[moocowduckquack]

there were even western observers who confirmed the fairness of the most recent elections

Oh really?

Summary statement: “Preparations for Ukraine’s parliamentary elections on 28 October are taking place in an environment of procedural irregularities, widespread vote-buying, limitations on freedom of speech, and a lack of effective consideration of election disputes.”

Summary statement: “Mission Canada concludes that – taking into account its interim reports, the findings of Election Day, and the subsequent problems in transfer of results and tabulation of data – Ukraine’s parliamentary elections fell short of meeting international standards, and that these elections marked a regression in Ukraine’s democratic development.”

http://www.canadem.ca/home/en/deployment/election-observatio...

edit - The link in the comment below is about the elections in 2010. The quotes above are about the elections in 2012. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine which of those dates is the more recent.

[Mikeb85]

http://euobserver.com/foreign/29431

> edit - The link in the comment below is about the elections in 2010. The quotes above are about the elections in 2012. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine which of those dates is the more recent.

Perhaps which is more pertinent to a discussion about Yanukovych's 'dictatorial' ways?

Fact is, Yanukovych was elected in elections that were praised by the West - in 2010. In 2012 there were political factors and ideology at play that made it more useful to denounce the elections...

[moocowduckquack]

Perhaps which is more pertinent to a discussion about Yanukovych's 'dictatorial' ways?

The second election, obviously. In the first election he was not in power yet.

[Mikeb85]

The PoR also had the most votes in the 2006 parliamentary elections when Yushchenko was in charge. It's not a far stretch to assume that they may have fairly won in 2012 as well.

The point is western observers are quite selective in 'endorsing' certain elections over others. In 2010 they kept quiet because it was plainly obvious that Yanukovych was the winner.

Now you have protests (which turned violent at several turns) protesting a democratically elected government, conveniently just before new elections. With tons of Western media coverage again, and again the Western media vilifying Yanukovych and Putin...

So convenient.