Television screens were installed outside the Parliament building in the capital of Kiev, so people standing nearby could follow parliamentary deliberations on Ukraine's disputed presidential election.
"This is not a victory yet. This is just a key to our struggle," Igor, a Berdyansk resident, remarked. He said he had expected Ukraine's parliament, the Supreme Rada, to proclaim Mr. Yushchenko President Elect and that he regarded the lawmakers' failure to do so as "a spit in the face of the Ukrainian people." He agrees, nonetheless, that there has to be a rerun of the election "on fair terms."
Vitaly, from the Khmelnitsk region, pointed out that the Rada's resolution was not legally binding and hence no one could guarantee it would be implemented. "This is rather a moral victory-the MPs have recognized the election as unfair," he said.
His companion Alexander, wearing an orange overcoat as a sign of support for Viktor Yushchenko, noted with regret that he could not see the conflicting sides' willingness to start a meaningful dialogue. "The MPs called on Yushchenko and [pro-government candidate Viktor] Yanukovich to sit down to the negotiating table, but I didn't see any willingness to do so on either side of the divide," he lamented.
