Kyiv Mayor Chernovetsky to drum up support for Yushchenko in Kyiv, Lviv-based expert Taras Voznyak says

He believes People’s Self-Defense and Rukh have no other option but to jump on the BYUT band wagon. It may trigger off a split in Rukh, though, with local Rukh organizations opposing the decision to team up with Tymoshenko. But for Rukh leaders it is vital to be in the shoo-in part of the BYUT roster. “I think, there may arise a big discussion in Rukh, even a rift,” Voznyak says. The expert predicts that Lutsenko and, probably, Tarasiuk will be put on BYUT’s top five candidates list.

As to the new blood for pro-presidential forces, Speaker Yatseniuk can be one of the newcomers. “Yushchenko is desperately on the look-out for allies. As it is too late to launch new parties, he may put his money on the old parties now on the sidelines, Pora, for instance,” the expert notes.

T. Voznyak is skeptical about the chances of the Chernivetsky bloc to make it to Verkhovna Rada, saying its role will be reduced to drumming up support for Yushchenko in Kyiv. “The bloc is a well-organized party, and Kyiv’s population is 5 million, the size of an oblast,” he stresses.

The Lytvyn bloc will definitely make it to VR, with a higher number of mandates. The Communists and Socialists will be on the sidelines, clearing the bar by a narrow margin. The Party of Regions is likely to retain its present positions or do even better, Voznyak predicts.

As regards BYUT, its level of support has dwindled in Lviv, but not in the oblast. Support for BYUT among residents of rural areas has dropped insignificantly.