Tymoshenko cites "systemic" fraud in Ukraine vote testimony

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told a court hearing Friday that her defeat in a presidential election earlier this month was due to "systemic" fraud intended to alter the election outcome, DPA reported.

Tymoshenko was testifying before the High Administrative Court, which is considering her suit to overturn the February 7 presidential poll. Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko by a 3-percentage-point margin in the vote, according to final results issued by the Central Election Commission (CEC).

"It (the vote fraud) was not an accident, it was systemic," Tymoshenko said. "I assert that there were planned, organized election law violations that were committed so as to influence the final election result," she said.

But in her testimony, Tymoshenko stepped away from previous claims that Yanukovych could not have defeated her without the assistance of fraud, telling a packed courtroom the main goal of her suit was to confirm the election results were fair. She said she would abide by whatever ruling judges handed down.

"I am sure that an honest evaluation of the evidence in our suit, is needed not just by me ... but by my opponent," Tymoshenko said. "If all of it (the evidence) is taken into account, then I will accept the ruling, as it is decided."     Friday was the first of two days of scheduled testimony. The case has drawn intense attention from Ukrainian journalists, some of whom were locked out of the courtroom for lack of space.

Plans to air the court proceedings on live television were canceled by a court ruling Friday. The court argued that the presence of television crews would cause too much noise.

Yanukovych obtained 48.95 per cent of ballots cast in the early February run-off election, with Tymoshenko obtaining 45.47 per cent, according to CEC data.

International monitors generally rated Ukraine's vote as free and fair, with few election law violations.

Despite the lawsuit, Ukraine's government has continued with plans for a Yanukovych inauguration on February 25.