Yanukovych closes on win
Monday 29 October 2012
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EmailUkraine's ruling Party of the Regions looked set to retain its parliamentary majority as initial election results came in today.
With votes counted for the proportional list contest, which supplies half of parliament's MPs, President Viktor Yanukovych's party was leading with 35 per cent.
That figure is likely to rise when the first-past-the-post results that determine the make-up of the rest of parliament come in, as splits in the opposition give his party an edge.
The second-placed Fatherland Party of jailed ex-president Yulia Tymoshenko won 22 per cent of the vote, while the Communist Party came third on 15 per cent.
Boxing champion Vitali Klitschko's Punch Party won 13 per cent of the vote while the far-right Freedom Party won 8 per cent.
The Communists ruled out any co-operation with Fatherland, Punch or Svoboda, making it almost certain that the Party of the Regions would lead the next government.
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