Yanukovich Bids Rejected

The Supreme Court rejected an array of motions from defeated Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich on Monday but did not issue a final ruling on the former prime minister’s attempt to fend off the inauguration of his Western-leaning rival.

After a day of arguments, the court adjourned until today, leaving open the question of when former opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko might be inaugurated. Yushchenko was declared the winner of a Dec. 26 runoff but cannot be inaugurated until the Supreme Court resolves the appeal.

The December election was a rerun of a Nov. 21 runoff, in which Yanukovich was declared the winner, but that result was annulled by the high court’s finding of massive voting fraud.

The court Monday rejected several motions from Yanukovich’s legal team, including a call to move the proceedings to the Administrative Court, which exists only on paper. A presidential order to create the court was issued in 2002, but steps to bring it into existence have not been implemented.

The court also rejected a motion to call the head of the Central Election Commission as a witness and a request for one judge to be excluded for saying the court had already dealt with major elements of the complaint.

The court has until Friday to decide on the appeal. If it rules Yushchenko’s victory legitimate, the election results must then be published in official newspapers before Yushchenko can take the oath of office.