KIEV
--Viktor Yanukovych, the vilified target of the Orange Revolution,
scored a comeback in Ukraine's
presidential election, as preliminary official returns Monday showed him
leading a field of 18 first-round candidates but failing to avoid a runoff
against a heroine of the 2004 uprising, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Returns from four-fifths of Sunday's
ballots gave 35.8% of the vote to Mr. Yanukovych, the pro-Russian politician
whose tainted victory in the previous race was overturned by Ukraine's
Supreme Court after massive street protests over allegations of fraud.
The same count by the Central
Election Commission put Ms. Tymoshenko solidly in second place, with 24.7% of
the vote.
Official results will be released by
the commission in the next 10 days. But there was no doubt that the incumbent
premier, Ms. Tymoshenko, and Mr. Yanukovych, who was prime minister 2002-2004
and again 2006-2007, will enter the two-person runoff on Feb. 7.
Sunday's election appeared to mark a
step in the restoration of Russian influence in this country of 46 million
people, after what is widely seen as a period of legislative deadlock, lagging
reforms and economic malaise under President Viktor Yushchenko, the country's
pro-Western Orange leader.
Ms. Tymoshenko has warmed up to Russia's
leadership, even while advocating closer ties with the West. Like Mr.
Yanukovych, she says she will abandon efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and repair ties to Russia,
the region's dominant power.
Mr. Yushchenko, who was poisoned by
dioxin during the 2004 race, languished in fifth place with 5% of the
preliminary vote tally. Voters said they were fed up with a leadership that
failed to function at times, improve living standards or tame corruption.
"Today marks the end of Orange power," Mr. Yanukovych said in televised
remarks late Sunday. "There will be no room for [Mr. Yushchenko] in the
second round. He has officially lost the faith of the people."
The runoff election is expected to
be tight. Ms. Tymoshenko is a charismatic campaigner capable of winning over
swing voters. In televised remarks right after voting ended, she touted an exit
poll showing a gap of four percentage points between her and Mr. Yanukovych,
saying they indicated she could beat the two-time former prime minister in the
runoff.
"Yanukovych's hand will never
be placed on the Bible to take the presidential oath," she declared."
She called on supporters of "democratic" candidates to unite behind
her.
Serhiy Tihipko, a former central
banker, emerged as a new force in Ukrainian politics, finishing third Sunday
with 13% of the preliminary vote count, according to exit polls, and securing
the strongest negotiating position as the runoff candidates jockey for support.
He is a former adviser to both Mr. Yanukovych and Ms. Tymoshenko, and has
expressed interest in working as prime minister under either.
About two-thirds of the electorate
voted Sunday, somewhat lower than in 2004.
"In the '90s, we voted against
Communism and in 2004 against criminal politicians, in the hope that things
would change," complained Elyzaveta Svetlenko, a Kiev resident who stayed home. "Now
there is no one to vote for. They're all corrupt and controlled by
businessmen."
Sunday's election brought charges of
falsifications, but none as serious as those that marred the 2004 vote.
(
from the Wall Street Journal)