If the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) finds former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's conviction as politically motivated, this would be grounds for Tymoshenko's participation in parliamentary elections this autumn as the leader of the United Opposition Batkivschyna, Arseniy Yatseniuk, the head of the United Opposition's council, told journalists near the Central Elections Commission building on Friday.
“The fact that Yulia Tymoshenko tops the [electoral] list and [former
Interior Minister] Yuriy Lutsenko is on this list has both political
and legal grounds,” Yatseniuk said.
Yatseniuk, the leader of the Front for Change Party, pointed out that
the ECHR has already found Lutsenko’s conviction politically motivated,
and this is why “the existing authorities are dragging out the hearing
of Tymoshenko’s appeal.”
“It’s because a European Court of Human Rights’ decision on political
motives behind Tymoshenko’s indictment would be grounds for Tymoshenko
and Lutsenko to run in the election campaign,” he said.
The United Opposition Batkivschyna list has been compiled by all
parties comprising it, Yatseniuk said. “We have professional
politicians, lawyers, people who worked for local self-government bodies
and who have passed through the crucible of trials and struggle against
[President Viktor] Yanukovych. We have people who will show a new
quality of politics in a new Verkhovna Rada,” he said.
“We are sure that we will win. We will get a democratic majority, we
will release Tymoshenko and Lutsenko, and we will form a new quality of
Ukraine. There are no people who could obstruct this,” he said.
It was reported earlier that the United Opposition Batkivshchyna had
submitted documents to the Central Elections Commission on August 3 for
registering its parliamentarian candidates. Tymoshenko tops the list and
Lutsenko is on the fifth position.
