11/25/2004 The Ukrainian Supreme Court ruled today that election results would not be published as official until it considers an appeal filed by the opposition, which has claimed the vote was rigged.
Great power rivalries erupt over disputed election in Ukraine | Ukrainians show it's not what you do....

11/24/2004 A government committed troops to a war in Iraq under false pretenses. The party in power used its strength to pressure the media to toe the line. Many opposed to the war rallied behind an opposition candidate. Polls showed the opposition candidate ahead and on election day the exit polls confirmed the expected results. But, when the results came in, they didn't match the polls. Allegations were made of irregularities since the party in power was the very party that confirmed the election results and ran the election.

The November elections in the Ukraine and the US bore many similarities, but unlike the US, in Ukraine the opposition didnt take the results lying down. Thousands are now in the streets. There are calls for a general strike and many talk of civil war. Journalists in Ukraine have refused to present election programmes and walked out in disgust at "blatant" attempts to censor their coverage.

The first round of voting in the 2004 presidential election was held on October 31. Since no candidate held a 50 percent majority, another vote was held on November 21 to choose between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and former prime minister Viktor Yushchenko. Yanukovych was considered to be more pro-Russian, while Yushchenko was seen as a reformer interested in bringing Ukraine closer to the European Union and the US. In the November 21 runoff, Ukraine's electoral commission declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner with 49.42 percent of the votes compared to Yushchenko's 46.69 percent.
From Wikipedia: The election was held in a highly-charged atmosphere, with allegations of media bias, intimidation and even an alleged poisoning of Yushchenko (that resulted in him becoming severely disfigured). Many commentators saw the elections as being influenced by outside powers, notably the United States, the European Union and Russia, with the U.S. and EU backing Yushchenko (sending former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Senator John McCain to visit with Yushchenko), and Russian president Vladimir Putin publicly backing Yanukovych. In the media the two candidates are contrasted, with Yushchenko representing both the pro-Western Kiev residents as well as the rural Ukrainians, whereas Yanukovych represents the Eastern, pro-Russian industrial laborers.
Strangely, while the US backed Yushchenko against Yanukovych, it was Yanukovych's Party (under current President Leonid Kuchma) that committed troops to Iraq while Yushchenko has vowed to withdraw all US troops from Iraq if elected.
US rejects Ukraine poll result | Democracy Now | United States of Hypocrisy points finger at Vote Fraud in Ukraine | UK Guardian Ukraine Coverage | Havel backs opposition leader's stance