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| Ukraine opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko
gained a lead in a re-run of the presidential vote, the Central Election
Commission said early Monday citing preliminary results. Yushchenko (L)
and Yanukovych (R) |
KIEV, Dec. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Ukraine opposition
leader Viktor Yushchenko gained a lead in a re-run of the presidential vote, the
Central Election Commission said early Monday citing preliminary results.
Yushchenko had received 57.68 percent of the vote
compared with his rival Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's 38.65 percent based
on results from 23.28 percent of polling precincts, the commission said.
Exit polls released immediately after voting ended
gave Yushchenko a victory. Enditem
Exit polls give opposition leader victory in
Ukraine's repeat presidential run-off
KIEV, Dec. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Vote in Ukraine's repeat
presidential run-off ended at 08:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) while several
separate exit polls showed that opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko won the
decisive contest.
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| Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential
candidate Viktor Yanukovich(1st, Left) speaks at a press conference held
in Kiev Dec. 26, 2004. Yanukovich stresses the primary importance of the
national stability and ethnic unity after a rerun election was held in
Ukraine. (Xinhua
Photo) | Yushchenko scored
56.5 percent in the exit poll to 41.3 percent for Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovich, according to poll conducted by Ukrainian Institute of Social
Research and Social Monitoring Center.
A second poll, conducted by Razumkov center, gave
56.5 percent for Yushchenko and 41.3 percent for Yanukovych.
The initial results from Ukraine's Central Election
Commission (CEC) will be announced on Monday.
Sunday's re-election, the third time in eight weeks
that the two rival candidates faced off in a fiercely waged presidential
contest,took place after the Supreme Court annulled the Nov. 21 election result
over widespread vote fraud with Yanukovych's victory was stripped.
In a press conference held late Sunday, Yanukovych
told journalists if he loses the race, he will become the opposition.
"I am awaiting for the victory but if there is a
defeat, tough opposition will be formed and it will be in the parliament," he
said.
He stressed his opponents "would see what the
opposition is like."
Earlier on Sunday Yanukovych cast his ballot in a
Kiev polling station.
He said that he had voted for "the future of
Ukrainian people".
Yushchenko, while casting his ballot in a polling
station near the Independence Square, also said that he had cast his ballot
forUkraine's future.
"I believe that democracy will win," he said.
He said that the new authorities should make all
efforts, so that the Ukrainian people would feel themselves masters enjoying
full rights in their own state.
Some 32,118 polling stations across Ukraine opened at
8:00 am local time (0600 GMT) for voters to cast their ballots and closed at
8:00 pm (1800 GMT).
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| Supporters of Ukrainian opposition leader
Viktor Yushchenko celebrate during a rally in Kiev's main Independence
Square, December 26, 2004. Liberal challenger Yushchenko won a re-run of
Ukraine's presidential election by a substantial margin, according to an
exit poll published just after voting closed. (Reuters)
| "I hope the new president will
carry out political reforms and put our country in order in social and economist
spheres," said Lyudmila, a pensioner-economist who was the first person that
castballot in the polling station in which Yanukovych later cast his ballot.
"I voted for Yanukovych," said Nina, a former Soviet
army soldier, who attended the battle to liberate Kiev in the Second War World.
Yaroslava Padalko, a 47-year-old university teacher
said she and her husband would vote for Yushchenko as they did in the last two
polls.
"I hope this time is the last one. Perhaps, tomorrow
evening wewill celebrate our victory in the Independence Square," she said.
According to the CEC, of the country's 48 million
population 37.4 million were eligible to take part in the revote.
A record number of 12,187 foreign monitors, mostly
from European countries and Russia, monitored the vote process.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said that they had
registered no incidents or serious crimes in the revote. 
Yanukovych defeated Yushchenko by a narrow margin in
the November 21 run-off. But Yuschenko and his supporters staged widespread
demonstrations in the country to protest at what they called election fraud.
The results of the Nov. 21 presidential run-off had
been annulled by the Supreme Court, leading to Sunday's re-vote.
The crisis has opened a rift in
Ukraine between the Russian-speaking eastern regions, which largely back
Yanukovych, and the capital Kiev and the west, where support for Yushchenko is
high. Enditem | 
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