Ukraine Candidates Welcome Court Ruling

The ruling was handed down less than 24 hours before polls open in Sunday's re-run of the last rigged vote that has seen much of Ukraine come to a standstill amid huge demonstrations and rallies.

"The court has decided to find unconstitutional (those changes) that made it impossible for all citizens except invalids of the first category to vote outside polling stations," said Mykola Selivon, head of the court, in announcing the decision. "The changes are ruled unconstitutional and annulled from the day of the ruling," Selivon said.

The decision means that all those who cannot get to polling stations for health reasons on Sunday will be able to cast ballots provided they inform their regional election commissions by 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) Saturday. Ballots from such voters will be collected at their homes or hospitals by officials from regional commissions on election day.

Removing lingering doubts

The ruling was welcomed by both the rival camps squaring off in Sunday's election, which will once again pit Western-leaning opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko against his pro-Russia rival Viktor Yanukovich.

"In no way does this put the legitimacy of tomorrow's voting into doubt," Yushchenko spokeswoman Irina Gerashchenko told AFP. "This decision has removed the last doubts in regards to the legitimacy of the December 26 election," said Yury Klyuchkovsky of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine opposition coalition.

Valery Konovalyuk, a pro-Yanukovich deputy, said: "With this decision we have excluded the possibility of influence of the results of the election after the vote."

Preventing electoral fraud

The Ukrainian Parliament adopted changes to election law in early December as part of a compromise between Yushchenko and outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to resolve a tense standoff over a November 21 runoff vote, which was first announced to have been won by Yanukovich but later thrown out because of massive fraud.

The opposition led by Yuschchenko had said the changes were necessary to prevent irregularities from marring the December 26 rerun vote and earlier said that the legitimacy of the historic poll could be undermined if the court ruled all of the changes unconstitutional.

Saturday's ruling struck down only one part of the changes and leaders across the political spectrum said it would smooth the running of the vote.

"The constitutional court has carried out its role of a stabilizing factor," Selivon told reporters at a press conference after the decision was announced. "Now no one will ever be able to say to the future elected president that he is illegitimate and was elected in a non-constitutional way."

Volodymyr Litvin, parliament speaker, said: "I think that this decision by the constitutional court will fully cut off possible lawsuits after the election." "Fears that the election can be scuttled today no longer exist," Interfax quoted him as saying. "We should know the name of the new president if not on Monday, then Tuesday," he said.

The chief of the central election commission vowed to carry out the ruling and promised an "absolutely honest and transparent" election. "The vote tomorrow will take place... there is no alternative," Yaroslav Dadydovich told reporters. "We are obliged to carry out the decision. We are going to carry it out."

Court upholds law

On Friday Yushchenko warned that the legitimacy of Sunday's vote could be thrown in doubt or even scuttled if the court threw out all of the election changes passed in early December.

"That's one way of disrupting the election," Yushchenko told a press conference on Saturday. "I know the pressure that the presidential administration is putting on the constitutional court and its judges to uphold this scenario."

"Whether or not a counter-revolution will happen in Ukraine depends on the constitutional court," he said. "I think that people who represent the constitutional court are well aware of their responsibilities."

Sunday's vote takes place after the previous runoff ballot triggered Ukraine's worst political crisis in its 13 years of independence and revived Cold War-like sparring between Russia and the West.

Yanukovich was declared the winner of that vote, but Yushchenko's camp charged fraud and organized mass "orange revolution" protests in Kiev that brought the capital to a virtual halt as protestors blockaded government buildings.