Tymoshenko drops case against presidential poll defeat

AFP - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Saturday unexpectedly withdrew a complaint over her rival's presidential election victory as a top court reconvened to hear her challenge.

"We are withdrawing our suit," Tymoshenko told the court, saying she didn't see any "sense" in further proceedings.

The fiery premier presented the court with nine volumes of evidence as proceedings began Friday, seeking to repeat the success of 2004 when courts overturned Viktor Yanukovych's victory and ordered a new poll which he lost.

But on Saturday she said she had lost confidence in the supreme administrative court and was dropping her challenge.

"We do not see sense in further proceedings in the case," Tymoshenko told the court.

"It has become obvious that it is not a court and it is not justice," she told reporters afterwards.

Tymoshenko's unexpected backdown is the latest twist in her tortuous struggle to hold on to power after Yanukovych's Regions Party launched an official motion to throw her out.

More than a thousand of Tymoshenko's sympathisers had gathered outside the courtroom in Kiev Saturday to support her bid to force Yanukovych into a third round.

Several hundred people came to support Yanukovych, their slogans calling on the premier to concede defeat.

"Yulia, enough hysterics! Respect the choice of the people," read white letters on a blue tent outside the court building, blue and white being the colors of Yanukovych's Regions Party.

The court had ruled that final election results be suspended while it hears Tymoshenko's case.

Viktor Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko by around 3.5 percent or just under 890,000 votes, according to the final official results.