Ukrainian polls set for photo finish

February 8, 2010

Ukraine is set for a nail-biting conclusion to tense presidential polls, with both Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko still able to claim victory in the former Soviet republic.

Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych is currently less than 3% ahead of bitter rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, after 93.06% of the ballots have been counted in the second round runoff.

But with around only half of the vote calculated in several regions, Ukrainian elections officials are promising a clearer picture later this evening.

"We expect to get a more or less full picture of preliminary results by the end of the day," deputy head of the Central Election Commission Andriy Mahera told journalists.

Yanukovych, a 59-year-old former premier who was defeated by outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko in the 2004 polls after initial election results were annulled over fraud, earlier claimed victory in Sunday's runoff, saying, "From this day on, a new path opens up for Ukraine."

However Tymoshenko, 49, has refused to concede, saying the result is too close to call.

Meanwhile, some 5,000 Yanukovych supporters have gathered in front of the Central Election Commission's office in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, to celebrate their candidate's victory.

The closeness of the vote means that the eventual losing candidate is likely to call for protests. Tymoshenko has said she will urge her supporters to demonstrate if she feels the election has been rigged in favor of Yanukovych.

Both candidates have pledged to improve ties with Russia, soured in recent years over pro-Western outgoing Yushchenko's bid to take the former Soviet republic into NATO, gas disputes, and Ukraine's support for Georgia in its 2008 war with Russia.

The first round of voting on January 17 saw Yanukovych gain 35.32% of the vote and Tymoshenko 25.05%. Yushchenko won just 5%.