Harassment, manipulation, intimidation: the three months of campaigning in the run-up to Ukraine’s 28 October presidential elections have been a master class in bullying. President Viktor Yanukovych has been eliminating the opposition since winning office in February 2010. Originally defeated by the Orange Revolution after attempting to rig elections in November 2004, Yanukovych returned to win the presidency legally in 2010, replacing the revolution’s fallen idols, Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko.
Since then, Yanukovych has undone many of the Orange Revolution’s democratic gains. Employing an election strategy similar to that of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Yanukovych has harassed the independent media, manipulated election laws and interfered in the judicial process to intimidate and discredit his political opponents.
