KIEV, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's president said on Monday that presidential polls scheduled for the New Year will be carried out in an open and democratic manner, the country's UNIAN news agency said.

The ex-Soviet state, long engulfed in political crisis and hit hard by the global economic slump, is due to hold presidential elections on January 17.

"As president, I guarantee that the voting will be free, fair and legitimate," Viktor Yushchenko said in a speech in the capital, Kiev on Ukraine's Independence Day.

Yushchenko is polling in the single digits ahead of the polls.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her predecessor Viktor Yanukovych, who now heads the opposition Party of Regions, lead the opinion polls. Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvin is also set to run.

The Ukrainian leader also announced on Monday the holding of a referendum on his draft Constitution.

"I would like to announce that I will sign a decree to hold a national referendum on a draft Constitution," Yushchenko said in his official speech.

In the spring 2009, the president submitted the draft to parliament, where it was severely criticized.