Ukrainian voters go to the polls on Sunday in a special election to choose a new parliament.  But as VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports from Kyiv there is widespread doubt about the credibility of the election and the likelihood it will change what many believe to be the country's fundamental political problem.

Boys play in front of an election poster of President Viktor Yushchenko, 27 Sep 2007

Serhiy Tarnawsky, a Kyiv art dealer, is boycotting the vote and expresses doubt that exit polls will allay possible questions about the final result.

Tarnawsky says exit polls are not necessarily objective. She says they depend on how questions are asked, what intonation is used, and what is accentuated. 

Tarnawsky doubts the election will change anything, but recognizes the underlying stakes, including the very unity of Ukraine, and the country's political orientation between East and West, between Russia and NATO.

The Regions Party of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych leans toward Russia and is expected to win the largest number of seats in parliament.

Yulia Tymoshenko (file photo)

Viktor Yushchenko, 3 Sep 2007

The Socialist Party may not break the minimum threshold required for representation in Parliament and could be replaced by the party of former speaker Anatoly Lytvyn.

Valeria Vladimirovna, a Russian-speaker and wife of a retired Soviet fighter pilot, says her vote is for Regions, though she supports Ukrainian independence and prefers a non-aligned status.  She too doubts the election will change Ukraine's fundamental political problem, which she pins on a flawed constitution that allows for an ongoing power struggle between the president, prime minister and parliament.

Vladimirova says that despite the flaws in the constitution, she hopes some measure of truth will emerge from what she calls the current friction.

She says wealthy politicians are running Ukraine and ignoring the needs of ordinary people, retirees, the homeless, and the education of Ukrainian youth.

Bohdan Ostrovsky, a folk musician from a village in Western Ukraine, says he and his friends are splitting their votes.  Some, including Ostrovsky, will vote for Our Ukraine, others for the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.  

The September 30 special election comes as the result of President Viktor Yushchenko's decision in April to dissolve parliament.  He had accused the Regions Party of using unconstitutional tactics to convince lawmakers to switch parties to gain a parliamentary majority.