Producer Mozhova asks for cancellation of semifinal results of Eurovision 2009 qualification contest
Kyiv, February 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) - ART -music company producer Olena Mozhova, the co-producer of a participant in National qualification contest of Eurovision 2009 Anastasia Prykhodko, has asked the board of National Television Company of Ukraine to nullify the results of the semifinals that took place on February 8, and hold them again.
Mozhova said this on Wednesday at a press conference in Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
"We have every reason to claim there were violations during the semifinals. Thus, we have sent a letter to the National Television Company and asked its president Vasyl Ilaschuk to examine them. We consider it important to ask the National Television Company to cancel the results and hold the semifinals again according to the norms of Eurovision 2009 national qualifications procedure," Mozhova said.
She also said that if the National Television Company refuses to nullify the results, the producers will turn to the courts. "Yes, we will go to court. We are ready for that both morally and physically," Mozhova said.
Speaking about the semifinals procedure violations, lawyer Yulia Tkachenko, who was also present at a press conference, said that the principles of legitimacy and neutrality were violated. According to her, the statements on the illegitimacy of Prykhodko's song "cannot be accepted, as the jury took it for granted".
According to Mozhova, the qualification procedure provides that the jury works on a voluntary basis and adheres to the principles of neutrality and objectivity. However, according to the producer, jury member Oleksandr Ponomariov was specially preparing people for the contest and leading them through the qualification stages. The participation of jury proteges, according to Mozhova, makes it impossible for them to be objective.
Also, according to her, during the semifinals the requirement that the singer must have all the property rights to the song was violated several times.
In this regard, singer Anastasia Prykhodko said that she would be upset if she doesn't make it to the qualification finals.
"If I don't make it, I'll be upset. But if I lose, I want to lose fairly," the singer said.
"I consider myself a true Ukrainian singer and feel that I am good enough to represent Ukraine at Eurovision."