KIEV (AFP) - Pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich was ahead in preliminary results published Monday from Ukraine's presidential election, collecting 47.8 percent of votes counted against 32.6 percent for Western-leaning opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, the central election commission announced.
With 21.8 percent of total votes counted from Sunday's election, the two main candidates appeared to be heading for a second-round run-off vote. The also-rans were led by Socialist Party candidate Olexander Moroz with 5.6 percent of the ballots with Communist Party boss Petro Simonenko rounding out the top four with 5.0 percent.
Yanukovich's lead dropped steadily as vote count progressed early Monday, suggesting that the first results had come in from the Russian-speaking region of eastern Ukraine.
Exit polls showed Yanukovich and Yushchenko running neck-and-neck and likely to face each other in a runoff to replace outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who over a decade in power tried to develop Ukraine's relations with Russia.
Kuchma backed Yanukovich in the campaign, while the United States and Europe have given tacit support for the opposition leader.
Yushchenko released figures compiled in parallel by his own election team which showed him well in the lead.
With ballots counted from 31.8 percent of the polling stations by his headquarters, Yushchenko said he led the vote with 50.3 percent compared to Yanukovich's 27.8 percent.
"The democratic forces of Ukraine have won," Yushchenko told reporters. "The people have shown that this regime can be defeated."
There was no immediate comment from Yanukovich.
11/01/2004 - 00:48 GMT - AFP