Official: Ukrainian Election May Be Postponed Due To Swine Flu

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is considering postponing the country's presidential election scheduled for January due to the spread of swine flu in the country.

The deputy head of Yushchenko's secretariat, Ihor Popov, made the announcement on November 6, saying "if the government fails to control the situation" with the flu epidemic the poll could be pushed back until the end of May.

Health officials in Ukraine said that 109 people have died from the flu epidemic, though only 14 of those were confirmed to have contacted swine flu.

Nationwide, some 763,000 people are reported ill with flu and respiratory infections.

compiled from agency reports