Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma reiterated on Friday he had no intention of standing in presidential elections in October and said it would be up to voters to decide on his successor. "I'm not a Czar like they had in the Russian empire and I am not handing my authority over to a successor," he said at a news conference following a meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. "There will be elections and there will be a competition and whoever gets the support will become president," he said. Kuchma, in office since 1994, has already said he does not intend to run again but the election in the former Soviet state has been hit by accusations from the opposition that Kuchma's circle is trying to manufacture ways to stay in power.
| He's been there for ten mostly unproductive years, and for two or three before that, before he was elected president. I'm surprised he says he's not running again. I'll be even more surprised if he actually doesn't. |
Ukraine will border the European Union when the bloc expands to include 10 mainly former communist states in May. Schroeder underlined Germany's interest in a smooth and stable transition of power. "We took note with respect that President Kuchma does not intend to stand again as a candidate for president at the next elections," he said. |