KIEV, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Petro Poroshenko's Bloc is maintaining a narrow lead in Ukraine's parliamentary elections gaining 21.97 percent of the votes with five percent of the ballots on party lists counted, the Central Election Commission said Monday.
According to latest CEC data, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk's People's Front is a close runner up with 21.74 percent of the votes.
Oleh Lyashko's nationalist Radical Party is third with 8.97 percent, the CEC said.
Other parties that are passing the five-percent election threshold include the Opposition Bloc with 8.83 percent of the ballot, Samopomich (Self-Help) party headed by mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovy with 8.09 percent and Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party led by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko with 6.86 percent.
President Petro Poroshenko dissolved the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada in August and ordered snap general elections to ensure a pro-Europe majority in the parliament while clearing out lawmakers loyal to ex-leader Viktor Yanukovych.
Only 423 Rada lawmakers are expected to be elected, according to the CEC, which has ruled out any voting in 12 districts of Crimea as well as 15 districts in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The Petro Poroshenko Bloc is a liberal-conservative party, aimed mainly at helping the Ukrainian President implement his election promises, such as furthering Ukraine's aim to become a member of the European Union, enhancing social protection, ending corruption and establishing energy independence.
The party's current election program is called "Strategy 2020" and aims to implement 60 reforms and special programs that will make Ukraine eligible to apply for EU membership within six years.
Ukraine's People's Front Party led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Oleksandr Turchynov, also stands for Ukraine's integration into the European Union, in particular, the establishment of a visa-free travel regime between Ukraine and the European Union. In addition, the party calls for economic, fiscal, judicial, and prosecution reforms.
Oleh Lyashko's Radical Party is a Ukrainian pro-European radical democratic party.
The party's platform is focused on creating "a society of equal opportunity and universal welfare" with Lyashko calling for fighting corruption, political and economic reforms, and imposing a ban on land sales.
The Opposition Bloc party advocates closer ties with Russia. According to the party's Resolution, the Opposition block demands a thorough investigation into the war crimes committed in an armed conflict between the Kiev forces and the independence supporters of southeastern Ukraine. The party also calls for reimbursements for victims of military actions and for social protection of the Ukrainian refugees.
Samopomich (Self-Help) party, headed by the mayor of Lviv Andriy Sadovy describes its ideology as "Christian morality and common sense."
The All-Ukrainian Union Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) political party led by Yulia Tymoshenko is a liberal conservative movement, focused on "European values". Batkivshchyna's election program is based on criticizing the president's policy and his peace plan to settle the conflict in the country's east. Tymoshenko is calling on Kiev to take more decisive steps in the Donbas, in particular, to win at any cost.
