KIEV, October 26 (Itar-Tass) — Downtown streets and squares in Kiev turned into a place of last promo actions of the main contenders in the October 28 parliamentary election.
The Regions Party, which supports President Viktor Yanukovich held an action under the motto saying ‘From Stability to Affluence’. The five personalities at the very top of the party ticket came to the square to welcome their political supporters and associates.
Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov, who leads the party’s ballot, urged the fellow-Ukrainians to come to the polls and “to support the political force” that is capable of achieving stability. He said along with this that the country “is sick and tired of empty talking”.
Analysts noted the absence of a single escapade against the political opponents in Azarov’s speech. Contrary to the expectations of many, he said the Regions Party “has always stayed away from dividing the country into ‘friends’ and/or ‘foes’.”
“We’re a powerful country and we’ll be able to do much if we don’t waste away our might for chaos and splits,” Azarov said.
His addressing the entire country from Mikhailovskaya Square was not at all accidental, as televised linkups with ten cities of the country were organized during the action.
Azarov then gave the floor to a woman well-established in show biz. Contrary to the general expectations, it was not the pop diva Taissiya Povaliy, number two on the Regions’ party ticket, who appeared on the stage.
The person who went out to greet the audiences was Alyona Vinnitskaya, a popular singer.
In the meantime, the opposition parties held a rally on Sofiyskaya Square. The first thing the gathering heard from Alexander Turchinov, a deputy chairman of the Batkivshchina party whose leader, former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko is serving a jail term for occupational abuses, was a call for vigilance and a warning that the oppositionists “are prepared for any provocations on the part of the authorities on the election day.”
Turchinov read out Timoshenko’s appeal from jail.
Police sources said the number of people who gathered on Sofiskaya Square was noticeably smaller than the number of supporters of the Regions Party.
The oppositionist rally, which also consisted of intermix of politicians’ speeches and brief performances by show biz people, had one major difference with the Regions’ rally – there were no televised linkups.
The squares are separated by a distance of only 300 or so meters and the use of public address sound amplifying systems made all the speeches in one place perfectly audible in the other place.
Saturday is the so-called ‘day of silence’ under law.