{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2004-12-08-pt1-PgS12021", "2004-12-08", 108, 2, null, null, "PRESIDENTIAL RUNOFF ELECTION IN UKRAINE", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S12021", "S12021", "[{\"name\": \"William H. Frist\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Harry Reid\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"108\", \"type\": \"SRES\", \"number\": \"487\"}, {\"congress\": \"108\", \"type\": \"SRES\", \"number\": \"487\"}, {\"congress\": \"108\", \"type\": \"SRES\", \"number\": \"487\"}]", "150 Cong. Rec. S12021", "Congressional Record, Volume 150 Issue 139 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 139 (Wednesday, December 8, 2004)]\n[Senate]\n[Page S12021]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                PRESIDENTIAL RUNOFF ELECTION IN UKRAINE\n\n  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate\nproceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 487 which was\nsubmitted earlier today.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Warner). The clerk will report the\nresolution by title.\n  The legislative clerk read as follows:\n\n       A resolution (S. Res. 487) expressing the sense of the\n     Senate regarding the November 21, 2004, Presidential runoff\n     election in Ukraine.\n\n  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the\nresolution.\n  Mr. REID. Mr. President, over the last 17 days we have all watched\nwith interest as the human yearning for freedom surged through the\nstreets of Ukraine.\n  After an election marred by vast fraud and corruption, hundreds of\nthousands of supporters of the opposition candidate, Mr. Yushchenko,\nhave raised their voices for democracy, legitimacy and fairness.\n  The Senate has condemned the widespread fraud in the November 21\nrunoff between Mr. Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yanukovych, and called\nfor a peaceful resolution to the political situation in Ukraine.\n  The rule of law must prevail. Fair and free elections are what the\nhundreds of thousands of Ukrainian demonstrators have been demanding. I\nam pleased that the Senate is going to pass this resolution expressing\nsupport for a peaceful and legal outcome that represents the will of\nthe Ukrainian people.\n  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution\nbe agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be\nlaid upon the table, and that any statements relating to this matter be\nprinted in the Record.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.\n  The resolution (S. Res. 487) was agreed to.\n  The preamble was agreed to.\n  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:\n\n                              S. Res. 487\n\n       Whereas on November 21, 2004, Ukraine held a presidential\n     runoff election between former Prime Minister and opposition\n     candidate Victor Yushchenko and current Prime Minister Victor\n     Yanukovych;\n       Whereas the Ukrainian Central Election Commission reported\n     that Mr. Yanukovych won 49.42 percent of the vote and Mr.\n     Yushchenko won 46.7 percent of the vote in the runoff\n     election, despite the fact that several exit polls indicated\n     that Mr. Yushchenko secured significantly more votes than Mr.\n     Yanukovych;\n       Whereas the International Election Observation Mission from\n     the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe\n     (OSCE) determined that the runoff election did not meet\n     international standards for democratic elections, and\n     specifically declared that state resources were abused to\n     support the candidacy of Prime Minister Yanukovych;\n       Whereas the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, a\n     nongovernmental electoral organization in Ukraine, reported\n     on illegal voting by absentee ballot, multiple voting,\n     assaults on electoral observers, journalists and the use of\n     counterfeit ballots;\n       Whereas such reports of fraud were also echoed by Senator\n     Richard Lugar of Indiana, Chairman of the Committee on\n     Foreign Relations of the Senate, an observer to the runoff\n     election designated by President George W. Bush;\n       Whereas since November 22, 2004, tens of thousands of\n     people have engaged in peaceful demonstrations in Kiev,\n     Ukraine, to protest the declaration by the Central Election\n     Commission of Mr. Yanukovych as the winner of the runoff\n     election;\n       Whereas antigovernment protests in support of opposition\n     candidate Mr. Yushchenko took place in cities throughout\n     Ukraine, and several city councils adopted resolutions that\n     declared Mr. Yushchenko as the legally elected president;\n       Whereas on November 23, 2004, opposition candidate Mr.\n     Yushchenko declared victory in the runoff election;\n       Whereas the United States has called for a complete and\n     immediate investigation into the conduct of the runoff\n     election to examine fully the reports of fraud and\n     corruption;\n       Whereas the European Union has also stated that authorities\n     in Ukraine must redress election irregularities and that the\n     reported results do not reflect the will of the people of\n     Ukraine;\n       Whereas the Ukrainian Supreme Court blocked the publication\n     of the official runoff election results stating that Mr.\n     Yanukovych was the winner, thus preventing his inauguration\n     as President of Ukraine until the court examined the reports\n     of voter fraud;\n       Whereas on November 27, 2004, the Parliament of Ukraine\n     passed a resolution declaring that there were violations of\n     law during the runoff election but on November 30, 2004, with\n     support from progovernment and communist parties, canceled\n     the resolution;\n       Whereas 15 eastern and southern regions in Ukraine that\n     supported the candidacy of Mr. Yanukovych threatened to split\n     off from the country if an illegitimate president were to\n     come to power;\n       Whereas on December 1, 2004, the Parliament of Ukraine\n     passed a no confidence motion in the cabinet of Prime\n     Minister Yanukovych as approximately 100,000 supporters of\n     Mr. Yushchenko demonstrated in front of the parliament\n     building;\n       Whereas Mr. Yanukovych and Mr. Yushchenko, along with\n     European mediators and current Ukraine President Leonid\n     Kuchma, began discussions on December 1, 2004, to attempt to\n     work out a resolution to the standoff;\n       Whereas on December 3, 2004, the Ukrainian Supreme Court\n     ruled that the November 21, 2004, runoff election was invalid\n     and ordered a new vote on December 26, 2004;\n       Whereas on December 8, 2004, the Parliament of Ukraine\n     passed electoral changes to reform the Central Election\n     Commission and close loopholes for fraud, as well as\n     constitutional changes to reduce the power of the President\n     of Ukraine; and\n       Whereas the manner in which this crisis is resolved will\n     have significant implications for the perceptions of the\n     democratic institutions of Ukraine by the international\n     community: Now, therefore, be it\n       Resolved, That the Senate--\n       (1) condemns the widespread fraud in the November 21, 2004,\n     runoff presidential election in Ukraine; and\n       (2) supports a peaceful political and legal settlement in\n     Ukraine that is based on the principles of democracy and\n     reflects the will of the people of Ukraine.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2004-12-08-pt1-PgS12021"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7995021771639585, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}