KIEV, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich continues to lead in the presidential runoff by 2.61 percentage points, with 92.13 percent of the ballots proceeded, according to results published by the Ukraine Central Election Committee (CEC) on Monday.

Yanukovich, a 59-year-old former prime minister, won 48.48 percent of the vote, while incumbent Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was supported by 45.87 percent of the voters. Yanukovich has been been leading in the partial results, though by small margins. Earlier in the day, his lead was over 4 percentage points.

The CEC is processing the ballots and the final results are expected on Monday.

Yanukovich has been favored by exit polls as the winner of the election, and he appeared ready to take victory. He said on TV Sunday night that Tymoshenko could start to prepare for her resignation from the post of prime minister.

"I think that Yulia Vladimirovna (Tymoshenko) should be preparing for resignation. She understands this well. In any case I think that such an offer will be made to her," he said.

If elected, Yanukovich will become the country's fourth president since the former Soviet Union republic won independence in 1991. Tymoshenko's camp, however, has refused to concede defeat based on the exit poll results.

The CEC Deputy Chairman Andriy Mahera told a briefing on Sunday that the commission has deemed the Feb. 7 presidential election valid. A probability of a tie is 0.01 percent, he added.

The CEC has not received information on serious irregularities during the second round of the Ukrainian presidential election, he said.

Related:

Yanukovich leads in Ukrainian presidential run-off: preliminary results

Presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich makes a statement for the results of exit polls after the second round of Presidential elections in his headquarters in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, on Feb. 7, 2010. (Xinhua/Mu Liming)

KIEV, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- with nearly 56 percent of the votes counted, Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich had gained a narrow lead over incumbent Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, taking 49.33 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential run-off.

Tymoshenko got 45.02 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission announced early Monday.  Full story

end_ct

Editor: Xiong Tong