Ukraine on Wednesday stood on the brink of fresh political turmoil as Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko refused to acknowledge defeat in presidential elections and her rival called on her to resign. The election winner, the pro-Russia Viktor Yanukovych, demanded Tymoshenko stand down as prime minister, warning that Ukraine did not need a new crisis after being plagued by instability in recent years.
Three days after Yanukovych beat Tymoshenko by a margin of some 3.5 percent in bitterly-fought elections, she has yet to concede defeat and her party has called for a partial recount of the votes. With political tensions riding high, thousands of Yanukovych supporters Wednesday rallied for the third day in a row outside the headquarters of the election commission with the aim of ensuring the results stand.
"I call on the prime minister to resign and go into opposition," Yanukovych said in an statement posted on the website of his Regions Party. "I want to remind Mrs Tymoshenko that the basis of democracy is the will of the people. Democratic leaders always accept the results of the elections. "The country does not need a new crisis," he added.
Tymoshenko has disappeared from public view since making a short comment on Sunday after the release of exit polls and it was unclear when the usually talkative prime minister, famed for her golden hair braid, would reappear. Adding to the confusion, Sviatoslav Olyinyk, a deputy from her Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko party (BYuT) said Tymoshenko could make a statement Wednesday or Thursday recognising the election results.
However Tymoshenko aides told AFP there was no news on when she would break her silence. The BYuT is reported to be split on the issue, with one faction seeking to persuade her to concede. Another BYuT deputy, Sergiy Vlasenko, said the party would ask for a recount in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk and in the Crimea peninsula, all Yanukovych strongholds where he polled extremely well.
The conduct of Sunday's vote received ringing endorsements from Western observers and governments who characterised it as free and democratic. With votes from all polling stations now counted, Yanukovych won 48.95 percent of the vote, compared to Tymoshenko's 45.47 percent, the central election commission said. Though official, these results are still preliminary and must be formally certified by the election commission, a process which may take some weeks.
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