Observers criticize Ukraine elections

KIEV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian president’s party will retain its strong grip on power, according to returns Monday from a parliamentary election that was criticized by Western observers as unfair and biased against the opposition.

The West was paying close attention to Sunday’s vote in the strategic ex-Soviet state of 46 million people, which lies between Russia and the European Union and serves as a key transit nation for Russian energy supplies to many EU countries.

Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called the vote a setback to Ukraine’s democratic and European aspirations.