Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, oligarchy candidate, and pal of Russia’s ex-KGB goons, won’t concede the presidential elections held Sunday. Ukraine’s Central Election Commission has certified that opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko has won the election with 51.9% of the vote, compared to 44.2% for Yanukovych. 77% of eligible voters turned out.

One would think that after three rounds of elections in two months, and a substantial loss by 7.7% or 2 million votes, Yanukovych would give in. But this is the guy allied with forces who tried poisoning Yushchenko and committed all sorts of voting improprieties in the last two rounds. People like Yanukovych are “old style” – Soviet/KGB-style dictators. Why allow Ukrainians to control their own destinies when Yanukovych et al can stay drunk on power, corruption, and probably vodka?

According to the BBC,

International observers said the re-run was much fairer than the earlier vote.

But the Russian foreign ministry challenged the objectivity of European election monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

"Violations characteristic of the first and second round of voting were repeated," said ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko.

I truly wonder if past election improprieties were “repeated.” If they were, then Ukrainians should investigate them. I just have a hard time believing Yanukovych and his Russian/KGB allies.

The Russians “challenge the objectivity” of the OSCE, but look at their interference in Ukrainian affairs: they spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the Yanukovych campaign; Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Ukraine twice to show support for Yanukovych. This is neutrality?

Despite Yanukovych’s refusal to concede, the momentum is not behind him. Yushchenko can fill the streets of Kiev with hundreds of thousands of supporters. I doubt Yanukovych can do the same. World opinion is not behind Yanukovych, either. Again, the BBC:

"The Ukrainian elections have moved substantially closer to meet OSCE standards," said Bruce George, the head of an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission.

"The people of this great country made a great step forwards to free and fair elections by electing the next president of Ukraine," he told a news conference.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell hailed the "full, free, fair" election and the EU's Dutch presidency said it was "looking forward to a new phase in Ukraine's development", according to AFP news agency.

The Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who mediated in the stand-off, said he was "satisfied to see Ukraine emerge successfully from its political crisis".

Even Yanukovych’s old ally, the former Ukrainian President, is tempering his support:

And President Kuchma suggested the loser should concede within two days. "Dear God, let this be the final vote. I'm sure it will be," he said.

I am not 100% behind Yushchenko. His ties to Ukrainian oligarchs like Yulia Tymoshenko, Yevgen Chervoniy, and Petro Poroshenko make me nervous. But Yanukovych scares me more. The lesser of two evils? No. It is clearer than that.

The Russian/Soviet legacy of millions murdered, tortured, starved, or worked to death has lasted too long. Yanukovych’s ties to KGB goon Vladimir Putin make him part of that legacy. Perhaps Yushchenko summed up the situation best:

This is a victory of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian nation. We were independent for 14 years, today we became free.