The Ukrainian opposition Party of Regions led by Viktor Yanukovych was "surprised" by a claim of a Georgian female journalist who said she had been beaten by Yanukovych`s bodyguards while trying to ask him a question, a party spokeswoman said on Monday. The Georgian journalist claimed she was beaten on Monday while trying to approach Yanukovych, the leading candidate in the Ukrainian presidential race, to ask him a question during a briefing which followed the closure of polling stations. A statement was published by the press center of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT). "We were surprised by the claim of the journalist who was not accredited in Yanukovych`s press center," Anna Herman said in a statement. "We have received no official request for an exclusive interview for the Georgian journalist, and Viktor Yanukovych did not meet with her. The claim by the BYuT`s press center about the alleged beating of the Georgian journalist in Yanukovych`s press center is a failed provocation attempt," she said. Witnesses said Yanukovych`s bodyguards just pushed the journalist aside from him. Yanukovych is leading with 36.38% of the vote in the Sunday`s election, after 60% of the ballots have been counted. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko trails with 24.41% and ex-National Bank head Serhiy Tyhypko is third, with 13.22%