DATE=03/30/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=UKRAINE/ELECTION (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-288163

BYLINE=BILL GASPERINI

DATELINE=MOSCOW

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A prominent candidate in Sunday's parliamentary election in Ukraine has been shot to death. The killing is casting a shadow over a crucial poll that may determine the future of reforms in the former Soviet Republic. Bill Gasperini in Moscow has details.

TEXT: The candidate for a seat from western Ukraine was shot in the back late Friday by unknown assailants. Mykola Shkriblyak was deputy governor of the Ivano-Frankovsk region and a member of a center-left social democratic party.

Authorities say he was killed in his apartment building, and local officials say it was likely a politically motivated slaying.

Another candidate in the same region was killed in February, but police say the motive in that case was probably business-related.

Political violence in Ukraine in recent years has included the killing of a prominent journalist who criticized alleged corruption in the government of President Leonid Kuchma.

Sunday's elections are seen as crucial in a battle over Ukraine's future. The country has been slow to adopt economic reforms because of an entrenched bureaucracy and pro-Communist parties.

That may change, because a reformist bloc called "Our Ukraine" appears to be leading against the communists and candidates loyal to President Kuchma.

The leader of "Our Ukraine" is Viktor Yushchenko, a former prime minister who promises to speed up the reform process.

In a speech on Friday, Mr. Yushchenko predicted his group would form a majority in parliament after the elections. He said his aim is to create a market-oriented economy and to reduce poverty.

Mr. Yushchenko already has a track record in this regard. As prime minister for more than a year he helped pull the country out of a decade-long recession and avoid a default on foreign debts.

But he was ousted a year ago in what was seen as a setback for the country as it struggles to deal with its Soviet past. (Signed)

NEB/BG/ALW/MEM