Yanukovich leading in Ukraine vote: preliminary results

Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich continued to lead in the Ukrainian presidential election with 80.27 percent of all the ballots counted, preliminary official results showed on Monday.

Yanukovich gained 35.76 percent of the ballots counted, while his main challenger, incumbent Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, garnered 24.72 percent, according to the Central Election Commission. They are scheduled to compete in a run-off vote on Feb. 7.

The results also showed that 13.05 percent voted in favor of Sergei Tigipko, a former economy minister, and 5.33 percent voted for incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko.

Official results will be published in 10 days.

Sunday's vote was Ukraine's first presidential election since the 2004 "Orange Revolution."

Yanukovich, who draws the bulk of his support from the Russian-speaking areas of the industrial east and the south, has promised Ukrainians economic revival, new jobs, pay raises, judicial reforms and duty-free policies for small enterprises for five years.

Tymoshenko, a former Yushchenko ally whose powerbase is in the west of the country, gives priority to a fair society and government efficiency, and pledges innovation-driven economic structure reform and improvement in people's welfare.

Source: Xinhua