Ukraine CEC declares presidential election valid

PanARMENIAN.Net - Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych and current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko are heading for a runoff on February 7 in Ukraine's presidential vote, RIA Novosti reported.



Sunday's presidential vote, declared valid by the Central Election Committee, was the first since the 2004 "orange revolution" protests that brought to power the pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko. He has been determined to set the ex-Soviet state on a path to join NATO and the EU, and has been involved in bitter energy rows with Moscow, which affected supplies to Europe, and a dispute over a key Russian naval base in the Crimea.



With 60% of ballots counted, Yanukovych leads with 36.38% of votes followed by Tymoshenko on 24.41%. Neither candidate will secure the 50% of votes needed for outright victory.



Yanukovych, 59, enjoys support of mainly Russian-speaking eastern regions. Tymoshenko, 49, a leader of the "orange revolution" protests amid election fraud accusations against Yanukovych, is popular in the country's west. Both of them pledged to improve ties with Russia, also soured over Kiev's support for Georgia in the August 2008 war over South Ossetia.



Yanukovych has vowed that Ukraine will remain a nonaligned country. "Ukraine will never be a bloc state and will join no military alliance. This is the Ukrainian people's position, which we should respect," the leader of the Party of Regions said.



Both Tymoshenko and Yanukovych were reported to be in talks with other candidates, including banker Serhiy Tyhypko, who is third with 13.22% of the vote, to win their voters' support in the runoff.



Tyhypko has said he will not support a candidate in the runoff.



President Yushchenko, now a fierce critic of former ally Tymoshenko, has about 5% of the vote.



Election authorities said on Monday citing preliminary figures that turnout was above 66%, which is well below the figure reported after the 2004 presidential polls.



Yanukovych and Tymoshenko have pledged to protest against the results if they lose the vote, echoing the 2004 mass street protests.



Observers, however, said a repeat of rallies is unlikely as Ukrainians have grown tired of political infighting aggravated by the economic crisis.



The Central Election Commission said no serious violations were reported during the election.



Under the Ukrainian law, the country's president is elected for a 5-year term.  To win, the contender should garner over 50% of votes. Otherwise, two candidates with the maximum number of votes will run for a second round due in three week's time.



These are the fifth presidential elections in Ukraine since the country's gaining independence.



Twice winner in presidential elections was Leonid Kuchma. The country's first leader Leonid Kravchuk was elected on December 1, 1991 when Ukraine was simultaneously holding an independence referendum. 



The second presidential ballot was held ahead of time (1994). Presidential and parliamentary elections were appointed after miners' strikes, with 7 contenders running for presidency. Kravchuk received 38.36% of votes in the first round, his main rival being the country's ex-premier Kuchma (31.17%). As a result of the second round, the acting president received 45.6% of votes, ranking the second after Kuchma (52.15%).



During the third election held in 1999 there were 13 candidates running for presidency.



The fourth presidential election were held in 2004, with 24 contenders running for the post of the country's top leader. Elections were accompanied by mass protests in Independence Square. Considering the electoral wrongdoings , the Supreme Court made decision on holding repeated election which resulted in the victory of Victor Yushchenko ( December 26, 2004).