KIEV (AFP) — Ukraine's main parties staged final rallies Friday ahead of snap parliamentary elections Sunday in which pro-Western forces hope to push their Russian-backed rival from power.
The streets of central Kiev filled with the party flags of Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko and his ally Yulia Tymoshenko, as well as the blue banners of their bitter adversary, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
About 10,000 people attended a Yanukovych rally that began with a lavishly funded pop concert featuring star singers, mini-skirted dancing girls, and fireworks.
Yanukovych, who is from the Russian-speaking east of the ex-Soviet republic, said his Regions Party offered Ukraine stability and prosperity, while Yushchenko and Tymoshenko would bring nationalist turmoil.
"Instead of jobs they would create artificial crises," he said.
Nearby, Tymoshenko addressed about 3,000 supporters, many cradling candles in the warm autumn night against the backdrop of the 11th-century Orthodox Christian cathedral of Saint Sophia.
She acknowledged that the 2004 pro-democracy "Orange Revolution" -- when she helped Yushchenko defeat Yanukovych for the presidency -- had not delivered on its promises of defeating corruption and integrating with the West.
But Tymoshenko asked voters to give the Orange team another chance.
"I bow my head low and ask for forgiveness before God and the people," she said.
Tymoshenko is hoping Sunday's poll will lead to a renewal of her coalition with Yushchenko, enabling her to oust Yanukovych from the premier's post.
Yushchenko, meanwhile, took part in a television debate, where he praised Ukrainian democracy.
"We can elect who we want. Before there was a time when we didn't have that," he said.
Pollsters predict the Regions Party will get the biggest share of the vote, but say that the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party could collectively win more.
Because no party will win a clear majority, complex coalition talks -- and possibly legal challenges and street demonstrations over the results -- seem inevitable.
Currently, Yushchenko shares power with Yanukovych, a tortuous alliance that has led to endless wrangling and constitutional paralysis, leading to the decision to hold snap parliamentary elections.
Campaigning has focused on day-to-day issues such as pensions and corruption, a far cry from the ideological passions of the Orange Revolution.
But Washington, the European Union and an increasingly assertive Kremlin are also watching closely for political shifts in the ex-Soviet republic, which has expressed interest in joining both the EU and NATO.
The country straddles key Russian gas export routes to energy-hungry EU clients.
Volodymyr Fesenko, from the Penta analytical centre, warned that resurrecting the Orange coalition and forcing Yanukovych into opposition could trigger "a chilling of relations with Russia."
Russia's ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin, fuelled those fears by saying this week that the make-up of the next government will influence what price Russia demands for its natural gas, Kommersant newspaper reported.
Many Ukrainians are turned off by seemingly endless political bickering and there are fears of further street demonstrations and court battles should Sunday's election prompt complaints of vote-rigging.
A report on Friday by the European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations expressed concerns over voter registration and voting lists which "might lead to cases of multiple voting and ballot stuffing."
The report also criticised increased "abuse" of state resources in favour of certain parties.
Polls show 68 percent of voters will take part and passions remain high in parts of the country, which is divided into the pro-Moscow, Russian-speaking east and south, and the more nationalist, Ukrainian-speaking west.
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