law and it should be observed, I believe. And a fight within the law is a fair fight. And whoever breaks these rules should be punished for it," he said in an interview with three Ukrainian TV channels on Friday evening.

"This is the first major election that is being held by the current authorities, and we must show that we are a civilized European country… At present, it is very important that these elections should be fair and transparent. I’ll assign appropriate tasks to law enforcement agencies that will monitor the elections," Yanukovych said.

According to Yanukovych, it is not the loss of votes that counts but the loss of trust in the authorities by the international community.

The elections to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament are scheduled for the fall of 2012.