Ukraine voting crisis escalates

KIEV, Ukraine — The crisis over Ukraine’s disputed presidential election intensified Sunday, as a key eastern province called a referendum on autonomy and the opposition demanded the current president fire his prime minister, the official winner of last week’s vote that has bitterly divided this former Soviet republic.

The opposition warned President Leonid Kuchma it would block his movements unless he fired Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and fulfilled other demands within 24 hours.

Earlier, Kuchma called on the opposition to end its four-day blockade of government buildings, saying compromise was the only solution to the crisis that has developed into a tense political tug-of-war between the West and Moscow over Ukraine’s future.

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who claims he was cheated out of victory in the Nov. 21 presidential runoff, urged his supporters Sunday to stay in the streets. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have thronged downtown Kiev for a week to support Yushchenko’s claim the election was rigged.

The Supreme Court will consider Yushchenko’s appeal today. The court’s ruling could pave the way for a new vote, which the opposition is demanding, or remove the only barrier to Yanukovych’s inauguration.

The United States and other Western nations say the vote was marred by massive fraud. Russian President Vladimir Putin openly backed Yanukovych and congratulated him on his victory. Moscow considers this nation of 48 million people part of its sphere of influence and a buffer between Russia and NATO’s eastern flank.

Yushchenko also has called for a new vote Dec. 12 under the watch of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He also has demanded that the 15 members of the election commission be replaced.

Yulia Tymoshenko, a top ally of Yushchenko, told a rally of about 100,000 opposition supporters in Kiev’s main square Sunday that Kuchma had until this evening to fire Yanukovych.

“We know where he is, and we can prevent him from making a single step if he doesn’t fulfill our demands,” Tymoshenko said.

Supporters of Yanukovych struck back from Donetsk, his native region and power base. The regional legislature voted 164-1 to hold a Dec. 5 referendum on autonomy for the province. About 30,000 demonstrators, who gathered outside regional legislature in the city of Donetsk, shouted pro-Yanukovych slogans.

“We won’t tolerate what’s going on in Ukraine,” Donetsk Gov. Anatoly Bliznyuk told lawmakers. “We have shown that we are a force to consider.”

The crisis has exacerbated the stark divide between the pro-Russian, heavily industrialized eastern half of Ukraine, where Yanukovych draws his support, and the west, Yushchenko’s stronghold including the capital Kiev, which is a traditional center of Ukrainian nationalism.

The crisis also has overshadowed political differences between the candidates.

Yushchenko, whose wife is U.S.-born, says he wants to push the country to greater integration with Western Europe, and he has suggested he would seek NATO membership. His critics worry he will alienate Ukraine from Russia, its key trade partner and main energy supplier.