KIEV, Nov. 4 – Ukraine’s three opposition parties on Sunday called on their supporters to join a massive rally in front of the Central Election Commission on Monday in protest of alleged sweeping election fraud.

The parties also pledged to decide within days on any further protest steps, up to potentially canceling their participation at the elections, unless their demands are met.

The parties reacted to the use of police force at an election commission and controversial court rulings in some majority districts that had resulted in opposition candidates losing elections to pro-government candidates.

“Today the authorities are blatantly falsifying elections in constituencies where opposition candidates win,” the Front for Changes, a member of Batkivshchyna party, said in a statement. “To fake the election results they cancel ballots cast by tens of thousands of people, destroy election records and if people come to defend their votes [the government] throws criminal elements and assault troops against them.”

“The government is knocking out with blood the results it needs,” the party said.

The liberal Udar party and the nationalist Svoboda party, both opposing policies of President Viktor Yanukovych, have also called on their supporters to join the rally.

“We will demand the Central Election Commission to not declare official election results at constituencies where elections have been falsified,” Oleh Tiahnybok, the leader of Svoboda, said. “The parties have the proof of the falsifications.”

Anatoliy Hrytsenko, a senior opposition figure and a former defense minister, said the parties will decide within days on whether to cancel their participation in the elections.

“Urgently, tomorrow or maximum on Tuesday, to hold a Batkivshchyna meeting to cancel party-list and to withdraw candidates from majority districts,” Hrytsenko said Sunday. “We won’t enter Parliament in conditions like that!”

Batkivshchyna’s leaders Arseniy Yatseniuk and Oleksandr Turchynov backed the idea, Hrytsenko said, while Udar and Svoboda said they may join the measure.

The parties accused the authorities for brutal use police force at an election commission in the district No. 132 in Pervomaysk, the Mykolayiv region. The commission earlier changed results to award victory to Vitaliy Travianko, a pro-government candidate.

The controversial court ruling in the Kiev region on Sunday has ordered to cancel ballots cast at 28 polling stations in the district No. 94 de-facto awarding a narrow victory to Tetiana Zasukha, a pro-government candidate.

The developments underscore serious problems with ballot counting at some 15 majority districts across Ukraine that have been plagued from the start with slow ballot counting.

As a result of continuous delays and repeated ballot re-counting, opposition candidates have seen their election results dwindle with pro-government candidates suddenly taking the lead.

In addition to 15 districts with slow ballot counting, there are 35 districts that had been probably manipulated to award victories to pro-government candidates, according to Spilna Sprava, a democracy and election watchdog, which had monitored ballot counting and submission.

At least 225 lawmakers are to be elected in 225 majority districts, while another 225 are to be elected by party-list vote.

Yanukovych’s Regions Party may eventually control 187 lawmakers in the 450-seat Parliament, according to data provided by the Central Election Commission after counting 99.9% of ballots.

Batkivshchyna may control 103 lawmakers, followed by Udar’s 40, Svoboda’s 37 and Communist Party’s 32. There may be 50 independent lawmakers elected to Parliament that will most likely cooperate the ruling Regions Party, analysts said. (tl/ez)