Ukraine's highest court on Thursday blocked the inauguration of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich as president, and agreed to examine a complaint by his liberal challenger that the election had been rigged. The Supreme Court rejected the official publication of results that showed the Moscow-backed Yanukovich had beaten Viktor Yushchenko in a run-off election on Sunday. By its ruling, the Supreme Court gave a new lease of life to the drive by the West-leaning Yushchenko and the tens of thousands of his supporters on the streets to prove he was cheated out of the election. Yushchenko immediately hailed the ruling as a victory. "This is only the beginning. It is proof that it is society that always wins. It is small compensation for the suffering that we have endured," he told tens of thousands of supporters on Kiev's Independence Square to wild cheering. A Yushchenko ally, increasing the pressure, called for a blockade of Ukraine's government building and parliament. "The court ruling bars the Central Election Commission from officially publishing the results of the election and proceeding with any other action connected with this," the court said in a statement. --More 2335 Local Time 2035 GMT
