KIEV, June 25 (RIA Nivosti) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Thursday that Viktor Yushchenko will not be re-elected as president even if she and her party supports him.
Ukraine's parliament has scheduled a presidential election for January 17. Yushchenko has announced plans to run for a second term despite single-figure ratings (currently 1.9%).
"The incumbent president has lost any chance of winning this election campaign, even if I were to support him," the UNIAN news agency quoted Tymoshenko as saying.
Former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych leads the opinion polls with above 25%. He was declared winner of the 2004 presidential election, but the result was overturned amid ballot rigging allegations following mass protests dubbed the "Orange Revolution". Yushchenko won the rerun of the vote.
Tymoshenko, Yushchenko's ally-turned-rival, is polling at over 16%. The premier's ratings have fallen due to her protracted dispute with the president, as many believe it has contributed to the country's current political and economic instability.
Tymoshenko said on Thursday that she had urged the president to unite efforts in coping with the economic crisis, but that he had refused to cooperate with her. She also said she was certain of her election victory in January.
Former parliamentary speaker and businessman Arseniy Yatsenyuk is the next closest rival with about 13%, according to recent surveys.
