Ukrainian PM drops challenge on election
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Ukrainian prime minister and presidential candidate, Yulia Tymoshenko, on Saturday withdrew her appeal against the Feb. 7 presidential run-off results.
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Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko leaves the court room after speaking in the Higher Administrative Court in central Kiev, February 20, 2010. Tymoshenko on Saturday dropped her legal case challenging the election of President-elect Viktor Yanukovich, saying the court could not be trusted to bring in a fair verdict. [Xinhua] |
Tymoshenko said she made the decision after the Higher Administrative Court rejected part of her appeal on Friday.
"It became clear to us that the court has not given itself the aim of establishing the truth," Tymoshenko said in a statement.
"Under these circumstances, we simply do not see the reason for continuing this case. We are withdrawing our lawsuit."
Tymoshenko said she did not see any sense in further proceedings, while insisting that she does not recognize the legitimacy of the victory of her rival, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych.
"A fraudulent vote took place and the will of the people was manipulated. Sooner or later, an honest prosecutor's office and an honest court will come to the view that Yanukovych was not elected president of Ukraine and that the will of the people was falsified, " she said.
But Yanukovych's representative asked the court to continue dealing with the case, saying Tymoshenko withdrew the case because her claims are baseless.
The Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine on Saturday accepted Tymoshenko's request to withdraw her lawsuit but rejected any criticism of its procedures.
"The court is deprived of the possibility to continue examination of the suit and is obliged to quit the case," Judge Olexander Nechitailo said, adding the decision is "final and cannot be revoked."
On Feb. 14, Ukraine's Central Elections Commission formally declared Yanukovych winner of the presidential run-off election on Feb. 7. Official results show Yanukovych won by a margin of 3.48 percentage points.
Tymoshenko then filed an appeal against the run-off results, citing election frauds and accusing Yanukovych of stealing more than 1 million votes.
International observers, including those from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have declared the elections "professional, transparent and honest."
The Ukrainian parliament has decided that Yanukovych will be inaugurated on Thursday.
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