The Muslim News

Ukraine's election commission has declared Viktor Yanukovych the winner of the presidential elections, but opponent and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said she will "never recognize" the legitimacy of the election.

Newspaper reports in Ukraine on Tuesday quoted Yulia Tymoshenko as saying she would not concede defeat in the country's Presidential elections to Viktor Yanukovych.

The Prime Minister's supporters also said they were planning to challenge the election's outcome in court.

"Voting day displayed a cynical violation of Ukrainian law by the teams of Yanukovych," a Tymoshenko party deputy, Sergiy Sobolev, told Parliament. "We will defend in the courts your right, our citizens, to honest and transparent elections."

Legal action could delay the official publication of Sunday's results, which would in turn delay the inauguration of a new president. That typically occurs within 30 days after the results are officially released.

But Yanukovych's win was already being praised by Russia, where the dominant United Russia Party considers Yanukovych's Regions Party a close ally. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Yanukovych in a telephone call on Tuesday.

International observers have describede the elections as "free and fair." Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote had been an "impressive display" of democracy at work.

Joao Soares, the special coordinator of the OSCE observer mission, said it was "now time for the country's political leaders to listen to the people's verdict."

"The professional, transparent and honest voting and counting should serve as a solid foundation for a peaceful transition of power," he added.

Election squabble could delay economic recovery

A legal challenge by Tymoshenko due to the narrow margin of victory would prolong the outcome, but the country's election commission said on Tuesday that almost 600,000 votes separated the two and Tymoshenko could not catch up with about 99 percent of the vote already counted.

Prolonged uncertainty about the outcome could hurt Ukraine's ailing economy and scare away investors. The country badly needs to restart talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $16.4 billion (€12 billion) bailout package which got bogged down over breaches in fiscal restraint.

With gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 15 percent in 2009, Ukraine was hit worse by the global economic crisis than any other major European economy.

EU reaction

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton praised the "calm atmosphere" of the vote and said Europe was ready to work with Yanukovych.

"The European Union remains committed to deepening the relationship with Ukraine and supporting it in implementing its reform agenda. It looks forward to working with the new president to this end," Ashton said in a statement.

Bitter campaign

Sunday's presidential ballot followed a bitter electoral campaign during which opinion polls were banned.

Yanukovych won the initial round on January 17 by a 10 percent margin over Tymoshenko.

Each candidate had accused the other of trying to rig the vote and analysts had warned that after ballot stations closed late on Sunday, their tussle could shift to court wrangles and even street protests.

Ukrainians have become largely disillusioned with politics in their country - almost six years after the euphoria of the 2004 Orange Revolution, when the telegenic Tymoshenko helped sweep the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko into the office of President on promises of reform.

In January's first round, Yushchenko ended up in fifth place, paying the price for slumping living standards, diffidence among investors and squabbles with Tymoshenko.

Struggle for Stability

Compared with past Ukrainian elections, when Yanukoviych was portrayed as the pro-Russian candidate, this time glaring policy differences are few. Both candidates say they want to integrate into Europe, while improving ties with Moscow.

Tymoshenko has demonstrated enthusiasm for seeking European Union membership. But, in recent months, she also appeared in photo opportunities alongside Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Critics fault Yanukovych, a former mechanic, for not explaining allegations of vote-rigging in 2004. Analysts say his appeal is strong among voters disillusioned by the aftermath of the Orange Revolution.

gb/AFP/Reuters/dpa/AP
Editor: Chuck Penfold

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5223464,00.html

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