KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's reunited Orange Revolution allies and the incumbent prime minister both declared victory Monday in early parliamentary elections, dimming hopes for an end to months of political turmoil.
The parties led by President Viktor Yushchenko and charismatic opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko held a strong combined lead and put forward plans for forming a new Cabinet. But Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, whom they want to unseat, also claimed to have won.
The uncertainty dimmed hopes for an Orange alliance that would steer the country more firmly toward the West, and the nation could see a replay of the political turmoil Yushchenko sought to end by calling the early vote.
With just over 93 percent of the ballots counted, Yanukovych's Party of Regions led with 34 percent, while Tymoshenko's bloc followed with just under 31 percent and Yushchenko's party had 14.3 percent.
A handful of seats could go to three minor parties that did unexpectedly well. Two seemed likely to unite with Yanukovych, although one, the Socialist Party, was only on the brink of the 3 percent threshold needed to get into parliament. The third, whose leanings were less clear, could emerge as a kingmaker by joining either Orange or Yanukovych in a fragile coalition.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the United States hoped the "election will result in a government in Ukraine that can be effective and can serve the needs of the people, and we stand ready to work with whatever government results from these elections."
Tymoshenko was quick to celebrate her victory overnight, vowing to hold her next news conference on behalf of the Cabinet. But she stayed out of the public eye Monday as the vote count showed that Yanukovych could potentially rival the Orange team if he lures the smaller parties over to his side.
Yanukovych said the Orange were too quick to claim victory and that the election gave him "carte blanche" to stay at the helm.
"We won and I am convinced that we will again form a government of national trust and unity," he told several thousand supporters who gathered at Kiev's Independence Square, the center of the Orange Revolution protests three years ago.
He added that he was ready to share some power with other parties.
Voting results from Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions, where Yanukovych traditionally draws his support, were trickling in slowly, prompting the Orange camp to suspect fraud.
Yushchenko on Monday ordered an investigation into the vote count, warning that "those forces who aspire to get into parliament with the help of machinations" will be punished.
After a fraudulent presidential election in 2004 won by Yanukovych, Yushchenko -- his face disfigured by dioxin poisoning linked to his opponents -- and Tymoshenko inspired thousands of protesters to brave the bitter winter cold in Kiev's main square in protest.
Yushchenko won a court-ordered rerun and named Tymoshenko his prime minister, replacing Yanukovych, the prime minister who had been the Kremlin-backed candidate.
But the one-time comrades fell out quickly and Yushchenko fired Tymoshenko after just seven months. The infighting opened the way for Yanukovych to return as prime minister last year.
Yanukovych also has hinted his party could protest against a fraudulent vote -- an ironic role reversal from 2004. But an influential international democracy group's observers undermined that possibility with a largely favorable assessment of Sunday's vote.
The election was conducted "mostly in line with international commitments and standards for democratic elections," the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's observer mission said in a statement.
