Mykola Azarov, MP, Head of the election campaign of candidate for president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, announced during today’s briefing:

“I would like to thank all voters who have voted for V.F. Yanukovych. This inspires optimism and corresponds to a tremendous job done by a huge number of Party of Regions supporters in local headquarters and commissions, thus, contributing to our victory.

All exit polls unambiguously speak to V. Yanukovych’s victory. This indisputable fact will certainly be confirmed with preliminary results tonight and later with final results to be declared by the CEC after all votes have been counted.

The reaction of our rivals is clear. However, they should understand that elections in any democratic country end in such a way that a failed candidate always acknowledges defeat and takes it with dignity and calmness and wishes luck to the winner.

Ukraine should be obliged to comply with this rule. We encourage our rivals to take defeat in stride because today’s result was inevitable.

We really appreciate that people were generally able to express their points of view during the elections, despite some attempts by our rivals to prevent it.

We have the utmost interest in a fair and unbiased vote count because we are confident of our victory.

I am sure V.F. Yanukovych, and his team, is able to make our lives better. All people, whether they voted for or against him, will see that Yanukovych’s victory is our joint victory, a victory of the people of Ukraine.