Go to Fruit and Votes where Matthew gets to the root of things with the Oranges. His analysis makes everything Apples to Apples.
“As the final 39% of votes were counted, Yanukovych’s grew by just under 10% (not percentage points!), Yushchenko’s and the Socialists’ declined by just over 11%, but Tymoshenko’s barely changed at all (-1.6%). That her share stayed largely constant even as later votes counted were more likely to be from the east suggests she is much more of a bridge between east and west Ukraine than her image outside the country as the more radical leader would imply. She is, after all, from the east (specifically, Dnipropetrovsk, where Yanukovych won over 60% of the vote, even in the “clean” final round of the 2004 election).”
There it is – Yanukovych is the big loser, the Oranges have advanced in the east (and don’t forget there is no coalition without Yushchenko).
UPDATE: Dissent noted in Yanukovych ranks.
