Ukraine opposition claims narrow victory

With more than 98 per cent of votes counted, Mr Yanukovych had 48.5 per cent of the vote, a 2.7 per cent lead over his rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Mr Yanukovych called on Ms Tymoshenko to concede, but she refused and is expected to challenge the result, despite international observers describing the election as "an impressive display of democracy."

Observers led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe declared: "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."

But Ms Tymoshenko showed no sign of standing down and insisted that her party members would conduct a "parallel count of the votes."

Mr Yanukovych retorted that "it's time that Yulia prepares to resign, I think that she understands that well."

Ms Tymoshenko led the so-called "orange revolution" in 2004 that toppled Mr Yanukovych from the presidency after protesters claimed that he had won fraudulent elections that year.

However, Mr Yanukovych made a comeback to defeat Ms Tymoshenko by 10 points in the first round of voting last month and, with this latest result, seems to have recovered his post as head of state.