<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>So its now only the Bush administration that survived a rigged election in 2004.
You guys have to get rid of those electronic machines ASAP and have a proper paper based system.
Heck, the IRS would laff in your face if you only had 'electronic' proof.
Then they'd slap a huge tax bill on your ass knowing that you couldn't prove otherwise.
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Yushchenko wins Ukraine election
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Mr Yushchenko thanked his supporters, who endured bitter cold
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has won the re-run of Ukraine's troubled presidential election by a clear margin, election officials say.
With more than 95% of votes counted, the pro-Western leader is nearly 10 points ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych following Sunday's vote.
"The Ukrainian people have won," Mr Yushchenko told a jubilant crowd waving orange flags in central Kiev.
The original vote, won by Mr Yanukovych last month, was annulled due to fraud.
The official result may not be announced for days, with possible legal challenges from Mr Yanukovych. He favours closer ties with Russia and has strong support in Ukraine's industrial east.
Sunday's re-run was monitored by 12,000 international observers.
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</TD><TD class=sibtbg>RESULTS SO FAR
Yushchenko: 52.7%
Yanukovych: 43.5%
Turnout: 77%
Source: Ukraine Central Election Commission, with 95.6% of votes counted
<!-- S ILIN -->In pictures: Ukraine election
<!-- E ILIN --><!-- S ILIN -->Russia rushes to rethink
<!-- E ILIN -->
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A German election monitor in the northern Sumy region said voting was "very calm" and "the atmosphere of intimidation and fear seen during the first and second rounds was absent".
Mr Yushchenko was quick to declare victory, speaking to reporters at about 0000 GMT, while the counting was still in its early stages.
"This is a victory of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian nation," he declared. "We were independent for 14 years, today we became free.
"Today, in Ukraine, a new political year has begun. This is the beginning of a new epoch, the beginning of a new great democracy."
Contested results?
Shortly afterwards, Mr Yushchenko addressed tens of thousands of his supporters in Kiev's central Independence Square, thanking them for their support and urging them to remain in the square until he was officially declared as the winner.
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</TD><TD class=sibtbg>THIRD TIME AROUND
Repeat of 21 November run-off after cancellation of result
Fourth presidential election since independence in 1991
36 million voters; 12,000 foreign election observers
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->Yushchenko supporters, in their distinctive orange colours, celebrated the anticipated victory with a concert and a fireworks display. They have kept up huge rallies in the capital for weeks, despite sub-zero temperatures.
As polls closed, Mr Yanukovych - who has not admitted defeat - vowed to lead "a strong opposition" if he lost, saying it would be "senseless" to negotiate with his rival.
An aide, Nestor Shufrich, later told reporters it appeared likely the numbers would put Mr Yanukovych in second place.
But he added: "We don't admit defeat. If the results of the vote are contested in certain precincts, the outcome of the election could be different."
Election fatigue
The Ukrainian Committee of Voters, a voters' rights organisation, said in an initial statement it could see no grounds to talk about mass irregularities in Sunday's re-run.
Many Ukrainians, going back to the polls for the third time in less than two months, said they wanted to end the country's bitter political crisis.
Public support for Mr Yanukovych - once seen as the favourite of the Ukrainian establishment and neighbouring Russia - has been strong in the industrialised east and the south of the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will accept, and work with, whoever wins.
Bitter campaign
Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma suggested the loser should concede within two days.
"Dear God, let this be the final vote. I'm sure it will be," he said.
Mr Kuchma backed Mr Yanukovych in the earlier vote - but the prime minister had recently attacked the president, presenting himself as an anti-establishment candidate.
Allegations of vote-rigging in the original ballot were just part of a campaign characterised by alleged dirty tricks. Doctors recently confirmed that Mr Yushchenko, who developed a disfiguring skin condition in September, had been poisoned with dioxin. The opposition leader has suggested he was poisoned at a dinner with heads of the Ukrainian security service (SBU) - an allegation denied by the SBU.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4127203.stm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
You guys have to get rid of those electronic machines ASAP and have a proper paper based system.
Heck, the IRS would laff in your face if you only had 'electronic' proof.
Then they'd slap a huge tax bill on your ass knowing that you couldn't prove otherwise.
------------------------------------------------------
Yushchenko wins Ukraine election
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has won the re-run of Ukraine's troubled presidential election by a clear margin, election officials say.
With more than 95% of votes counted, the pro-Western leader is nearly 10 points ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych following Sunday's vote.
"The Ukrainian people have won," Mr Yushchenko told a jubilant crowd waving orange flags in central Kiev.
The original vote, won by Mr Yanukovych last month, was annulled due to fraud.
The official result may not be announced for days, with possible legal challenges from Mr Yanukovych. He favours closer ties with Russia and has strong support in Ukraine's industrial east.
Sunday's re-run was monitored by 12,000 international observers.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
Yushchenko: 52.7%
Yanukovych: 43.5%
Turnout: 77%
Source: Ukraine Central Election Commission, with 95.6% of votes counted
<!-- S ILIN -->In pictures: Ukraine election
<!-- E ILIN --><!-- S ILIN -->Russia rushes to rethink
<!-- E ILIN -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->
A German election monitor in the northern Sumy region said voting was "very calm" and "the atmosphere of intimidation and fear seen during the first and second rounds was absent".
Mr Yushchenko was quick to declare victory, speaking to reporters at about 0000 GMT, while the counting was still in its early stages.
"This is a victory of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian nation," he declared. "We were independent for 14 years, today we became free.
"Today, in Ukraine, a new political year has begun. This is the beginning of a new epoch, the beginning of a new great democracy."
Contested results?
Shortly afterwards, Mr Yushchenko addressed tens of thousands of his supporters in Kiev's central Independence Square, thanking them for their support and urging them to remain in the square until he was officially declared as the winner.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
Repeat of 21 November run-off after cancellation of result
Fourth presidential election since independence in 1991
36 million voters; 12,000 foreign election observers
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->Yushchenko supporters, in their distinctive orange colours, celebrated the anticipated victory with a concert and a fireworks display. They have kept up huge rallies in the capital for weeks, despite sub-zero temperatures.
As polls closed, Mr Yanukovych - who has not admitted defeat - vowed to lead "a strong opposition" if he lost, saying it would be "senseless" to negotiate with his rival.
An aide, Nestor Shufrich, later told reporters it appeared likely the numbers would put Mr Yanukovych in second place.
But he added: "We don't admit defeat. If the results of the vote are contested in certain precincts, the outcome of the election could be different."
Election fatigue
The Ukrainian Committee of Voters, a voters' rights organisation, said in an initial statement it could see no grounds to talk about mass irregularities in Sunday's re-run.
Many Ukrainians, going back to the polls for the third time in less than two months, said they wanted to end the country's bitter political crisis.
Public support for Mr Yanukovych - once seen as the favourite of the Ukrainian establishment and neighbouring Russia - has been strong in the industrialised east and the south of the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will accept, and work with, whoever wins.
Bitter campaign
Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma suggested the loser should concede within two days.
"Dear God, let this be the final vote. I'm sure it will be," he said.
Mr Kuchma backed Mr Yanukovych in the earlier vote - but the prime minister had recently attacked the president, presenting himself as an anti-establishment candidate.
Allegations of vote-rigging in the original ballot were just part of a campaign characterised by alleged dirty tricks. Doctors recently confirmed that Mr Yushchenko, who developed a disfiguring skin condition in September, had been poisoned with dioxin. The opposition leader has suggested he was poisoned at a dinner with heads of the Ukrainian security service (SBU) - an allegation denied by the SBU.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4127203.stm
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