A court in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Tuesday banned supporters of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych's supporters from holding rallies at the central square, the venue of Orange Revolution in 2004, before and after the runoff vote slated for Sunday.

Tymoshenko and Yanukovych are certain to face a close race in the runoff. In 2004, massive protests at the square were launched after fraudulent presidential polls. The resulting demonstrations helped Tymoshenko and her then ally Viktor Yushchenko to force a rerun of the vote, in which Yanukovych had been announced the winner.

The Kiev district court ruled that the Tymoshenko bloc and the youth wing of Yanukovych's party will not be allowed to hold rallies at Independence Square, known as Maidan Nezalezhnosti, from February 1 to March 1.

Experts say that several days before the runoff vote, the winner is impossible to predict. The rivals have accused each other of seeking to rig the vote and promised massive protests after the election if either loses.

Yanukovych enjoys support of mainly Russian-speaking eastern regions. He won the first round of Ukraine's presidential elections on January 17 with 35% of vote against 25% by Tymoshenko.

Both Yanukovych, who was openly backed by Moscow in the 2004 vote, and Tymoshenko, who has worked with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resolve the bitter gas disputes of the past year, have pledged to improve ties with Russia.

KIEV, February 2 (RIA Novosti)