Exit polls suggest that the French president's centre-right party has been resoundingly beaten by the opposition Socialists in regional polls.

Voters cast their ballots on Sunday in the first round of elections seen as an indicator of Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity.

Polling agency TNS-Sofres projected that the Socialists and other leftist parties would win 53 per cent of the vote against 40 per cent for Sarkozy's UMP and other parties on the right.

MOSCOW, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine will seek to establish a gas consortium with Russia and the European Union, Viktor Yanukovych, who won the country's presidential polls, told a Russian TV on Saturday.

  Presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich makes a statement for the results of exit polls after the second round of Presidential elections in his headquarters in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, on Feb. 7, 2010. (Xinhua/Mu Liming)

KIEV, Ukraine - The opposition leader Viktor F. Yanukovich declared victory on Sunday in presidential elections in Ukraine, claiming what appeared to be an unlikely comeback from his humiliating defeat in the 2004 Orange Revolution, when he was shunned as a bumbling Kremlin sidekick.

But his Orange opponent, Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, who has a reputation as a fierce political combatant, refused to concede and urged her supporters to wait for the final vote count, which was not expected until later on Monday. Six exit polls by Ukrainian television stations and other agencies found that Mr. Yanukovich was in front by 3 to 6 percentage points.

Kiev - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was ahead in Ukraine's presidential poll count early Monday, holding a 2.6 per cent margin of victory over his opponent with most ballots counted. The pro-Russia politician received 48.4 of ballots cast in the Sunday vote, while his opponent Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a populist politician, obtained 45.6 per cent of ballots cast, according to official data released by Ukraine's Central Election Committee (CEC).

Ukraine is in political turmoil. The man whose side was accused of rigging the vote which triggered the 2004 Orange Revolution, Viktor Yanukovych, is claiming victory in the presidential election.

Exit polls put him narrowly ahead of his rival - the prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.

But she refuses to accept defeat and has urged her supporters to fight for every ballot.

READ MORE: Yanukovych heading to Ukraine win

kiev, ukraine - pro-russian opposition leader viktor yanukovych declared victory in ukraine's presidential runoff but his opponent rejected the claim, saying the vote was too close to call. exit polls showed yanukovych - the main foe of protesters

kiev, ukraine -- pro-russian opposition leader viktor yanukovych declared victory early monday in ukraine's presidential runoff but his opponent rejected the claim, saying the vote was too close to call. exit polls showed yanukovych - the main foe

kyiv, ukraine - exit polls showed pro-russian candidate viktor yanukovych with a narrow lead in ukraine's presidential runoff, a result that would close the book on ukraine's pro-western orange revolution but raise the risk of postelection unrest

kiev, ukraine -- exit polls showed pro-russian opposition leader viktor yanukovych with a narrow lead sunday in ukraine's presidential runoff - a result that could restore much of moscow's influence in a country that has labored to build bridges

viktor yanukovych won last month's first round of voting exit polls from ukraine's presidential election indicate opposition leader viktor yanukovych has narrowly won. mr yanukovych is given a lead of 3-5% over prime minister yulia tymoshenko

Ukrainian voters go to the polls to choose between Yulia Tymoshenko, the prime minister, and Viktor Yanukovich, the opposition leader, in a close presidential runoff that could yet disappoint hopes of a swift return to stability.

Polling stations open at 8am (06:00 GMT) on Sunday and the first exit polls are expected shortly after the end of the vote at 8pm (18:00 GMT).

Many commentators predict a narrow victory by opposition leader Yanukovich, but Tymoshenko, the prime minister, is threatening to summon protesters in a replay of the 2004 "Orange Revolution" if she deems the second-round election unfair.

Kiev - Former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych led in Sunday's Ukrainian presidential election by a solid margin, but not enough to win outright, according to almost-completed ballot counts made public Monday. The pro-business politician had received 35.3 per cent of ballots cast, after more than 90 per cent of ballots cast had been counted by Central Election Committee (CEC) officials.

The result was roughly in line with exit polls made public on Sunday evening.

KIEV, Ukraine -Results from the Ukrainian election commission Monday showed gruff opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych and glamorous Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on course to face off in next month's final round of presidential elections.

With about 82.5 percent of ballots from Sunday's vote counted, Yanukovych had some 35.7 percent while Tymoshenko was second with 24.8 percent. The 16 other candidates trailed behind.

Reporting from Kiev, Ukraine - Viktor Yanukovich, the former mechanic ousted by popular revolt just five years ago, salvaged himself to claim top place among contenders for the Ukraine presidency Sunday, exit polls indicated.

His longtime rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, will be a close second, the survey predicted. The exit poll results, if borne out by the slow counting of ballots, mean that they will battle for the presidency in a runoff vote next month.

KIEV, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine's next president after a second round of voting is likely to be Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a close ally of hers said on Sunday.

Exit polls after the first round of voting showed Tymoshenko between 4-10 percent behind opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich in the first round of voting for a new president in the former Soviet republic.

"The main conclusion (from the exit poll results) -- is that despite the small victory of our opponent in the first round, our next president will be Yulia Tymoshenko...," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksander Turchynov said.

* Exit polls show Socialists winning Greek vote

* Voters punishing conservatives for scandals, economy

(Adds exit poll results)

ATHENS, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Greece's opposition Socialists ledin Sunday's election with 42.5 percent of the vote, enough toform a government and oust conservatives who angered voters forfailing to tackle graft and the economy, an exit poll showed.

The socialist PASOK was on track to win an absolute majorityin parliament at a time when the Mediterranean country, seen asthe euro zone's weakest link, needs a strong government to dealwith an economy on the verge of recession.

Yukio Hatoyama's victory had a positive effect on the markets

Japan's next leader, Yukio Hatoyama, is beginning a transition to power after winning a landmark general election.

Exit polls show his Democratic Party of Japan overwhelmingly defeated the Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed almost unbroken since 1955.

Media forecasts give the DPJ 308 of the 480 seats in the lower house to the LDP's 119, almost an exact reversal of their previous standing.

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appeared headed for a modest victory in European elections on Sunday, defying Italy's deep recession and scandals about his love life to tighten his grip on power, exit polls showed.

Geert Wilders says he will not take up his seat if elected as an MEP

A right-wing Dutch lawmaker's party has made big gains in European Parliament elections, exit polls suggest.

They say Geert Wilders' Freedom party will win four of the 25 Dutch seats in the parliament, just one behind the country's Christian Democrats.