Ukrainian opposition leader and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko is having tests at a private Vienna hospital today to determine the cause of mysterious illness that has disfigured his face.
Arriving at the Rudolfinerhaus clinic, Mr Yushchenko said he would stay until Monday, unless the tests were finished before then.
Yushchenko, 50, first fell ill in September and was rushed to the Vienna hospital. He resumed campaigning later in the month but with a pockmarked and badly disfigured face.
He has accused Ukrainian authorities of trying to poison him ahead of Ukraine's presidential vote - an allegation they have denied.
Earlier this week, doctors said they were testing several theories as to what caused his ailment.
Dr. Michael Zimpfer, director of Rudolfinerhaus had said they were "investigating the hypothesis of poisoning. However, we have not found any indication that a chemical or biological substance has been employed. Also, we are following new threads, and (we have) included other labs to do more specific testing."
Yushchenko suffered from a series of symptoms, including back pain, acute pancreatitis and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face.
Doctors have only "a descriptive diagnosis" but no proof of what led to the ailments, Zimpfer said, adding they could have had internal causes, or have been sparked by a poison.
"It might also have been a combination of poisons. Everything is in the air," he said.
Ukraine's Supreme Court voided the outcome of the Nov. 21 presidential runoff election, which Yushchenko lost to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, following allegations of massive vote fraud. A rerun of the ballot is slated for Dec. 26.
Yushchenko told reporters in Vienna that he was confident of winning the election and that, in reality, he had already done so.
AP