2007 Ukraine Election Update

With almost 90% of the votes counted, the Party of Regions looks to have won the election. Here is the latest vote information, by party:

• Party of Regions - 33.41%
• Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYut) - 31.32%
• Our Ukraine People's Self Defense Bloc - 14.59%
• Communist Party - 5.3%
• Lytvyn Bloc - 3.98%
• Socialist Party - 3.01%

Most important for democratic forces though, is that the pro-West "Orange" alliance between BYut and Our Ukraine would have a majority in the Verkhovna Rada. Viktor Yanukovych, current Prime Minister and leader of the Party of Regions, has vowed to not give up his power without a fight.

This election may not have cleared up much of the upheaval in Ukraine's government. It may have only introduced another issue for future disagreements. We need to wait for the final vote totals before coming to any conclusions. It could be interesting in Ukraine over the next several weeks.