According to Sergey Kivalov, Chairman of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission, the turnout in the second round of the election was 79.35 percent. This is higher than in the 1999 election, when 73.8 percent of voters turned out, and it is also higher than in the first round of the election (74.95 percent).

Mr. Kivalov denied allegations that the election was rigged. He said it was too early to make such statements. Mr. Kivalov also stressed that the Central Election Committee was interested in “honest and transparent vote counting”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Yushchenko’s team complained about multiple irregularities during the election. It is going to call an extraordinary meeting of the Ukrainian Parliament. The opposition candidate said all irregularities should be discussed by the Parliament immediately. Mr. Yushchenko has already complained to the European Parliament, the OSCE and the European Union. They should know, Mr. Yushchenko said, that Ukrainians were denied fundamental human rights, including the right to vote, Echo of Moscow reported.

Mr. Yushchenko also said he would force the authorities to respect public opinion. “The Central Election Commission stepped over the line of honesty and went by the way of falsification,” he added. The opposition candidate’s election team has prepared 2,058 cases of irregularities in the second round of the elections, Echo of Moscow reported quoting Nikolay Katerinchuk, Mr. Yushchenko’s envoy.

Mr. Yushchenko said he would rally thousands of his supporters in central Kiev on Monday. If the election was indeed rigged, the opposition would protest, he said. “I hope for my victory, and I will fight to the end,” Mr. Yushchenko stressed.

Meanwhile, the Sotsis agency denied its previous exit-poll results in favor of Mr. Yushchenko. Earlier, Sotsis analysts said Mr. Yushchenko had gathered more than 49 percent of the vote, and Mr. Yanukovich had 45 percent. Now, the situation is different: Mr. Yanukovich has 48 percent of the vote, and Mr. Yushchenko has less than 47 percent.

According to other exit polls conducted by the Razumkov Center and the Kiev International Sociological Institute, 54 percent of voters supported for Mr. Yanukovich, and Mr. Yanukovich had 43 percent.