Ukraine’s president plans to begin coalition talks after what appears to be a victory for pro-Western parties in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
Early results showed Petro Poroshenko’s bloc and that of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk each taking 22% of the vote.
The president thanked voters for backing a “democratic, reformist, pro-Ukrainian and pro-European majority”.
There was no voting in eastern areas that remain under the control of pro-Russian separatist rebels.
A number of seats in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will remain vacant, as will those for Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.
The rebels plan to hold their own elections next Sunday.
The legislative polls were the first since pro-Russian former President, Viktor Yanukovych, was driven from power in February after he refused to sign an agreement on closer ties with the European Union.
With 30% of ballots counted, Mr Poroshenko’s bloc – comprising his own Solidarity Party and Udar, led by former boxer champion Vitali Klitschko – had 21.59% of the vote.
But the People’s Front of the president’s ally, Mr Yatseniuk, was fractionally ahead with 21.7%, according to the election commission.
Source-BBC
