By SIMON SHUSTER and PETER LEONARD, Associated Press Writers Simon Shuster And Peter Leonard, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 1 min ago
KIEV, Ukraine – Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych emerged as the apparent winner in Ukraine's presidential contest Monday, holding onto a lead of almost 3 percentage points with about 99 percent of ballots counted.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who has accused her opponent of election fraud, was under increasing pressure to concede after international vote monitors on Monday called the ballot "professional, transparent and honest."
A Yanukovych victory would close a chapter in the country's political history by ousting the pro-Western leadership of the past five years, which foundered due to internal divisions, fierce opposition from Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine and the collapse of the economy.
As president, Yanukovych would try to balance relations with Moscow against Europe, tilting to Moscow where his Orange Revolution predecessors tilted West. But his narrow mandate, Ukraine's deeply divided society and moribund economy will limit his ability to implement desperately needed political reforms.
Some Ukrainians fear Yanukovych could bring a retreat from Western democratic reforms and muzzle the media and opposition parties.
Central Election Commission data showed Yanukovych garnering 48.7 percent to Tymoshenko's 45.7 percent, with 1 percent of ballots remaining to be counted. More than 4 percent of voters cast ballots marked "against all," a signal of the widespread disaffection among voters.
Yanukovych has claimed victory and his team kicked off festivities by calling on the prime minister to admit defeat.
"She should remember her own democratic slogans and recognize the results of the elections," said Anna German, deputy chairwoman of Yanukovych's Party of Regions.
Around 5,000 Yanukovych supporters assembled Monday morning near a stage in Kiev adorned with the slogan "Ukrainians for a Fair Election," claiming to defend the results of the election.
Supporters danced in heavy winter coats in front of the Central Election Commission as a series of daylong concerts got under way, despite frigid temperatures and flurries of snow. Hundreds waved Yanukovych's signature blue campaign pennants and some draped flags over their shoulders, readily admitting they were there to forestall attempts by the Tymoshenko camp to organize large-scale protests.
There was no word from Tymoshenko by Monday afternoon, and her evening press conference was postponed until Tuesday at the last minute.
But analysts said it was too early to write her off, pointing to her political resilience and cunning.
"Yanukovych has won, but he is not victorious," said Vadim Karasyov, director of the Global Strategies Institute in Kiev.
"The narrow gap between them will tie Yanukovych's hands ... She will fight to keep the post of prime minister," he said.
But Yanukovych's deputies insisted that Tymoshenko would be forced out of government.
"It's time for her to prepare her departure," said Boris Kolesnikov, another deputy chairman of the Regions' Party.
Tymoshenko and outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko fell out after leading the Orange Revolution protests in 2004, and the bad blood between them has caused political gridlock in recent years and deepened Ukraine's economic malaise. Most voters are now keen to see a united leadership take power.
"It finally seems like these five years of pointless bickering are coming to an end," said Vladislav Kuprinchuk, 63, a retired veteran who wore a plastic Yanukovych poncho at Sunday's rally. "I came out here to make sure Yulia doesn't steal our victory."
Tymoshenko, who became an international figure during the Orange Revolution, wants Ukraine to integrate more closely with the European Union and form an identity independent of Russia.
She has vowed to challenge a vote she claims was rigged in Yanukovych's favor, as it was in the 2004 election that set off the Orange Revolution. After weeks of demonstrations, a court threw out the results of that vote and Yanukovych lost a court-ordered revote to Yushchenko, then a Tymoshenko ally.
Sunday's race narrowed sharply from the first-round vote on Jan. 17, when Yanukovych held a 10 percentage point lead.
The election commission projected the turnout among Ukraine's 37 million voters at just under 70 percent, 3.2 percentage points higher than the first-round vote, in which 18 candidates competed.
On Monday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, hailed the presidential vote as free and fair. Most of their criticism targeted Tymoshenko, who they said had misused her powers as prime minister to advance her campaign.
Joao Soares, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, called the ballot an impressive display of democratic elections and a victory for the people of Ukraine.
In comments apparently directed at Tymoshenko, he urged Ukraine's politicians to heed the official vote tally.
"It is now time for the country's political leaders to listen to the people's verdict and make sure that the transition of power is peaceful and constructive," Soares said.
Ukraine's Central Election Commission said late Sunday there was no evidence of large-scale fraud, but it expects that the loser will challenge the results in court.
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