Ukraine's Yanukovich claims narrow win

With just over 90 percent of votes counted early Monday, election officials gave Yanukovich 48.49 percent and Prime Minister Tymoshenko 45.86 percent, a margin of 2.63 percentage points.

Tymoshenko's camp, alleging fraud, offered a "parallel count" late Sunday that saw her edging out her rival. The margin in the official results made it likely that Tymoshenko would mount a legal challenge, prolonging the uncertainty.

The official results signalled a comeback for the rough-hewn Yanukovich, tagged as Moscow's stooge five years ago when street protests overturned results that initially gave him victory in an election tainted by fraud.

A Yanukovich victory could see the country of 46 million people shift back towards former Soviet master Russia after five years of infighting and a sliding economy turned the euphoria of the Orange revolution into frustration and disappointment.

Both candidates pledged integration with Europe while improving ties with Moscow, but Tymoshenko is seen as more pro-Western. Yanukovich is unlikely to pursue membership of NATO, an 'Orange' goal that infuriated neighbouring Russia.

Yanukovich, 59, a beefy ex-mechanic who wants better ties with Moscow, called on Tymoshenko, 49, to resign as prime minister. But Tymoshenko's team said they had counted 85 percent of votes and she was leading by 0.8 percent.

Each side accused the other of fraud, but Tymoshenko stopped short of repeating a threat she made last week to call people out onto the streets if she believed the election was unfair.

"I think that Yulia Tymoshenko should prepare to resign. She understands that well," Yanukovich said in a television interview. Exit polls put him three to four points ahead.

If the latest figures remain good, Yanukovich would be the first president since independence in 1991 not to receive more than 50 percent of the vote, although elections in the 1990s were not always judged free and fair.