KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian voters headed to the polls on Sunday in the country's first presidential election since the 2004 "Orange Revolution."

    Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich, a former prime minister, are among the 18 candidates vying for the former Soviet republic's top job.

Viktor Yanukovych, head of Ukrainian leading opposition Regions Party, is ready to cast his ballot at a polling station in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, on Jan. 17, 2010. Ukrainian voters started to cast votes on Sunday to choose their next president out of 18 candidates. (Xinhua/Lu Jinbo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Some 36 million voters were registered for the election and more than 3,000 international observers were monitoring the election, according to the Central Election Commission.

    Polls opened at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and will close at 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT). Exit poll results are expected upon the closing of the polls and official results will be published on Jan. 27.

    Opinion polls are indicating no one will secure an outright victory by garnering over 50 percent of the vote. Yanukovich and Tymoshenko, who are leading the polls, are expected to compete in a runoff scheduled for Feb. 7.

    Yanukovich, who draws the bulk of his support from the Russian-speaking areas of the industrial east and the south, is on course to garner the most ballots in Sunday's election with his poll rating at 25-32 percent.

    He has promised Ukrainians economic revival, new jobs, pay raises, judicial reforms and duty-free policies for small enterprises for five years.

    Tymoshenko trails Yanukovich in pre-election polls by about 10 points. The former Yushchenko ally, whose powerbase is in the west of the country, gives priority to a fair society and government efficiency, and pledges innovation-driven economic structure reform and improvement in people's welfare.

    "Today's election is not only a presidential race but also an election for Ukraine's future in a decade," Tymoshenko said after voting at a polling station in her hometown, the eastern industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, local TV showed.

    Another contender Sergei Tigipko has made surprising gains against the two front-runners in a surge fueled by increasing anger at the government and Tymoshenko.

    "I vote for Ukraine's democracy, economic reform and competitiveness," Tigipko, a wealthy businessman and a former economy minister, told reporters as he cast his ballot in downtown Kiev.

    Yanukovich, after voting in Kiev, said he voted for change in Ukraine. "I have a feeling that Ukrainians hope for change, and a new stage for the country will soon begin," he said.

    Labeled as a pro-Russian candidate, Yanukovich seeks balanced, mutually beneficial and friendly foreign policies, in contrast to Yushchenko's active pursuit of NATO membership and anti-Russian policies.

    Asked about his foreign policy priorities if elected, Yanukovich said he will work with the West, Russia as well as other countries.

    Yushchenko, who swept to power in the "Orange Revolution," said he hopes to win re-election, which he said would illustrate that Ukraine is a European country.

    "I have no doubt that Ukraine will again demonstrate that it is a European democratic country with a free nation, free people and free choice," Yushchenko told journalists after voting in Kiev.

    Polls, however, show the West-leaning president has little chance of winning a second term in office. And analysts forecast aslow down in Ukraine's bid for NATO membership and a thaw in the Ukraine-Russia ties after the presidential election.

A woman gets her ballot at a polling station in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, on Jan. 17, 2010. Ukrainian voters started to cast votes on Sunday to choose their next president out of 18 candidates. (Xinhua/Song Zongli) Photo Gallery>>>

 



Backgrounder: Ukrainian presidential election and key candidates

    KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian voters go to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president from a list of 18 candidates.

    It is the first general election since the 2004 "Orange Revolution" which led to a re-run poll that was won by Viktor Yushchenko. Full story

A man gets his ballot at a polling station in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, on Jan. 17, 2010. Ukrainian voters started to cast votes on Sunday to choose their next president out of 18 candidates. (Xinhua/Song Zongli) Photo Gallery>>>