PRESIDENT Yeltsin held a slim lead of three per cent over his communist rival, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, with one third of the votes counted in Russia's presidential election. But he was well short of the 50 per cent needed to be returned to office.
A second round of voting, between the two rivals, will take place next month. Then the supporters of nationalist General Alexander Lebed are likely to play a decisive role.
Mr Yeltsin's vote was running at 34.4 per cent with Mr Zyuganov on 31.4. General Lebed was a stronger than expected third on 14.5. Even while votes were being counted the president's aides were talking about a possible Yeltsin Lebed coalition government.
A senior member of the Yeltsin team, Mr Alexander Shokhin, said: "Yeltsin and Lebed have a lot in common and a coalition between them is quite realistic."
Gen Lebed has also had talks with Mr Zyuganov, and on Russian television last night he refused to reveal how he would ask his supporters to vote in the second round.
"Tomorrow I will go to work. I will contemplate," he said.
But Mr Yeltsin will need further help as the total of his votes and Gen Lebed's still do not make up 50 per cent.
A huge pro Yeltsin vote was expected from Moscow and St Petersburg. Mr Yeltsin was expected to get over 60 per cent of the capital's six million voters but this could be offset by the results from the "Red Belt" of central, southern and western Russia, which had yet to be counted.
A senior communist, Mr Valentin Kuptsev, said on TV: "We are pinning our hopes on the Red Belt."
The results took on a strong regional character from an early stage, with Mr Yeltsin getting strong support in Eastern Siberia and his home region of the Urals, and the Communists in the industrial areas of Southern Siberia.
Previous forecasts of falsified results vapourised quickly as the returns came in. Quite surprisingly Mr Zyuganov announced: "The elections are so far going on successfully and satisfactorily . . . there are no serious irregularities."
Only Gen Lebed spoke of vote rigging. He was sure he had won 70 per cent in the armed forces but this had been falsified to only 15 per cent, he said. But he too called for no unrest saying: "It is to dangerous to try and alter the results with a Kalashnikov."
Although he must be considered favourite is win the second round, Mr Yeltsin's vote was less than expected, given his virtual monopoly of TV coverage.
Other candidates failed to make a serious impression. The liberal Mr Grigory Yavlinsky was on 8.5 per cent, the flamboyant rightwinger Mr Vladimir Zhirinovsky on 7.23 per cent, and former Soviet President Mr Mikhail Gorbachev on 0.6 per cent.
See also page 13
