Ukrainian Election

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Elfhelm

But for the record, the only people who say exit polls don't matter are people whose candidates are declared the winner when the exit polls disagree. So, I think I'll just consider the source.

No actually the people who do the exit polls have said that exit polls should NEVER be used to predict the outcome of an election. They said the only thing they're supposed to do is give an idea of WHY people are voting and that is their SOLE purpose.

So you consider the source anyway you want.

BTW -- it was YOU not me who started discussing the US election here. I have a hint for you - if you don't want me to respond to something about the US - then don't bring it up - okay. It's that simple.

[Hasty Ent]

Looks like the date for the poll has been set: December 26.

from here: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=6992873

By Margarita Antidze

KIEV (Reuters) - Fireworks exploded over Kiev and tens of thousands of protesters danced on Friday to celebrate the scrapping of a fraudulent election result in what they called "the biggest party in the history of Ukraine."

and

"We are going to dance and party until dawn. We are going to turn Kiev into a huge dance floor," said Taras, 19.

RIGHT ON!

[Elfhelm]

ALRIGHT!
I hope Yushchenko wins and they join the EU.

p.s. ... for the record, a BBC article from 11/21 citing early Ukrainian exit polls.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4029635.stm

Exit polls are not full polling results, but they have been right in every previous accounting. Discrepancies between exit polls and the final tabulation indicate the need to investigate. The Ukrainian Supreme Court has stood by the people and is going to uphold the democratic process. Thank goodness SOMEBODY cares!

[Hasty Ent]

Originally Posted by Elfhelm

ALRIGHT!
I hope Yushchenko wins and they join the EU.

p.s. ... for the record, a BBC article from 11/21 citing early Ukrainian exit polls.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4029635.stm

Exit polls are not full polling results, but they have been right in every previous accounting. Discrepancies between exit polls and the final tabulation indicate the need to investigate. The Ukrainian Supreme Court has stood by the people and is going to uphold the democratic process. Thank goodness SOMEBODY cares!

yep yep.... maybe in a few years I can investigate moving there ... from what I've read, there's a possibility I may be eligible for Ukrainian citizenship since my parents were both Ukrainian

/me goes to dig out her old Ukrainian textbooks and plans to celebrate with a shot (or two) of vodka

[jerseydevil]

Originally Posted by Elfhelm

Exit polls are not full polling results, but they have been right in every previous accounting. Discrepancies between exit polls and the final tabulation indicate the need to investigate. The Ukrainian Supreme Court has stood by the people and is going to uphold the democratic process. Thank goodness SOMEBODY cares!

They aren't doing redo on the election because of the exit polls - they are redoing the election because there was flagrant and known violations and cheating. There were partially burned ballots found, etc. People do care - but some people know the difference between exit polls and voting and don't get the two confused when it comes Ukraine or any other election.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Elfhelm

The Ukrainians will re-vote on December 26th. This is fantastic news. But the real issue is transparency.

I suppose the international observers that have been at the last election can be of use here. They can give credibility to the election if they find everything went correctly this time. They may not be able to monitor everything but they'll at least be able to give an indication that the voting went fair. [EDIT: what Hasty Ent said, really.]

Originally Posted by Hasty Ent

Yushchenko has said that the re-run could take place as soon as the 19th. I agree, this is wonderful news. Kuchma and his camp had been hoping for an entirely new election, with entirely new candidates. This would have taken another 3 months, and could very well have led to economic collapse. The sooner the poll takes place the better.

I agree, the Ukrainian economy seems to be suffering hard from the unrest and demonstrations the election caused. I hope it won't suffer too harshly before the new election is concluded. It'd be terrible if their economy would crash because of this. I hope Ukraine pulls through this in one piece.

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by jerseydevil

... but some people know the difference between exit polls and voting and don't get the two confused when it comes Ukraine or any other election.

Or the difference between actual votes and inaccurate rumors about exit polls!

[Insidious Rex]

Now have you heard about how all this started? It’s the coolest story. Apparently the main sign language interpreter on the state news service was a Yushenko supporter and after they had broadcast the victory for the other candidate, she quickly signed the following:

"Everything that you have heard here today is a total lie. Yushenko is the real president. Good bye. You will probably never hear from me again."

Deaf people watching the programming picked up on it first and from them it spread to journalists and then to the public at large. Is that awesome or what!! Now how could the sensors let that one slip by. What a bunch of maroons…

[Earniel]

Yeah, it featured on our news fairly quick. Quite a brave thing to do, really.

How the sensors could let that one slip? Quite easily, I'd think. Especially if it's life. Not everyone knows sign language. And who watches the sign language interpreter but the deaf?

[Valandil]

Interesting. Reminds me of the American POW in Vietnam who blinked:

'T-O-R-T-U-R-E'

...in Morse Code while reading the statement his captors had prepared for him.

[Janny]

Originally Posted by Valandil

Interesting. Reminds me of the American POW in Vietnam who blinked:

'T-O-R-T-U-R-E'

...in Morse Code while reading the statement his captors had prepared for him.

Amazing. Crickey, I have respect for people like that.

Has anyone heard about the suggestion of poisoning?

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

um, yeh it's after 26th, does the ukraine now have a properly elected prez?

[Earniel]

I quite forgot about this all with the tsunami.

To answer your question: normally, yes, Yushenko has won the vote to much celebration in Ukraine, but IIRC his opponent, Yanukovich wanted to take it to court. I couldn't follow it up after that due to a temporarily homework-overload. But a few days ago I think I caught a snippet of news where Yushenko introduced one of his ministers to the public. So I gather he made it afteral.

[Draken]

I thought this was worth a bump! Quite an amazing couple of months in Ukraine. The President's vetoing of closer links with the EU seems to have been the straw that broke the camel's back... there was obviously a lot of resentment building over other things, not least the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the Slavs know how to do a good revolution!

[Mari]

82 dead though. Not sure I'd call that 'good'.

[Insidious Rex]

Everything is relative. Probably good compared to Egypt. Or certainly Syria...

[Alec]

Syria is a mess

[Mari]

Ukraine isn't quite there yet either. If the situation on the Krim continues, they may be heading for a civil war.

[Earniel]

Yanokovitch really was living a comfortable life as president if the shot of his extended personal car park is anything to go by...

Still puzzles me how one man can abscond with billions on such a short notice, though.

[Draken]

Okayyyyy well this isn't going well. If we survived the Cold War just to get nuked over the fate of Crimea I will be MOST annoyed.