Early results suggest Regions party will retain control of parliament as observers prepare to rule on transparency of vote
Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's party appears to have won parliamentary elections tainted by the jailing of the country's top opposition leader, according to preliminary results.
Despite a strong showing by pro-western opposition parties, Yanukovych's Regions party seems set to retain its parliamentary majority with its candidates leading in individual races across the country.
With fthe former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in jail and widespread fears of election fraud, the west is paying close attention to the vote in the strategic ex-Soviet state, which lies between Russia and the European Union and serves as a key conduit for the transit of Russian energy supplies to many EU countries.
With votes counted at some 30% of polling stations nationwide on Monday morning, Yanukovych's party was ahead with 37% in the proportional share of the vote. It was also were poised to win around 115 out of the 225 seats allocated in individual races, meaning loyalists to president are likely to hold a majority in the 450-seat parliament.
International observers were to issue their verdict on the fairness of the vote later on Monday. If the election is deemed undemocraticit could stall Kiev's efforts to join the EU and push it toward Moscow.
"We believe that this is an indisputable victory," the country's prime minister, Mykola Azarov, said after the polls closed on Sunday. "Above all, it shows the people's trust in the course that is being pursued."
With Yanukovych under fire over the jailing of Tymoshenko, his main rival, and rampant corruption and slow reforms, the opposition appears to have made a strong showing. The early results show Tymoshenko's party with around 20% of the vote, the pro-western Udar party led by the boxing champion Vitali Klitschko with 13% and the far-right Svoboda party 8%. The Communist party, Yanukovych's traditional allies, appears to have won around 15% of the vote.
"This clearly shows that the people of Ukraine support the opposition, not the government," Tymoshenko ally Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
Opposition parties alleged widespread violations such as vote-buying and multiple voting on election day, but an independent local election monitor said it remains to be seen whether the violations would significantly affect the overall elections results. Authorities insisted the election was honest and democratic.