Early Results Favor Pro-Moscow Yanukovich Win
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

KIEV, Ukraine – In the face of early results showing pro-Moscow prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich, with a comfortable lead in yesterday’s Ukrainian presidential election, the Western leaning opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, declared victory for his own campaign and accused authorities of mass fraud.
With about 22% of the vote counted late last night, Mr. Yanukovich was leading with about 48%,not enough for a first-round victory, the Central Elections Commission said.
But Mr. Yushchenko, who scored 33% under the early vote tally, declared that his team’s own count of about 31% of the vote showed him with a slim majority. Under the opposition’s parallel election count, Mr. Yushchenko scored 50.3% against 27% for Mr. Yanukovich. Numerous exit polls also showed Mr. Yushchenko in the lead, but with fewer than 50% of votes. A run-off vote is scheduled for November 21.
“The event has occurred for which the Ukrainian people have been waiting for so long,” Mr. Yushchenko said in a speech six hours after the polls closed. “The democratic forces have won in Ukraine. That is a fact.”
There were a total of 24 candidates on the ballot, but only the two frontrunners registered a significant number of votes. Turnout was around 75%, the Central Election Commission said.
It was unclear how Mr. Yushchenko’s forces were planning to react to the results. The candidate had promised mass demonstrations if the vote was falsified, but made no mention of protests during his speech.
A member of his campaign team, Parliament member Mykola Tomenko, said after initial results were released that any response would be carried out “in accordance with current laws.”
He also hinted, however, that some sort of mass response is in the works.
“There will be a political decision on how to react,” he said. “I’m sure that the authorities will understand that war against their own people would be a mistake and a tragedy.”
Tensions were high in Kiev ahead of the vote, with fears that the government may use the police and the army to break up protests. The Central Elections Commission building was encircled last night by metal barriers and police, in full riot gear and armed with water cannons.
Opposition groups had been planning a major protest for this morning, but it was unclear if the demonstration would go ahead.
Mr. Yanukovich and his supporters have accused the opposition of fomenting mass disorder. Dozens of opposition activists have been arrested in recent weeks on charges of planning terrorist acts.
Mr. Yushchenko’s supporters, who have complained of overt government interference in the election, insisted yesterday that their candidate would have won an outright majority under fair elections.
“[Yushchenko] would have won 60% of the vote,” said the head of the campaign team, Oleksandr Zinchenko. “The results of this election have been falsified. It was blatant and comprehensive from the very beginning of the campaign.”
Foreign governments urged Ukrainian authorities to ensure the vote was free and fair. America late last week warned of unspecified punitive measures that would follow any falsification of the vote. Ukraine, which has a brigade of troops in Iraq, is a top recipient of American aid.
The run-up to yesterday’s vote was marked by accusations of dirty campaign tricks, press manipulation and the use of government resources on Mr. Yanukovich’s behalf. Opposition supporters said the largely state-controlled press gave little coverage to Mr. Yushchenko and the few press outlets that did report on the opposition faced official harassment.
The divisive and often nasty campaign was marked by a number of bizarre twists, including the alleged poisoning of Mr. Yushchenko, who spent three weeks in a hospital after falling mysteriously ill.
The opposition complained of numerous abuses during polling yesterday, including the expulsion of election observers, frequent ballot and electoral list violations, and illegal campaigning by supporters of Mr. Yanukovich. Most of the abuses were alleged to have taken place in western Ukraine, where Mr. Yushchenko’s support is strong.
The coordinator of polling station no. 224 in Central Kiev, Elissa Borisenko, said voters had been left waiting for up to three hours after less than half of the required ballots had been delivered to the station. The head of another polling station, who requested anonymity, said electoral lists had been destroyed in the office overnight, leaving dozens of people without the chance to vote.
The two candidates offered starkly different visions of Ukraine’s future. Mr. Yushchenko, a former prime minister and central bank head, ran on a liberal, pro-market platform, promising to bring Ukraine into the West through NATO and E.U. membership. He also vowed to bring an end to the authoritarianism and cronyism that he says is the result of outgoing president Leonid Kuchma’s 10 years in power.
Mr. Yanukovich, Mr. Kuchma’s chosen successor, has vowed to continue his legacy and to strengthen ties with Russia. He proposes making Russian Ukraine’s second official language and accuses Mr. Yushchenko of being a pawn of the West. The Kremlin openly supported Mr. Yanukovich during the campaign.
President Putin spent three days in Kiev ahead of the vote and praised the prime minister during an hour-long appearance on Russian TV. He also stood alongside Mr. Yanukovich and Mr. Kuchma during a military parade Thursday marking the 60th anniversary of Ukraine’s liberation from the Nazis.
The parade was moved forward from November 6 in what the opposition said was designed as a show of force meant to deter protests.
Both candidates have vowed to improve Ukraine’s economy, which is in tatters, with millions of the country’s 48 million people mired in poverty. Mr. Yanukovich’s campaign was given a boost earlier this fall when the government raised monthly pensions to $53 a month.
Straw polls of voters at several polling stations in Kiev showed next to no support for Mr. Yanukovich.
“Of course I voted for Yushchenko,” said Olga Golmiko, 45. “This is the best choice for Ukraine, a choice for democracy and an absolutely new direction.”
“In our hearts, we are already a part of Europe, we can feel it,” she said. “But with Yushchenko we will be able to say that Ukraine truly is a European country.”