Ukraine's runoff vote for president on Sunday met most of its international commitments and was an "impressive display" of democracy, international monitors said on Feb. 8.
The election in the ex-Soviet state gave opposition leader Victor Yanukovych a slender win over his bitter rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, but the latter refused to concede defeat.
"Yesterday’s vote was an impressive display of democratic elections. For everyone in Ukraine, this election was a victory," the observers, headed by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in a statement.
"It is now time for the country’s political leaders to listen to the people’s verdict and make sure that the transition of power is peaceful and constructive."
The OSCE verdict was almost tantamount to a call by the international community for Tymoshenko to accept the fight was over.
Aides of Yanukovych before the OSCE verdict pressed the fiery Tymoshenko to accept defeat, but she remained silent and put off a news conference scheduled for Monday until Tuesday.
Before the runoff, she had threatened to call mass protests against the result if she suspected electoral fraud by her opponent.
Latest official data showed that with 97.93 percent of all votes counted, Yanukovych was leading with a margin of 2.65 percentage points over Tymoshenko.
"The observers …. concluded that the lack of mutual trust between the candidates and the deficient legal framework were at the root of the problems observed and constitute an immediate challenge for the new leadership," the OSCE-led monitors said.
