OSCE: Ukraine election marks "step backwards"

KIEV - Ukraine's parliamentary election on Sunday was marred by the ruling Party of the Regions using state resources and facilities for campaigning and by a lack of transparency over how parties were financed, an international monitoring team said on Monday.The election, in which President Viktor Yanukovich's Regions seems likely to have secured a majority, was also characterized by media coverage weighted in favour of the ruling party, a mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said."The 28 October parliamentary elections were characterized by the lack of a level playing field caused primarily by the abuse of administrative resources, lack of transparency of campaign and party financing and lack of balanced media coverage," the OSCE mission said in a report.