Thousands of people protested throughout the night and into Saturday morning in Kiev against alleged election fraud. Parliament was scheduled to hold a special session on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Ukraine, which has seen week-long protests following the elections, which observers said failed to meet international standards. The opposition said a large group of protesters would march to the parliamentary building before the start of the special session. Opposition leader and presidential contender Viktor Yuschenko on Friday called for new elections. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich's apparent victory has been questioned by the West amid allegations of wide-spread electoral fraud. Signalling a breakthrough in Ukraine's tense political standoff, outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma announced Friday in Kiev that a special task force would be formed to seek a solution to the crisis over alleged election fraud.
