Ukraine’s opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych has declared himself the winner in the country’s presidential elections, overcoming the Orange forces’ leader Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by a narrow margin after the final tally of the votes.
The pro-Russian Yanukovych has announced his victory and his camp is already celebrating. His Party of Regions deputy head Anna German has asked the pro-Western Tymoshenko to concede.
“The first rule for a true democrat is to accept defeat when that is the will of the people,” said German.
However, Tymoshenko has downplayed the results of the exit polls and said that the race is too early be decided.
According to a report released on Monday by the Central Election Commission of Ukraine, the opposition leader was ahead with 51.3 percent against the prime minister’s 43.3 percent, with 27.4 percent of the votes already counted.
On the other hand, the National Election Poll survey projected that after the tally, Yanukovych would get 48.5 percent while Tymoshenko would capture 45.7 percent.
The NEP poll originally revealed a 3.2 percentage point advantage for Yanukovych, although it later showed revised figures. Various other exit polls have indicated victory for Yanukovych, and others even showed him leading by bigger margins.
However, Alexander Turchinov, the campaign manager for the prime minister, insisted that there were indications of fraud. He said, “Intrigue still remains in place, we remain certain.”
Matyas Eorsi, head of the election watchdog of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, said, “We are 100 percent sure that this election was legitimate.” He added, “All the international community, and even more important, the Ukrainian public can accept this result.”
International monitors are expected to release their initial report on Monday.
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