Ukraine PM refuses to concede presidential race

Kiev:  Defeated Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko "will never recognise" the victory of her rival Viktor Yanukovich in Sunday's closely fought election, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

Latest official results gave ex-mechanic Yanukovich a near three-percentage point margin of victory over Tymoshenko, who is prime minister and co-led the Orange Revolution after rigged elections in 2004. International monitors have declared Sunday's election was fair but the premier has so far refused to concede.

"I will never recognise the legitimacy of Yanukovich's victory with such elections," the Ukrainska Pravda quoted Tymoshenko as telling a meeting of her party on Monday evening.

Tymoshenko had instructed her lawyers to prepare for challenging the results in court, the daily's website reported.

A legal challenge to the narrow margin of victory — 2.9 percentage points with 98.8 per cent of the votes counted — could deny Ukraine a swift return to stability and rattle financial markets.

The country of 46 million people has been battered by economic crisis and badly needs to restart talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $16.4-billion (Dh60.2-billion) bail-out package derailed by broken promises of fiscal restraint.

Tymoshenko's parliamentary faction said there had been widespread fraud by Yanukovich's Regions Party camp and it would take legal action to defend the right to fair elections.

Fraud allegations

"Voting day displayed a cynical violation of Ukrainian law by the teams of Yanukovich, pressure on the electors and a broad arsenal of falsification by the Regions Party," Tymoshenko bloc deputy Serhiy Sobolev told parliament.

"Consequently, the Tymoshenko bloc announces that we will defend in the courts your right, our citizens, to honest and transparent elections," he said.

Under Ukrainian law, instances of suspected fraud must first be proven by local courts. Only if there is a large quantity of proven violations can one side appeal to a higher court for a recount or even a re-run of an election. If Tymoshenko conceded defeat, Yanukovich could normally have expected to be sworn in as president in mid-March.

International monitors declared the election an "impressive display" of democracy and urged a peaceful transition of power.