Final arguments begin for Ukraine election dispute case

KIEV, Ukraine -- Tens of thousands of opposition supporters partied in Kiev's main square Thursday, erecting a Christmas tree and waving orange flags, in a show of confidence as the supreme court heard final arguments on whether to overturn disputed election results.\nWith Ukraine's political crisis nearing a decisive turning point, Russian President Vladimir Putin took the government's side in a deepening dispute over how to proceed once the judges issue a ruling.\nPutin denounced the opposition's demand for a repeat of the contentious Nov. 21 run-off vote rather than holding entirely new elections for president, as the government wants. Putin said a new run-off "would yield nothing."\n"A revote could be conducted a third, a fourth, 25th time, until one side gets the results it needs," a grim-faced Putin said, standing alongside his longtime ally, outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.\nThe two held a hastily arranged meeting at Moscow's airport just before Putin left for India. Kuchma flew to Russia for support as his government appeared to be losing momentum in the 11-day standoff with the opposition.\nOpposition leader Viktor Yushchenko repeated his stance rejecting an entirely new election in an address to his supporters filling Kiev's Independence Square.\n"We won't take part in any (negotiation) process if they talk about a new election," Yushchenko said, dressed in a fur trimmed black coat and orange sweater and tie. Behind him, his top aides were lined up, also decked out in scarves, sweaters and ribbons in orange, the opposition's campaign color.\nThe opposition wants a repeat of a run-off between Yushchenko -- a reformist who favors closer ties with the West -- and Kuchma's ally, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Kuchma seeks an entirely new election, possibly so he can replace Yanukovych with a stronger, more charismatic candidate.\nPresident Bush said Thursday any new vote in Ukraine "ought to be free from any foreign influence" -- an apparent veiled reference to Russia.\nThe mood among the throngs of Yushchenko supporters rallying in their Independence Square tent city was celebratory, confident the supreme court will annul the official results that declared Yanukovych the winner of the Nov. 21 run-off.\nThey waited all day for a ruling they expected Thursday, watching live broadcasts of the court sessions on televisions in the square, showing the 18 red-robed judges, behind stacks of documents hearing testimony in the cramped chamber.\nBut the justices adjourned in the evening after beginning final arguments. They will hear more arguments Friday, then retreat for deliberations before ruling. It was unclear how long the process would take.\nProtesters erected a Christmas tree spray-painted orange in the tent camp, while rock bands played on stage, their instruments fluttering with orange ribbons.\nOther protesters kept up their blockade of the Cabinet building despite an agreement the day before to lift their sieges of government offices.\n"We aren't letting anyone through. Why should we? We are so close to victory, why surrender now?" said Natalya Nechipurenko, 38, one of dozens of protesters standing shoulder-to-shoulder to block entrances to the building. They banged cans against the ground to distract whatever workers had managed to slip past.\nIn talks mediated by European officials, Yushchenko and Yanukovych agreed Wednesday to respect the court's ruling. The opposition charges that government fraud cheated Yushchenko of victory in the runoff, and his campaign has appealed results from eastern regions where the prime minister's support is strongest.\nDuring Thursday's session, the court rejected Yanukovych's objections to parts of the opposition's appeal, leaving open the possibility that the judges could name Yushchenko the president based on results from the election's first round, which the opposition leader won by a narrow margin.\nRuslan Knyazevich -- a member of the Central Election Commission who refused to sign the official results -- told the court that after the polls closed on Nov. 21, "one million more votes were thrown in." He also noted election data from the east came in later than from other regions, after what he suggested was an order to "increase the numbers."\nYanukovych has submitted his own appeal against the results, focusing on pro-Yushchenko western provinces and the capital. But if the Supreme Court rules in Yushchenko's favor and declares the vote invalid, considering Yanukovych's would be pointless.\nThe two rivals' meeting late Wednesday pointed to the likelihood of a new election in this bitterly divided nation of 48 million. But it remained unclear whether it would be a repetition of the runoff or a whole new election.\nKuchma told Putin that "it seems a compromise has been reached." However, he said, "how events will develop further -- I don't have an unequivocal answer."\nUkrainian media have said Kuchma wants to replace Yanukovych with his former campaign chief, Serhiy Tyhypko, to run. Tyhypko, a young and charismatic politician, might fare better against Yushchenko in any new race.\nPutin warned the West not to interfere in the crisis.\n"Neither Russia, nor the European Union, nor international organizations will solve the problems," he said in his meeting with Kuchma. "They all can play the role of mediators, but the Ukrainian people have the last word."\nPutin told Kuchma he was worried about the possibility of a split in Ukraine -- divided roughly between Yanukovych supporters in the east and Yushchenko backers in the west who are wary of Moscow's centuries-old clout in the country.\n"We are not indifferent about what is happening there," Putin said.