Communists, reformers and pro-presidential forces are jostling for the lead in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, which a top European observer has already branded "incompetent". With about half of the votes counted, the bloc led by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Victor Yushchenko, Our Ukraine, had taken a narrow lead with 21.9% of the vote. The Communists were a very close second, and the group supporting President Leonid Kuchma, For United Ukraine, had notched up about 15% of the vote - a much better score than anticipated.