Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko today criticised the slow pace of the vote count in the country’s parliamentary election, with no result after some 43 hours of counting, and warned of potential fraud.

Ukraine’s Supreme Court rejected an array of appeals of last month’s presidential election results filed by allies of Viktor Yanukovych, the former prime minister whom preliminary results show lost the vote to Western-leaning reformer Viktor Yushchenko.

Protesters gathered outside Ukraine’s government headquarters in Kiev today to prevent Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych convening the Cabinet.

Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian election loser Viktor Yanukovych to concede defeat today, after it emerged that opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko won the bitter presidential race by more than two million votes.

A Ukrainian court ruled today that recent legislation restricting voting rights violate the country’s constitution – clouding the presidential rerun vote a day before ballots are due to be cast.