Partial results from Ukraine put pro-Moscow opposition¹ leader Viktor Yanukovych on course for a narrow win in the country's presidential election.

乌克兰总统选举部分统计结果显示，亲俄罗斯派反对党首领亚努科维奇险胜。

Viktor Yanukovych won last month's first round of voting

With more than half the votes counted Mr Yanukovych had a 4% lead over his rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

He has challenged Mrs Tymoshenko to quit, but she refused to concede（承认，退让） .

If confirmed, it would be a remarkable² comeback for Mr Yanukovych, who was swept aside（推到一边，不予理睬） five years ago by the peaceful "Orange Revolution".

Under the 59-year-old former mechanic（技工，机械师） , Ukraine's foreign policy is expected to become more pro-Russian.

'Full circle'

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Kiev says a Yanukovych win would be an extraordinary indictment³（控告，起诉书） of the pro-Western Orange Revolution leaders' failure to deliver on their promises, which has left people deeply disillusioned⁴（醒悟的，幻想破灭的） .

Politics in Ukraine has now gone full circle, our correspondent adds.

Mr Yanukovych was a presidential candidate in the last election in 2004, which was found to have been rigged（作弊） in his favour.

Mrs Tymoshenko's impassioned leadership of the subsequent（后来的，随后的） street protests that swept him from power - and thrust（推挤，插入） her to office, along with Viktor Yushchenko - made her an international celebrity⁵.

Incumbent⁶（现任的，依靠的） President Viktor Yushchenko lost in the first round of the election last month.

With more than 60% of votes counted, Ukraine's electoral commision put Mr Yanukovych ahead with 49.2% of the vote, ahead of Mrs Tymoshenko on 45.2%.

Earlier exit polls（民意调查） suggested the two candidates were even closer together.

If confirmed, it would be a narrower margin⁷ of victory than Mr Yanukovych had been hoping for.

Mr Yanukovych reportedly said it was time for his rival to quit.

"I think that Yulia Tymoshenko should prepare to resign. She understands that well," Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying in a television interview.

"In any case, I believe such a suggestion will be put to her."

But Mrs Tymoshenko, 49, showed no sign of standing⁸ down.

In a news conference, she said her team was conducting a "parallel count" and urged them to "fight for every result, every document, every vote", reports Reuters news agency.

The election commission is not due to release preliminary results until Monday morning, but our correspondent in Ukraine says exit polls there are generally accurate.