Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich Saturday urged
renewed talks with President Viktor Yushchenko to end the nation's
ongoing political crisis.
Yushchenko announced a new decree on Wednesday, which postpones
the May 27 elections to June 24.
Yanukovich told a press conference that this new decree has
undermined talks launched after the first decree in early April. He
demanded an immediate end to "pressure" which he alleged to have
been exerted on courts, election officials and the security
forces.
In Wednesday's televised speech, Yushchenko said that it was
impossible to hold parliamentary elections in May as first
proposed, since the Central Election Commission could not operate
normally due to insufficient staff.
"If we sit down and come to the conclusion that elections are
truly necessary, then such a decision will be taken," Yanukovich
said.
Later on Saturday, Yushchenko said that Ukraine will hold early
parliamentary elections with no conditions, to establish an honest,
constitutional and legal government.
Yushchenko made the remarks at a rally in a central Kiev square,
which drew together tens of thousands of his supporters.
The president said the only way to resolve Ukraine's current
political crisis is to hold early parliamentary elections on an
honest and democratic basis, which will help the country restore
political order and eliminate corruption.
Yushchenko said he will soon announce decisions that will
guarantee the elections take place "in a calm and appropriate
manner." But the president did not say what measures he will
take.
Yushchenko also said that the constitution should be revised and
brought to voters for approval in a referendum.
Yushchenko issued an order on April 2 to dissolve parliament and
hold early elections on May 27. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich
and his ruling coalition in the parliament defied the order and
appealed to the 18-judge Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday opened a hearing on the
legality of the president's order, but due to the wide divergence
between the two opposing camps the court found it hard to deliver a
prompt ruling, said Chief Judge Ivan Dombrovsky.
The current political turmoil in Ukraine emerged last month when
11 lawmakers from pro-presidential factions defected to Prime
Minister Yanukovich's ruling coalition, moving it closer to a
300-seat, veto-proof majority in the parliament that could allow
Yanukovich's allies to change the Constitution.
Yushchenko called the defection illegal, saying the law permits
only blocs, not individual lawmakers, to switch sides.
Both sides have agreed to abide by whatever the court rules.
(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2007)
