Orange and free

Ukraine | Three years after revolution, Ukraine elections are declared free and fair—but the way forward is far from easy | Priya Abraham

LESS ORANGE, MORE SOBER: Oct. 1 rally of Yanukovych supporters in Kiev.

Billboards, TV campaign ads, political image consultants, and cross-country stumping are the stuff of American election campaigns. They are now also standard fare in Ukraine, an ex-Soviet stronghold where just three years ago leaders came ready-picked before—or in spite of—what the voters decided.

When Ukrainians voted Sept. 30 for a new parliament, international observers declared the election free and fair. Disgust with electoral fraud in 2004, which triggered the country's Orange Revolution, is no more. Three short years later, Ukrainians are eyeball-deep in the horse-trading and messy politics that Western-style democracy often brings.

Where once tens of thousands of Ukrainians wore opposition orange in freezing streets and their ashen-faced candidate Viktor Yushchenko (poisoned and disfigured by his opponents) turned their mood euphoric when he won, today the orange burst has faded. Yushchenko, a Western-leaning banker, has not been quick enough to rid the government of corruption. Infighting within his Orange camp led to costly rifts and three elections, including the snap poll Sept. 30 that produced no clear winner.