On Monday, Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission said that, with over 99 percent of the vote counted, Viktor Yanukovich is due to win the presidential election.

They say that the pro-Russian secured 49.42 percent of the vote, compared to 46.69 percent for his pro-European rival, Viktor Yushchenko.

The results came as Yushchenko addressed a crowd of some 10,000 supporters at the Independence Square in Kiev.

He has accused the authorities of rigging the vote and urged his supporters to keep their vigil, while an ally of his called on Ukrainians to begin a general strike. In some areas he said turnout had exceeded the number of registered voters.

Earlier, exit polls conducted using anonymous questionnaires under a program funded by several Western governments said Yushchenko led with 54 percent of the vote and Yanukovich trailed with 43 percent.

Supporters of Yanukovich claimed that the rally and other protests are aimed at fomenting unrest and seizing power.

But a joint mission representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe (both of which Ukraine is a member) as well as the European Parliament and NATO backed Yuschenko’s accusations today.

A mission representative said, “This election did not meet a considerable number of international standards for democratic elections … The abuse of state resources in favor of the prime minister continued, as well as an overwhelming media bias in his favor.”

This, the second round of voting, began on Sunday, after the two candidates had each won around 40 percent of the vote in the first round on October 31. That round had also been marred by allegations from both Ukrainians and international observers of election fraud.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2004)