International monitors hailed Ukraine's presidential election as transparent and honest, bolstering opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych's claim of victory and leaving Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a strategic bind.

Tymoshenko, who was the charismatic catalyst of the 2004 Orange Revolution mass protests, had said she would call supporters into the streets if she deemed Sunday's election fraudulent. But although she has signalled she will challenge the outcome in the courts, she issued no protest call yesterday and cancelled two planned news conferences as she apparently weighed her options.

International observers' criticism of the 2004 presidential election lent significant weight to the Orange protests, which ended with a court- ordered revote in which Yanukovych was defeated by Viktor Yushchenko. This time, the observers' imprimatur could undermine any call for protest.

Yanukovych had a lead of 3.2 percentage points, with 99.44 of the ballots counted. When all the votes have been counted, the Central Elections Commission will release the preliminary tally.

A Yanukovych victory would close a chapter in the country's political history by ousting the pro-Western leadership of the past five years, which foundered due to internal divisions, fierce opposition from Russian- speaking eastern Ukraine and the collapse of the economy.