Viktor Yanukovich

But Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, the winner according to preliminary official results, assumed the role of president-in-waiting in an address to the nation Nov. 22. "We won. Full stop," Yushchenko said on a day that saw some 100,000 people protesting in central Kiev.

Yushchenko said he had lost more than 3 million votes to fraud, mainly multiple voting through abuse of absentee ballots.

Viktor Yushchenko

The election presented Ukrainians with a stark choice. The premier sees closer ties with Russia as the key to prosperity while his rival calls for gradual integration with the West.

It underlined the divide between the nationalist west and the industrial Russian-speaking east that, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, backed Yanukovich.

Results were incomplete, but with more than 99 percent of votes counted in official returns, Yanukovich's lead of more than 3 percent made it clear he could not be caught.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 27, 2004
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