KIEV, Aug. 12 – Two pro-democracy institutes from the U.S. will criticize President Viktor Yanukovych for backtracking on democratic gains made since the Orange Revolution in 2004, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

A joint statement will be made public in coming days by the International Republican Institute and by the National Democratic Institute, representing the top political parties from the U.S.

The statement – obtained by the newspaper – focuses on recently adopted election legislation that unfairly undermines the chances of opposition parties in a forthcoming October 31 election to regional legislatures.

Marking the sharpest international criticism of Yanukovych’s democratic credentials yet, the statement follows rising complaints by domestic opposition parties and media.

Both have accused Kiev’s Moscow-friendly leader and loyal coalition of waging a Kremlin-styled crackdown on democracy and press freedom since taking over as president.

“Restrictions on new parties and independent candidates appear to be unreasonable in light of principles established by the Ukrainian constitution, as well as international obligations and commitments that Ukraine has undertaken,” the statement reads.

The legislation, approved in June and signed by Yanukovych into law on July 27, makes it more difficult – or in some cases even impossible – for opposition parties to nominate candidates for local elections to be held October 31.

The law allows nominating candidates only by those local party branches that have been registered more than a year ago. It also prohibits independent candidates from nominating themselves, stipulating that only established parties can do so.

Besides smaller parties, the legislation is also restricting political blocs from running at the election, such as the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, led by former prime minister and the leader of the largest opposition group.

Tymoshenko indicated she will use her party, Batkivshchyna, or Fatherland, which is a less popular than the bloc bearing her name, as a vehicle to nominate candidates.

Yanukovych’s the Regions Party is expected to benefit from the legislation, analysts said.

The legislation will probably be used by the Regions Party as a test to see if similar legislation can be approved ahead for the general election due in 2012, a move that may eventually cement Yanukovych’s grip on power for years to come.

“These developments could be characterized as changing the legal framework to create restrictions on political competition and … unreasonable denial of citizens’ rights to legitimate choices,” IRI and NDI said in the statement.

Yanukovych’s majority coalition in Parliament was also criticized for adopting the new rules too close to the election “in a non-transparent manner with virtually no public debate.”

The International Press Institute (IPI), the world’s oldest global press freedom organization, in an open letter to Yanukovych on Wednesday, expressed concerns over “significant deterioration” in the press freedom in Ukraine.

The Vienna-based IPI became the second major international media watchdog that has criticized Yanukovych over the past 20 days.

Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media watchdog, issued similar criticism in July. (tl/ez)