Electoral Commission backs Yushchenko victory

Ukraine’s Central Election Commission tonight declared Western-leaning reformer Viktor Yushchenko the winner of the presidential election over Kremlin-favoured Viktor Yanukovych.

The commission announced that the final official tally of the December 26 voting – which was a rerun of the November 21 election that was annulled amid allegations of massive fraud – showed Yushchenko with 51.99% of the votes and Yanukovych with 44.2%.

Yanukovych, who stepped down as prime minister last week, had been declared the winner of the November election, and he has vowed to use all possible legal avenues to overturn the revote.

The Supreme Court earlier today rejected eight complaints by Yanukovych’s campaign.

The elections commission’s statement must now be accepted by the High Court and published in two official gazettes before Yushchenko could be inaugurated. That could leave Yanukovych’s camp a window for filing more legal actions.

Earlier, Yanukovych’s campaign manager Taras Chornovyl said a massive legal action consisting of some 500 volumes was being prepared to prove widespread fraud in last month’s revote.