Yanukovych says Tymoshenko should be ready to resign

Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych advised his presidential election opponent Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to be ready to resign from her post.

"I believe that Yulia should be preparing for the resignation and she realizes it very well," the Ukrainskaya Pravda online edition quoted Yanukovych as saying.

Yanukovych, who lost in the 2004 presidential election to incumbent president Viktor Yushchenko, is ahead with 50.29% of the vote, while Tymoshenko secured a support of 44.21% after 38.29% of the ballots counted.

"I will nominate a prime minister, whom I would like to work with in such uneasy times," he said, but did not give any names.

Ukraine's Central Election Commission said that in line with preliminary results, the voter turnout was 69%, slightly more than in the January 17 first round that saw Yanukovych gain 35.32% of the vote and Tymoshenko 25.05%.

Andriy Mahera, a deputy head of the Central Election Commission, said earlier that preliminary results would be announced on Monday evening, but his colleague Mikhailo Okhedrovskiy said the results would be ready no earlier than February 10.

KIEV, February 8 (RIA Novosti)