Exit Polls Give Yanukovych Lead In Ukrainian Election

Exit Polls Give Yanukovych Lead In Ukrainian Election

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 07.02.2010 21:15

(RFE/RL) -- Ukraine's opposition leader, Viktor Yanukovych, says the country has opened a "new page" in its history, after exit polls suggested he was on course to win the presidential election.

Early exit polls gave the Russian-leaning Yanukovych a lead of between three and five percentage points over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in today's runoff vote.

The National Exit Poll, a consortium partly funded by Western embassies, said Yanukovych, the opposition leader, had secured 48.7 percent of the vote against Tymoshenko's 45.5 percent. Another exit poll, by ICTV, said he took 49.8 percent of the vote against her 45.2 percent.

The early vote count appeared to back up the exit polls.

With 27.4 percent of the vote counted, the Central Election Commission said Yanukovych had 51.3 percent and Tymoshenko had 43.3 percent.

If confirmed, a victory for Yanukovych would represent a remarkable comeback five years after the Orange Revolution, when his initial victory in the presidential election was overturned following mass protests against vote fraud.

A pleased-looking Yanukovych congratulated his supporters and said he would work to unite the country and pull it out of its economic crisis.

"We shouldn't be looking for enemies in our country, or in politics," Yanukovych said. "We should unite and overcome enemies such as poverty, irresponsibility, and corruption. We need to build a successful and strong country."

But Tymoshenko has refused to concede defeat. Appearing in front of reporters an hour or so earlier, she said the election was still too close to call.

Describing the exit polls as "sociology," she said her rival's lead was within the margin of error. "If anyone declares either candidate's victory before the final vote count, this will be nothing but manipulation of people's consciousness," she said. "It is impossible to talk about the result until the very last protocol is counted."

Later, First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksander Turchynov said a partial count by Tymoshenko officials put the prime minister slightly ahead.

Borys Kolesnikov, deputy head of Yanukovych's Regions Party, however, said their own count put Yanukovych ahead by 4.5 percent.

Our correspondent in Kyiv, Gregory Feifer, says Tymoshenko appeared adamant and spoke forcefully. But he said there was an air of dejection and resignation in Tymoshenko's camp, in contrast to that of her rival.

And where Tymoshenko vowed to keep fighting, Yanukovych gave what sounded more like a victory speech, focusing on what he planned to do as president.

Earlier, Tymoshenko's campaign manager, Oleksandr Turchynov, said the elections had been some of the "dirtiest" he'd seen. He alleged a number of violations, including what he called "physically impossible" turnout figures given early on in the day in two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk. And he said the Tymoshenko campaign had not lost hope that Ukrainians had chosen a European path and decided against putting "criminals and bandits" in power.

Our correspondent says the exit poll results, if confirmed, are closer than many expected and within a margin that Tymoshenko could contest in court.

Tymoshenko has threatened to bring her supporters onto the streets if she deems the vote unfair, warning that the protests would be larger than the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought President Viktor Yushchenko to power.

Yushchenko was eliminated from the election after a dismal performance in the first round. After casting his ballot today in central Kyiv, he said Ukraine's main task is to show it can conduct a peaceful transfer of power, but that Ukrainians would regret either candidate's victory.

"I think Ukrainians will be ashamed of their choice, but that's also democracy," Yushchenko said.

The two candidates have fought a bitter campaign, accusing each other of seeking to rig the vote. Many believe the losing side will contest the results and prolong an ongoing political crisis. Yanukovych supporters have already set up tents along with a stage outside Kyiv's Central Election Commission in preparation for possible postelection protests.

The election's outcome could be crucial for Ukraine's relationship with Russia as well as the country's ties with the West.

Both candidates say they favor Ukraine's integration in Europe and bolstering ties with Russia. But Orange Revolution heroine Tymoshenko says she wants to bring Ukraine into the European Union in five years.

Casting her ballot in her hometown of Dnipropetrovsk today, the 49-year-old fiery former gas tycoon --- once dubbed Ukraine's "gas princess" -- repeated her aspirations for the country's future in Europe.

"I have just voted for a new Ukraine, a Ukraine that is happy and wealthy, beautiful and European," Tymoshenko declared.

Orange Disappointment

Tymoshenko supporters accuse Yanukovych of wanting to return Ukraine to its Soviet past.

After voting in Kyiv, Yanukovych -- a stout 59-year-old who enjoys overwhelming support in the country's mostly Russian-speaking east -- said that "the people of Ukraine deserve a better life, so I voted for positive changes, stability, and a strong Ukraine. I think today we're going to make the first step in overcoming the crisis, and it will be a convincing step forward."

Backed by Moscow in the 2004 presidential election, then-Prime Minister Yanukovych was initially declared the winner in results later annulled after hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest.

But many Ukrainians are now deeply disillusioned with what they say are the Orange leaders' broken promises to clean up rampant corruption and reform the economy. They're also suffering from the effects of a devastating economic crisis.

Whoever wins the presidency will have to reopen talks with the International Monetary Fund, which last year froze a $16.4 billion bailout.

In Kyiv, Tatyana Pavlova said she cast her ballot for Yanukovych. "First of all because he'll be together with Russia," she said. "Our roots are Russian, and we need friendly relations. They also live much better there, they have much higher pensions."

Iryna Moskalyuk said she voted for Tymoshenko only because she's more competent than Yanukovych. "Neither of the current candidates can change anything in the country because they've been in power so many years in different posts and even as president wouldn't be able to do anything differently," she noted.

Preliminary results are expected early on February 8.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/Ukraine_Votes_In_Presidential_Runoff/1950929.html

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Exit Polls Give Yanukovych Lead In Ukrainian Election