UKRAINE: Ukraine PM's party in lead after 80 pct vote count. OSCE says polls "mostly" democratic

Ukraine Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich's party makes late gains in parliamentary election, though pro-Western "Orange" opposition claimed victory earlier. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich drew ahead in a parliamentary election on Monday (October 1), in a poll called to end a long political crisis. The ex-Soviet state's Western leaning "orange" opposition, allied to pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, had claimed victory in Sunday's election on the basis of exit polls and early returns. But Yanukovich's Regions Party surged past the bloc of ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko with more than three quarters of the vote counted. President Viktor Yushchenko, the prime minister's arch rival from the time of the "Orange Revolution" protests that thrust him to power in 2004, ordered an immediate investigation into delays in vote counting in the prime minister's strongholds. At a news conference to announce preliminary results, Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission Chairman Volodymir Shapoval said everthing appeared to have gone smoothly. "Ukrainians may congratulate themselves -- the elections are valid," said Shapoval. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation praised the poll for offering voters "a diverse choice of 20 political parties and electoral blocs," according to head of election monitoring Tone Tingsgaard. It said freedom of assembly and expression had been respected and election day had proved calm. But Yushchenko said he was concerned by a delayed vote count in eastern and southern Ukraine and said he would punish "those who commit fraud". Rigging prompted the 2004 "orange" protests that overwhelmed Kiev for weeks in the aftermath of a presidential poll, initially won by Yanukovich. The supreme court annulled the vote and ordered a new poll won by Yushchenko. "Orange" groups led by Tymoshenko's bloc and the pro-presidential Our Ukraine party had opened a lead in exit polls and in the early stages of the count. The braid-wearing Presidential hopeful appeared in front of supporters saying her party had won. "At this parliamentary election the Ukraine's democratic forces won again, and together we as usual gained more votes than our opponents, this is very pleasant and I would like to greet the President and all our democratic team with the obvious victory," she said. But with 80 percent of the vote tallied, the Regions Party had 32.6 percent of the vote, boosted by a further 5.2 percent for its Communist allies. The Tymoshenko bloc stood at 31.8 percent, with a further 14.9 percent for Our Ukraine. Its leading figures had already accused the prime minister's allies of cheating. A close result would again mean long talks on forming a coalition government. Yanukovich, the president's rival from 2004, dismissed the "Orange" declaration of victory as groundless. He said his party would be declared the winner when the count was complete. In a statement issued as the count proceeded, Yanukovich said: "The orange" made premature conclusions, seeking a further split in the nation through their reckless statements. Exit polls and forecasts, he said, showed his own Regions Party in first place. People in Kiev waited calmly for the final results of the vote and looked forward to the future with hope. "I am happy with the results, I am for Yulia Tymoshenko's block and hope that similar [as at the moment] results will be around the country," said Marina Popova, a resident in Kiev. However, Nikolai, another Kiev resident, who backed Yanukovich, was disappointed. "I am not delighted with the results. I thought that the Regions party would get more votes," said Nikolai. Following is a breakdown of the latest results in Ukraine's parliamentary election from the Central Election Commission at 1448 GMT. Parties have to cross the 3 percent threshold to enter parliament. Percentage of vote counted 80 pct Regions Party 32.60 pct Tymoshenko bloc 31.81 pct Our Ukraine* 14.94 pct Communist Party 5.24 pct Lytvyn bloc 4.02 pct Socialist Party 3.11 pct *Our Ukraine ran in tandem with the People's Self-Defence bloc

ITN Source | October 1, 2007

Tags:. .surged. .prompted. .fraud. .basis. .punish