Ukraine set to vote for pro


Ukrainians are set to vote in parliamentary elections overshadowed by a bloody pro-Russian uprising in the east, but described by President Petro Poroshenko as a historic chance to set the country on a pro-Western path.


In his final address to the nation before polls opened, Poroshenko said on Saturday that the election would 'complete the transfer of power' begun in the revolution last February that overthrew Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.


'You will see, this will be an entirely new parliament,' he said, calling for a legislature that was 'reforming, not corrupt, pro-Ukrainian and pro-European, not pro-Soviet.'


His Petro Poroshenko Bloc was forecast to emerge as the biggest party in the 450 seat legislature, although without an absolute majority, meaning he will have to form a coalition, probably with harder-line nationalists.


For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party was not expected to enter parliament, symbolising what Poroshenko, elected president in May with 55 per cent of the vote, hopes is an irreversible political shift.


Polls show a majority of Ukrainians support economic and democratic reforms - especially a crackdown on corruption - leading eventually to European Union membership.


However, the optimism and energy of the revolution have been sucked out by Russia's seizure of the Crimea region and a pro-Russian insurgency in the industrial Donbass region that has killed more than 3,700 people.


With no military victory in sight, Ukrainians may face the same kind of frozen conflict severely weakening other ex-Soviet states, such as Georgia, that have tried to break free from Russia's influence.


Western governments blame Russia for the turmoil and have slapped painful economic sanctions on Moscow. However, President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of stirring up the conflict as part of a strategy to weaken Russia.


In a combative speech on Friday, the Kremlin leader lashed out at the United States and said Ukraine was showing a 'lack of goodwill' to end the conflict 'by peaceful means'.


The tug-of-war over Ukraine, a country of about 45 million, has propelled nationalist parties to the fore in Sunday's vote, meaning that Poroshenko will be under pressure to deliver on anti-corruption promises and a solution to the armed conflict.


Ukraine - dependent on a huge IMF bailout and hopeful that a new EU loan will cover debts to Russia for gas shipments, which have been suspended since June -- knows its conduct of the polling will be closely scrutinised.


The fighting in the east and Russia's annexation of Crimea pose immediate challenges to the election.


Of Ukraine's 36.5 million voters, about 1.8 million in Russian-controlled Crimea and three million more in separatist-controlled areas of Lugansk and Donetsk provinces were not expected to vote.


Insurgent leaders, who are not allowing polling stations to open in their areas, have announced their own election, which Kiev does not recognise, on November 2.


As a result of the turmoil, 27 seats in parliament from the conflict areas will remain empty, election officials say.


A Moscow-backed truce signed by Kiev and the separatists on September 5 has calmed the worst fighting, although there are daily violations around the largest rebel-held city Donetsk.


In a sign of pre-election tensions, the electoral commission said its website had come under cyber attack, but it denied Russian state media reports that its electronic vote counting system had been affected.


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