There are substantial grounds for believing that the recent elections in Ukraine were far from fair. Supporters of the pro-Russian prime minister, Mr Viktor Yanukovich, have claimed victory over his pro-Western liberal opposition leader, Mr Viktor Yushchenko.
While almost every other observer has cried foul, Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal envoy congratulated Mr Yanukovich on his "victory" and presumably hopes everyone - not least the people of Ukraine - will fall silent and into line.
More than 560 election observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) examined the conduct of Sunday's second round presidential election and yesterday pronounced themselves less than satisfied. The OSCE team included representatives from the European Parliament, the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe and the parliamentary assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The US administration will develop its own view based on a report by Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee who was President Bush's envoy to the elections. His report to Mr Bush is unlikely to differ in substance to that of the OSCE. Yesterday Senator Lugar said: "It is now apparent that a concerted and forceful programme of election day fraud and abuse was enacted with either the leadership or co-operation of governmental authorities."
In its preliminary comment, the OSCE likewise questioned the legitimacy of the claimed result. It said there were grounds for believing that the government orchestrated an abuse of absentee voters. On election day in several areas - notably the western part of the country where people tend, by virtue of proximity, to be more pro-EU and therefore anti the present government than in the east - the number of absentee voter certificates increased on polling day by as much as five per cent. Ballot boxes in known anti-government areas appear to have been stuffed with votes, cast by absentee electors who, against the local trend, were massively in favour of Mr Yanukovich.
Between the first round and Sunday's poll, the OSCE reported cases of public sector employees and students being pressurised to support Mr Yanukovich with the threat that if they did not, they would be out of a job. The OSCE observers noted more serious violations, including isolated incidents of violence, and a pattern of intimidation, some of it directed towards observers, polling commission members and individual voters. This is a test for the European Union. The EU shares a border with Ukraine and has a legitimate interest in supporting economic prosperity there and democracy too (irrespective of who wins free and fair elections). The EU should cool economic and political relations with Ukraine and carefully target entry visa refusals. A ruling elite that corrupts democracy should be sent the strongest possible message of disapproval.