Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych has...
Yanukovych was facing Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Sunday"s second round. Tymoshenko gained 44%-45.6%, exit polls said, making the gap between the candidates 3.1-6.3%. The candidate that gains a simple majority of votes wins the runoff, which does not require a minimum voter turnout.
Matias Ersi, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delegation at the election, said Sunday the election runoff was transparent and that the international community should recognize its results. Ukraine"s election authorities said there were no "systemic" violations, and a Russian observer reported no falsifications either.
Ukraine"s Central Election Commission said that in line with preliminary results, the voter turnout was 69%, slightly more than in the January 17 first round that saw Yanukovych gain 35.32% of the vote and Tymoshenko 25.05%.
Tymoshenko said Sunday it was too early to name the winner, and pledged to defend each vote cast for her.