Ukrainians voting in parliamentary election

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukrainians are voting in a parliamentary election Western officials are billing as a litmus test of its democratic credentials, according to BBC News.

Polls opened at 0800 (0600 GMT) and pit a main opposition grouping against President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions.

Mr Yanukovych has been criticized in the West for the jailing of his main rival, former PM Yulia Tymoshenko.

A number of smaller parties are aiming to capitalise on disillusionment.

These include the liberal Udar party of boxing champion Vitali Klitschko - known as Dr Ironfist - and the far-right Svoboda party.

Polls will be open for 12 hours and while some counts will come in very quickly, a final result is expected on Monday, October 29.

Half of the seats in the 450-member parliament will be filled by elected parties on a candidate list basis.

The other half will be filled by individual candidates voted in on a first-past-the-post system.

Some 5,000 candidates are standing for election.

These are some of the most closely watched elections in Ukraine's history, with 3,500 accredited foreign observers, including more than 600 from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), BBC News said.