Ukrainian People's Front leads in parliamentary polls

Kiev, Oct 27: The People's Front party, founded by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has taken the lead with 21.67 percent of the vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced on Monday.

Yatsenyuk's party was four percent ahead of the bloc of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Sunday's contest, according to the official results of 25.71 percent of the vote counting.

The Samopomoshch association, headed by Lviv Mayor Andrei Sadovi and which supports joining the European Union, was in third place with 10.56 percent.

The Opposition Bloc that was founded by former members of the dismantled Party of Regions that belonged to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych has garnered 9.62 percent of the vote.

The Radical Party, pro-European party led by former journalist Oleg Liashko, won 7.62 percent of the vote for fifth place.

The Batkivshina party of former prime minister Yulia Timoshenko got 5.87 percent.

The other 23 competing parties have failed to overcome the 5-percent mark, which allows access to the proportional allocation of half of the 450 seats in the Ukrainian parliament.

The other half of the seats are being decided according to individual constituencies.

IANS