like plait, Tymoshenko repeatedly urged demonstrators to form barricades and march on public buildings to denounce fraud in the original Nov. 21 run-off. Yanukovich was declared the winner of that vote, but the result was overturned by the Supreme Court. Appointed deputy prime minister in 2000, she was subsequently fired by the now outgoing President Leonid Kuchma. She is a controversial figure. Charges of forgery and smuggling gas were brought against her in connection with her activities at the head of a private gas trading firm in the mid-1990s and an arrest warrant has been issued for her in Russia. She has denounced the criminal probe as a witch-hunt. To be the prime minister, Tymoshenko would need approval from parliament where she has limited influence. Her bloc controls just 20 seats compared to about 100 by Yushchenko's Our Ukraine group. Analysts say other potential candidates for the job include close ally and businessman Petro Poroshenko, Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz and industrial lobbyist Anatoly Kinakh -- two of his closest allies in the final rounds of voting. --SP 2256 Local Time 1956 GMT
