It strikes me that while all eyes were on Iraq, quietly we have had Jihad done the right way in Afghanistan, Palestine, and the especially the Ukraine. Somehow the forces of evil argue that the common man has no right to vote. Hamas urges a boycott, the remnants of the Taliban attack election workers, the ruling party in the Ukraine tries to poison the opposition.
Despite the forces of repression by violence, men and women, despite the risks, want to vote. They want to express their will. They want to have a voice in their government, and they want change. Arafat, the Taliban, Baathists, and former communists all stood in the way of the people really voiceing their opinions and determining their futures. Is it not striking that the ballot has brought more sweeping change than ak47s, and RPGs? Do you think the beheaders will tolerate peaceful change?
Kudos to the real jihad, the rights of people to struggle to determine their own future. Done peacefully.
Yanukovych, who stepped down as prime minister last week, had been declared the winner of the Nov. 21 election, only to see his victory overturned by the Supreme Court after weeks street protests that became known as the “Orange Revolution” after the campaign color of Yushchenko.
Yanukovych has vowed to use all possible legal avenues to overturn the revote - but his chances seemed to diminish earlier Monday when the court rejected eight complaints by Yanukovych’s campaign before the commission’s announcement.
Yanukovych’s campaign manager Taras Chornovyl said a hefty legal action consisting of some 500 volumes was being prepared to prove widespread fraud in last month’s revote.
But the elections commission’s announcement and the Supreme Court’s rejection of previous appeals appeared to give him little hope of a last-minute turnaround.
After hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into downtown Kiev to denounce the Nov. 21 vote, Yushchenko also filed appeals with the Supreme Court. Although the elections commission had declared Yanukovych the winner, the court prohibited official publication of the results pending resolution of the appeal and it eventually declared the vote invalid.
International elections observers criticized the Nov. 21 election as a step backward for the ex-Soviet republic, noting widespread incidents of multiple voting and intense bias against Yushchenko by state-run and -influenced television stations.
The protesters built an enormous tent camp on Kiev’s main avenue and have remained there since, although their numbers have fallen in recent weeks as Yushchenko’s prospects appeared to improve. However, fearing an 11th-hour change, some have vowed to remain until Yushchenko is inaugurated.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apeurope_story.asp?category=1103&slug=Ukraine%20Elections
New president ready for ‘difficult mission’ en route to statehood
Monday, January 10, 2005 Posted: 2:42 PM EST (1942 GMT)
RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) – Election officials declared Mahmoud Abbas the winner of the Palestinian Authority’s presidential elections on Monday, positioning him to succeed Yasser Arafat in a new era that could lead to an independent Palestinian state.
Abbas faces tremendous challenges as the new Palestinian leader, including continued Palestinian-Israeli violence and the stalled Mideast peace process.
The former Palestinian prime minister said during the campaign that he wanted to meet soon with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss the resumption of peace negotiations.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in East Jerusalem to monitor the vote, said Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, had told him he endorses the international road map to peace “entirely.” (Full story)
Carter said Sharon told him he hopes to meet with Abbas within days after the election.
President Bush congratulated Abbas Monday and said he would welcome him to the White House, something he refused to do for Abbas’ predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who died in November.
“I want offer my congratulations to Mr. Abu Mazen. I looked forward to talking with him at the appropriate time. I look forward to welcoming him here to Washington if he chooses to come here,” Bush said.
In a reference to a conference being sponsored by the British government, the president added, “I look forward to making sure the conference in London, the conference all aimed at helping the Palestinians develop the institutions to support Abu Mazen’s vision of a peaceful, active, vibrant state become reality.”
