Ukraine looks to be heading for political stalemate after Sunday's runoff presidential election. With over 95 percent of the votes counted, opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych appears to have won, but he has failed to achieve a convincing lead over his rival Yulia Tymoshenko. She may contest the result in court.

As Yulia Tymoshenko prepared to speak at a press conference in Kiev on Sunday evening, it had already become clear that she had not manage to achieve the majority she hoped for in Ukraine's presidential runoff election. Exit polls indicated that she trailed her rival Viktor Yanukovych by several percentage points.

Dressed in a brilliant white dress with a large shiny brooch, she strode energetically up to the podium, making her way through a throng of supporters and journalists. "I am convinced," she told the crowd, "that the majority of citizens have voted for a democratic, European and strong Ukraine."

On Sunday evening, Tymoshenko appeared to have received some 45 percent of the vote with Yanukovych coming in at around 49 percent. The remaining voters rejected both candidates. By Monday morning, Yanukovych's lead had shrunk. According to numbers posted on the Central Election Commission's Web site, Yanukovych had 48.23 percent of the vote against 46.14 for Tymoshenko. Just over 95 percent of the vote has been counted, but election officials told Reuters that Yanukovych would emerge the victor.

Ukrainian electoral law stipulates that a simple majority is all that is necessary in a runoff. But with the gap between the two candidates so narrow, Tymoshenko, currently the Ukrainian prime minister, has so far refused to acknowledge defeat. Indeed, she appears to be keeping open the possibility of challenging the election result in court over alleged fraud.