KIEV - Exit polls from Ukraine's presidential election indicate opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych has narrowly won. Mr Yanukovych is given a lead of 3-6% over his opponent, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko lost in the first round.
If confirmed, it would be a remarkable comeback for Mr Yanukovych, who was swept aside five years ago by the peaceful "Orange Revolution".
Under him, Ukraine's foreign policy would probably be more pro-Russian.
The BBC's Richard Galpin in Kiev says a Yanukovych win would be an extraordinary indictment of the pro-Western Orange Revolution leaders' failure to deliver on their promises, which has left people deeply disillusioned.
Mr Yanukovych was a presidential candidate in the last election in 2004, which was found to have been rigged in his favour, sparking the Orange Revolution protests that swept him from power.
He secured 48.7% of the vote against Mrs Tymoshenko's 45.5%, according to the National Exit Poll.
Another exit poll, by ICTV, said he took 49.8%, against 45.2% for his rival.
An ally of Mrs Tymoshenko, Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Turchynov, said it was too early to declare a winner.
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.
Big lead
Mr Yanukovych won last month's first round of voting, finishing 10 percentage points ahead of Mrs Tymoshenko.
She has threatened to take her supporters to the streets if she was defeated, saying the protests could be larger than those of the Orange Revolution.
Sunday's vote came after a bitter mud-slinging campaign in which real policy issues and debate appeared to have been forgotten, says our correspondent.
On Saturday, Mrs Tymoshenko's political bloc accused Mr Yanukovych's Party of Regions of blocking her supporters from overseeing the vote in the eastern Donetsk region.
Mr Yanukovych's camp hit back with allegations that some supporters of the prime minister had been tampering with ballots in an attempt to get votes from eastern Ukraine disqualified.
Source: BBC
