Yanukovich set to clinch Ukraine vote

UKRAINE: Pro-Russia Viktor Yanukovich was Monday on course to become Ukraine's next president after elections punished the West-leaning leaders of the Orange Revolution, but his rival refused to concede defeat.

Yanukovich, the loser in the 2004 elections when the Orange uprising led to the courts annulling his initial victory as fraudulent, declared victory and promised to overcome Ukraine's economic crisis and divisions as president.

But with his margin of victory so far less than three percent after a closer than expected vote, his challenger Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a champion of EU integration, was showing no sign of conceding.

Yanukovich had 48.6 percent of the vote while Tymoshenko had 45.8 percent, the Central Elections Commission said, based on results from 86.7 percent of polling stations.

Another 4.5 percent of ballots were cast "against all" in Sunday's run-off poll, in a sign of the disillusionment five years after the Orange Revolution. Some 1.2 percent of ballots were spoiled.

The Orange Revolution swept Ukraine's old order from power and created hopes of a new beginning in the strategically-located state of 46 million people wedged between Russia and the European Union.

But the dreams crumbled amid political infighting and a dire economic crisis.

The results pointed to a stunning comeback for Yanukovich, who had been poised to grab the presidency in 2004 before the Orange uprising swept him aside and brought pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko to power.

In a victory speech late Sunday, Yanukovich said the election had opened a "new page" in Ukraine's history and reached out to Tymoshenko supporters after the divisive campaign.

"I will do everything to ensure that citizens of Ukraine - irrespective of where in the country they live - feel comfortable and calm in a stable country," he said.

Kiev, Monday, AFP