VZCZCXRO0749
OO RUEHDBU RUEHSL
DE RUEHKV #0228/01 0411808
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 101808Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KYIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9310
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 000228 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2020 
TAGS: PGOV UP
SUBJECT: TYMOSHENKO READIES COURT CHALLENGES; REGIONS 
NEGOTIATING TO OUST HER AS PM 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
Summary 
------ 
 
¶1. (C) PM Tymoshenko, thus far remaining uncharacteristically 
silent in public, is putting together legal challenges to the 
February 7 Presidential election result.  DPM Nemyria 
admitted that he did not think the challenges would change 
the outcome.  The Yanukovych camp is negotiating with 
elements from Tymoshenko's main coalition partner to bring 
down her government.  Regions would be prepared to concede 
the Prime Ministership to close the deal.  Regions expects 
the Central Election Commission to certify the results of the 
election on February 13.  End Summary. 
 
Tymoshenko Preparing Court Challenges 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) With one hundred percent of the votes reported, Party 
of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych has a 3.48% margin over 
PM Tymoshenko (48.95% Yanukovych, 45.47% Tymoshenko).  The 
gap represents about 888,000 votes out of twenty five million 
cast. 
 
¶3. (C) Deputy Prime Minister Grigoriy Nemyria confirmed to 
the Ambassador February 9 that PM Tymoshenko's team was 
putting together legal challenges to the conduct of the 
February 7 Presidential election runoff.  There had been 
falsifications, Nemyria maintained, and it was important to 
put them on legal record.  That had not happened after the 
2004 fraud.   However, Nemyria said he did not think that the 
challenges had the prospect of overturning the final result. 
He stressed that everything the Tymoshenko campaign was doing 
to register its allegations was consistent with Ukrainian 
law.  Tymoshenko Bloc MPs have since announced that the party 
would file the court challenges after final certification of 
the election results by the Central Election Commission 
(CEC), which must take place by February 17. 
 
Regions on Tymoshenko's "Dirty Game" 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador spoke February 10 with Serhiy Lyovochkin, 
Yanukovych's Chief of Staff.  Lyovochkin underlined that, as 
of February 10, one hundred percent of Ukraine's precincts 
had reported in electronically to the Central Election 
Commission.  Ukraine's 225 District Election commissions 
(DECs) were in the process of sending the signed physical 
"protocols" with official tallies to the Central Election 
Commission, as required.  Lyovochkin expected the CEC to 
announce its certification of the final result on February 
13, following receipt and registration of all of the 
protocols. 
 
¶5. (C) Lyovochkin welcomed that international observers had 
unanimously recognized the election as free and fair.  The 
slowness of the counting was due solely to delays by the 
Tymoshenko team.  She was playing a "dirty game," trying to 
slow things down.  Tymoshenko, he said, is damaging herself 
with the Ukrainian people by the way she was throwing every 
roadblock in the way of finalizing the election.  Lyovochkin 
hoped that now that the electronic count was complete, 
congratulatory calls would come in. 
 
Negotiations on a New Coalition 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Lyovochkin affirmed the desire of the Party of Regions 
to force creation of a new coalition and to remove Tymoshenko 
as PM.  Negotiations were underway with members of the 
Tymoshenko Bloc's main coalition partner, Our 
Ukraine-People's Self Defense (OU-PSD).  Lyovochkin thought 
that formation of the new coalition might begin the following 
week.  To get a majority of OU-PSD members to agree, Regions 
was prepared to deal.  Yanukovych preferred Regions stalwart 
Mykola Azarov as PM.  However, (former Presidential 
candidate) Arseniy Yatsenyuk would also be acceptable to 
close the deal with OU-PSD.  Yanukovych "could live with 
either one." 
 
Analyst: New Coalition No Done Deal 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Volodymyr Fesenko, noted political analyst and 
commentator, offered us his take on events.  Tymoshenko, he 
believes, does not expect to reverse the election result but 
is trying to use the specter of court challenges to extract 
concessions.   She is improvizing now, without a clear plan, 
which is why she has been so silent.  She may also be seeking 
to negotiate an exit strategy with Regions whereby they would 
 
KYIV 00000228  002 OF 002 
 
 
offer her guarantees not to prosecute her or go after her 
sponsors. 
 
¶8. (C) Fesenko thought a Regions-OU-PSD coalition possible 
but far from a done deal.  Tymoshenko's stronger than 
expected showing February 7 had undermined Regions' 
negotiating position.   There will be more reticence among 
some in OU-PSD to take the plunge, which, if it fails, could 
end their careers   Regions has the advantage, however, that 
many OU-PSD members, fearing poor results, do not want early 
parliamentary elections.  Another impediment to a 
Regions-OU-PSD coalition is the complex mechanics of dealing 
with the unwieldy OU-PSD, which consists of ten or more 
sub-groups.  You just can't talk to one leader and have a 
deal. 
 
¶9. (C) Regions is ready to bargain, Fesenko said, and will be 
willing to offer a compromise candidate, more palatable to 
OU-PSD as PM.  Fesenko thought Yuriy Yekanurov, former PM and 
Defmin and Yushchenko loyalist, a possible compromise choice. 
 He is an experienced administrator and, unlike Yatsenyuk, 
does not have presidential ambitions.  Fesenko said that 
Serhiy Tihipko, third place finisher in round one of the 
presidential elections, could be another compromise choice. 
However, Tihipko's ambitions pose challenges for Yanukovych. 
For Foreign Minister, Fesenko thought current FM Poroshenko 
or current Ambassador to Russia Gryshchenko to be the front 
runners. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (C) Tymoshenko's failure thus far to concede has not won 
her additional public support. There is no second Maidan in 
the offing.  Her better than expected showing on February 7 
will force Regions to offer more inducements to take down the 
current coalition.  The key variable is whether Regions can 
persuade at least half of OU-PSD to jump ship.  Regarding 
congratulatory messages, Lyovochkin would like them as soon 
as possible, but was calm. 
 
TEFFT