Ukraine court hears poll appeal

Yanukovych supporters continue to rally in his stronghold, Donetsk

The Ukrainian Supreme Court has begun hearing an appeal by Viktor Yanukovych against the result of the presidential election on grounds of fraud.

It is set to be the losing candidate's final appeal over the vote, won by opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko by about eight percentage points.

Mr Yanukovych submitted 600 volumes of evidence indicating irregularities.

The pro-Western Mr Yushchenko cannot be sworn in until all complaints are dealt with by the court.

Mr Yanukovych has already submitted a number of appeals, all rejected, and he has previously admitted to not being optimistic about the outcome.

He is seeking a re-run of the election in which Mr Yushchenko won by two million votes, with 51.99% of the vote to Mr Yanukovych's 44.2% support.

The election was itself a repeat, called after the Supreme Court cancelled the result of the vote on 21 November which had given victory to Mr Yanukovych and sparked huge protest rallies over electoral fraud.

Nestor Shufrich, Mr Yanukovych's representative at the Central Election Commission, said the appeal would focus on an electoral reform enacted after the 21 November vote that excluded absentee ballots and home voting.

Supporters wait

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Mr Yanukovych's home town, Donetsk, and elsewhere on Sunday to condemn Mr Yushchenko's "anti-constitutional" election.

In the capital, Kiev, several hundred supporters of the winner remain camped out in their tent city, awaiting the inauguration.

"We're not leaving until the end of the inauguration - it's like leaving empty-handed," said Andriy Khomenko, one of the camp's leaders.

The court has up to five days to consider the appeal but observers expect its ruling some time in the middle of this week, with the inauguration to follow soon afterwards.

Proceedings are being broadcast live on Ukrainian television.

Yulia Tymoshenko, a key Yushchenko ally, said at the weekend that she expected him to be sworn in by 19 January.