Canada said on Tuesday there had been "serious problems" with the first round of Ukraine's presidential election over the weekend and urged Kiev to ensure that the second round was trouble-free. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union complained of media bias and voters being turned away from polling stations after being left off lists. "The Ukrainian authorities should ensure that the serious problems encountered in the first round of (voting) should be resolved by the time the second round is held," Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew told Parliament. A run-off race will be held later this month to determine a winner between Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and liberal challenger Viktor Yushchenko. Both men received just over 39 percent in Sunday's vote. There are more than a million Canadians of ethnic Ukrainian origin in Canada -- around three percent of the overall population -- and Ottawa pays close attention to events in the former Soviet republic. Ukrainian authorities reprimanded Canada's ambassador to Kiev in September after he said he feared the election could be marred by irregularities.
