Thaindian News

KIEV (BNO NEWS) — Official results on Monday showed that Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych won the country’s presidential elections, defeating Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Official results from Ukraine’s Central Election Commission showed that Yanukovych received a total of 12,179,450 votes (48.59 percent) as of 9 a.m. EST, when 98.47 percent of all votes were counted. Rival Tymoshenko, who threatened with protests if there were signs of fraud, received 11,485,429 votes (45.82 percent).

Earlier on Monday, international election observers and other officials hailed the election result. “Yesterday’s vote was an impressive display of democratic elections. For everyone in Ukraine, this election was a victory,” said João Soares, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observers. “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.”

Matyas Eörsi, Head of the delegation of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, also hailed the Orange Revolution, which was a series of protests which took place following the 2004 presidential elections and were claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and direct electoral fraud.

“Some say the Orange Revolution has failed. I say no,” Eörsi said. “Thanks to the Orange Revolution, democratic elections in Ukraine are now a reality.”

NATO also welcomed the outcome of the election. “The pessimistic scenarios put forward before election day were proven wrong by the overwhelmingly efficient and non-partisan manner in which election commissions performed yesterday and by the high turnout,” said Assen Agov, Head of the delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. “Ukraine is setting a pattern of democratic elections. The Ukrainian people, who have shown their commitment to a democratic electoral process, now deserve a peaceful transition of power.”

But the European Parliament cautioned Ukraine to not focus on election day itself. “What it also needs is a wider legal framework guaranteeing the transparency of the political process including the financing of political parties and candidates,” said Pawel Kowal, Head of the delegation of the European Parliament.

Tymoshenko did not comment on the preliminary results and her defeat. She was earlier scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday, but her office said it had been delayed until Tuesday. Tymoshenko had earlier threatened to organize protests if evidence of fraud was found.