Ukraine's Central Election Commission on Sunday officially declared Viktor Yanukovich winner of the 2010 presidential election.

The commission confirmed results of the Feb. 7 runoff vote that showed 59-year-old Yanukovich had beaten Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by 3.48 percentage points.

"The Central Election Commission declares Viktor Fedorovich Yanukovich elected president of Ukraine", said commission president Volodymyr Shapoval.

Tymoshenko said on Saturday she had "proof" of cheating by the Yanukovich camp in the runoff and vowed to contest his victory in court. "Whatever happens in future, he will never become the legitimately-elected president of Ukraine," she said in a televised broadcast.

Analysts expect the court to take several days to consider the evidence presented.

The Commission's declaration followed endorsement of the election by international monitors who hailed the runoff vote an "impressive display" of democracy.

World leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, have congratulated Yanukovich as well as the European Union and NATO.

But Tymoshenko has pressed ahead with her challenge to the result, ignoring Western support for her rival.

She promised, however, not to call people out in mass streets protests like those of the Orange Revolution, when she helped lead a successful challenge to Yanukovich's election vicotry in 2004 and had it overturned as fraudulent.

Reuters