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Ukraine vote as tensions high in close-run election

07 February 2010 09:26 (UTC +04:00)

Analysts see a narrow Yanukovich victory but Tymoshenko has threatened to call for protests in a replay of the 2004 â€œOrange Revolutionâ€ if she deems the vote unfair.

A decisive outcome should reset the ex-Soviet republicâ€™s relations Russia, which plummeted under pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, and decide the speed of Ukraineâ€™s path into the European mainstream.

Challenges to the result will further hurt confidence in the crisis-hit economy and may delay talks with the International Monetary Fund, which suspended its $16.4 billion (10.5 billion pound) bailout plan on broken promises to control state spending.

The euphoria of 2004, when protests overturned the rigged results that gave Yanukovich victory, has disappeared after years of rowing amongst the political elite that has paralysed policy-making.

â€œMy vote is against both of them â€” there is no choice between them because there is no difference between them,â€ said Olga Petrenko, a 43-year-old state worker, walking through the icy streets of central Kiev.

Mykola, 56, said he only hoped Yanukovich loses.

â€œI am not expecting much from this election. Five years ago we blocked Yanukovich, and I hope we will block him again.â€

Portrayed as Moscowâ€™s stooge in the â€œOrange Revolution,â€ 59-year-old Yanukovich is eying a comeback after a campaign dominated by smear and accusation. He won 10 percent more of the votes than Tymoshenko in the first round on January 17.

The personal antagonism between the beefy, slow-speaking Yanukovich and the elegant, sharp-tongued Tymoshenko mirrors the gulf between Ukraineâ€™s Russian-speaking east and nationalist west.

A tired-looking Tymoshenko cast her vote early in her home city of Dnipropetrovsk.

â€œI have just voted for a new Ukraine, a happy Ukraine, a rich, beautiful European state,â€ she said. â€œI am sure that only in such a state people will live happily, and each person will find his place and I will serve this cause with all my soul and with all my abilities.â€

A close result challenged in court will only prolong instability in the country of 46 million people. Both candidates say they want to integrate with Europe while improving ties with Moscow, though Tymoshenko is seen as more enthusiastic about the EU.

The 49-year-old former gas tycoon has accused Yanukovich of cheating after his Regions Party pushed through parliament amendments to voting rules after the first round.

A spokesman for the election arm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that while it was not â€œgood practiceâ€ to make last-minute changes, the amendments should change little if voting officials work in good faith.

Voting ends at 8.00 p.m. (1800 GMT), and exit polls are expected to follow swiftly. OSCE observers will present their findings on Monday, repoted Euronews.