KIEV - Ukrainians voted Sunday in a runoff election between two bitterly opposed presidential candidates, a vote that some observers predict could be settled in the courts. The former Soviet nation's 37 million registered voters are choosing between Russian-leaning opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who came to international prominence in the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution. For many voters, the two candidates represent a choice between bolstering ties with the West and repudiating the leadership of the Orange protests. "I am voting against the return of our Soviet past," 40-year-old businessman Vladimir Khivrenko said at a polling station near the Maidan, the central square in Kiev where vast crowds rallied for weeks in late 2004. "Tymoshenko has promised us a new path to Europe, and I believe her," he said. If Yanukovych wins, it will be an impressive reversal of fortune. His Kremlin-backed election as president five years ago triggered the mass Orange demonstrations, and his win was thrown out on grounds of fraud. His appeal is strong among voters disillusioned by the outcome of the Orange Revolution. "I want stability and order," said 60-year old retiree Tatyana Volodaschuk. "Yanukovych offers us the guarantee of a normal life." Outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko drew a meager 5.5 per cent in the first round of voting on Jan. 17, missing the runoff. He was ushered to power by the Orange movement, but his popularity withered when he failed to implement promised economic and political reforms amid financial turmoil.
