Ukrainian presidential election ends in dead-heat

The race to be Ukrainian president ended in an dead-heat today, forcing a run-off contest later this month.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and his reformist challenger Viktor Yushchenko were less than a percentage point apart with nearly all the votes counted, the Central Election Commission said.

With 94.4% of the precincts counted, Yanukovych had 40.12% and challenger Viktor Yushchenko had 39.15%, the commission said, describing the tally as unofficial preliminary results. It did not say when a total vote count would be announced.

To win in the first round, a candidate would have needed more than 50% of the vote. The runoff will be held on November 21.

Going into a runoff will extend tension that already had gripped Ukraine for weeks ahead of the vote. Yushchenko’s supporters have alleged widespread official intimidation and interference and his opponents claimed he was aiming to foment civil unrest to try to overthrow the authorities.

A 600 strong group of foreign monitors representing European organisations said the vote did not meet democratic standards.

In its preliminary report, the group, which includes the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe, cited state media bias in favour of Yanukovych and state interference, including obstruction of opposition activities.

“Ukraine now has three weeks to show that it is willing to organise democratic elections in accordance with its commitments,” said Council of Europe observer Doros Christodoulides.

The report did not cite specific violations but made general criticism, including the presence of police officers in more than 60% of polling stations and errors and omissions on voter lists, including some cases of dead people listed as registered voters.

Washington had warned it may take punitive action if the voting was marred by irregularities.

Ukraine, which has a brigade of troops in Iraq, has been one of the top recipients of US aid.