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Ukrainian Supreme Court to hear Yanukovych appeal over election
15/1/2005 12:42

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Caption Supporters of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich hold a miner's hammer and a poster reading 'For Yushchenko's inauguration from Donbass' (center placard) as they shout slogans during a meeting in central Donetsk, January 14, 2005. The loser of last month's Ukrainian presidential election, Yanukovich, delivered an appeal to the Supreme Court on Friday, giving the court a chance to reject it and allow president-elect Viktor Yushchenko to be inaugurated. (Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

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 Supporters of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich hold a miner's hammer and a poster reading 'For Yushchenko's inauguration from Donbass' (center placard) as they shout slogans during a meeting in central Donetsk, January 14, 2005. Ukraine's Supreme Court decided on Friday to hear next Monday a final appeal over the election results by presidential candidate and former Prime Minister ViktorYanukovych. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

 Ukraine's Supreme Court decided on Friday to hear next Monday a final appeal over the election results by presidential candidate and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the Interfax news agency reported.

"On Monday Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT), the hearing will begin into the civil case filed by Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych into the actions, omissions and decisions of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission," the court said in a statement.

The campaign team of Yanukovych filed an appeal of the Dec. 26 presidential election results with the Supreme Court earlier Friday.

The court has rejected a series of appeals from Yanukovych's team, and the new complaint of some 621 volumes of documents and 233 videotapes is the team's last-ditch effort to overturn the election, which the Central Election Commission declared on Mondaywas won by opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.

Campaign manager Taras Chornovyl said the appeal, delivered by a mini-van, urges the court to "order a revote."

Earlier this week, Yanukovych announced that he would never agree with the Dec. 26 election results and would file a complaint.

Also on Friday, Yushchenko gave his first comments on the announcement by the Central Election Commission that he had won the Dec. 26 race.

"I feel a lot of satisfaction about what has been done," he told reporters after attending the opening of a church in Kiev. "We have won. I don't have one cell in my body that has any doubts about these elections."

The Dec. 26 election was a rerun of Nov. 21 run-off in which Yanukovych was declared the winner. The run-off was followed by massive opposition protests, which eventually led to the revocation of the election.

Earlier this week, Yanukovych said that Yushchenko's lead in the presidential re-runoff resulted from an "illegal law" approvedby the Ukrainian Parliament.

The law, passed in parliament only a day before the Dec. 26 balloting, leaving little time for many old and ailing Ukrainians to make voting arrangements.

Although Yushchenko had been officially declared the winner, hecannot be inaugurated until the Supreme Court reviews complaints form his rival and the final election results are published in an official newspaper.

The court on Tuesday prohibited the Central Election Commissionand the two official gazettes from officially publishing the finalresults of presidential election before the court examines the last appeal of Yanukovych.



 Xinhua