KIEV - Viktor Yanukovych, and the target of defamation Portokalli Revolution, marked a return to the Ukrainian presidential election, returns showed on Monday showed him leading the field of 18 candidates in the first round but was forced to avoid a second round against the champions of the Intifada in 2004, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
The same count by the Central Election Commission put Ms. Tymoshenko solidly in second place, with 24.7% of the vote.
Official results will be released by the commission in the next 10 days. But there was no doubt that the incumbent premier, Ms. Tymoshenko, and Mr. Yanukovych, who was prime minister 2002-2004 and again 2006-2007, will enter the two-person runoff on Feb. 7.
Uncertified returns from four-fifths of Sunday's voters gave 35.8% of the vote to Mr. Yanukovych, the pro-Russian politician whose tainted victory in the previous race was overturned by Ukraine's Supreme Court after massive street protests over allegations of fraud.
"Yanukovych's hand will never be placed on the Bible to take the presidential oath," she declared." She called on supporters of "democratic" candidates to unite behind her.
Serhiy Tihipko, a former central banker, emerged as a new force in Ukrainian politics, finishing third Sunday with 13% of the preliminary vote count, according to exit polls, and securing the strongest negotiating position as the runoff candidates jockey for support. He is a former adviser to both Mr. Yanukovych and Ms. Tymoshenko, and has expressed interest in working as prime minister under either.
About two-thirds of the electorate voted Sunday, somewhat lower than in 2004.
"In the '90s, we voted against Communism and in 2004 against criminal politicians, in the hope that things would change," complained Elyzaveta Svetlenko, a Kiev resident who stayed home. "Now there is no one to vote for. They're all corrupt and controlled by businessmen."
Sunday's election brought charges of falsifications, but none as serious as those that marred the 2004 vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment