Ukrainian presidential election, 2004

The presidential election held in November and December 2004 in Ukraine was mostly a political battle between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. The election was held in a highly charged atmosphere, with allegations of media bias, intimidation and even a poisoning of Yushchenko that was later confirmed to be the result of the poison dioxin.

Related Topics:
Ukraine - Viktor Yanukovych - Viktor Yushchenko - Media bias - Intimidation - Dioxin

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According to official results, announced on November 23, the election was won by Yanukovych, but Yushchenko and his supporters, as well as many international observers, denounced the election as rigged. This led to a serious political crisis, widespread acts of civil disobedience, dubbed the "Orange Revolution", which eventually led to the Ukrainian Supreme Court annulling the results and ordering a repeat of the second round.

Related Topics:
November 23 - Civil disobedience - Orange Revolution

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The second vote was re-run on December 26. Observers reported a much fairer vote, and Viktor Yushchenko won with about 52% of the vote, to Yanukovych's 44%. Yushchenko was eventually declared the winner on January 10, 2005 after the failure of a legal action brought by Yanukovych.

Related Topics:
December 26 - January 10 - 2005

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For a timeline of events that followed the runoff, see Post-election developments in Ukraine, 2004.

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