Ukraine 'victory' for pro-Russian opposition leader

Pro-Moscow opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych tonight declared his party the winner of Ukraine’s parliamentary election.

“Our victory will open a new page in the history of Ukraine,” Yanukovych said, after two independent exit polls put his Party of the Regions in first place with at least 27% of the vote. “We are ready to work together with any political party.”

Two nationwide exit polls showed Yanukovych’s party taking the largest chunk of votes in Ukraine’s parliamentary elections today, dealing a crushing blow to President Viktor Yushchenko’s pro-Western party. Official results were not yet announced.

Yanukovych, whose attempt to win the 2004 presidential race triggered the Orange Revolution, has called for improving ties with Moscow, which frayed under Yushchenko. But he has emphasised that he also intends to build good relations with the European Union.

“We need to make Ukraine a bridge between East and West,” he said.

He also emphasised the need to bridge Ukraine’s own divide, where the western half of the country looks to the European Union and the Russian-speaking east to Moscow. Yanukovych’s support base is in the east.

If the exit poll results prove true, he would command almost a third of the seats in the new 450-member parliament, giving him a significant voice in putting together the cabinet and picking the prime minister, two responsibilities that fall to parliament under new constitutional reforms.

“The Party of the Regions has won a convincing victory,” Yanukovych said. “We are ready to undertake responsibility for forming the cabinet and we are calling on everyone to join us.”