KIEV (AFP) - The central electoral commission in the Ukraine had yet to publish final results of disputed weekend first-round presidential elections, as supporters of the main opposition contender announced massive demonstrations.
According to results published on Tuesday, after 97.67 percent of the voting slips had been counted, the two main candidates were evenly split, with pro-Russian prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich on 39.88 percent of the vote, with the Western-leaning opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko on 39.22 percent.
Ukraine is heading for a second-round poll showdown between the two, after the first round which election monitors said fell short of international democratic standards.
The youth organisation Pora called in a statement on Wednesday for higher education institutions to go on strike, while Yushchenko's supporters called demonstrations for Saturday and Sunday in Kiev and other Ukrainian towns.
Deputy Volodymyr Filenkowas quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the aim of the demonstrations was to make the public aware of the first round results and throw the spotlight on the alleged irregularities.
Yanukovich has promised to eradicate irregularities identified in the first round of polling.
On Wednesday Ukraine's socialist party, whose candidate garnered less than six percent in the first round poll, said it would agree to back Yushchenko in the second round if he agreed to launch a programme of constitutional reform and quickly withdraw Ukrainian troops from Iraq.
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine coalition and the socialists have been at odds on the issue of constitutional reform, under which the president would cede some powers to the prime minister.
11/03/2004 - 18:22 GMT - AFP