Power Wins in Ukraine, Opposition Seeks for Velvet Revolution

According to the Central Election Committee, Yanukovic received 49.42 percent of the total vote while his western oriented challenger, Victor Yushenko, received 46.7 percent.

Yushenko led the race after the first round of voting was reported. He called for civil disobedience among his supporters to protest what many thought were fraudulent voting results. The administrative councils in Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and in Kiev, announced their rejection of the election result and vowed to support Yushenko.

Ukraine security units said that they will respond to any proven illegitimacy while the interior Ministry asked the protestors to conduct a responsible demonstration.

The presidential race in Ukraine, considered the most important in Eastern Europe since the collapse of the Soviet Union, evolved into a Russia-West power struggle. Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his support for Yanukovic by visiting him hours before the election, and placing a call of congratulations after his victory became official.