Ukraine's court throws out Yanukovych appeal

Ukraine's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych's appeal agains this loss in the Dec. 26 rerun presidential runoff.

"The Court has decided to deny the complaint by presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych. This decision is final and can not be challenged," said the court decision which was read out by a justice.

The three-judge panel, saying the appeal had no basis, unanimously rejected the appeal in which Yanukovych alleged mass fraud in the voting and asked the court to invalidate the votes inall of Ukraine's 225 electoral districts.

Yanukovych won a disputed presidential runoff on Nov. 21, 2004,triggering weeks of protests by rival Viktor Yushchenko's supporters. The Supreme Court later annulled the election results and ruled for a re-vote of the runoff on Dec. 26.

According to preliminary results of the Dec. 26 race released by the Central Electoral Commission, opposition leader Yushchenko won 51.99 percent of the votes while 44.19 percent went to Yanukovych.

Source: Xinhua