10 March 2010 / REUTERS, KIEV
Ukraine’s parliament loosened rules on the formation of coalitions on Tuesday, boosting new President Viktor Yanukovich’s chances of securing the government he wants without resorting to a snap parliamentary vote.
The amendment, passed with 235 votes in the 450-seat assembly, opens the door for Yanukovich’s Regions Party to poach individual members of former president Viktor Yushchenko’s loose Our Ukraine alliance. Under previous rules, deputies could only join a coalition if a majority of their party voted to join as a whole faction. The change should allow Yanukovich’s party to secure the parliamentary majority it needs to form a new government, allowing it to move more swiftly to tackle Ukraine’s deep economic problems. Allies of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was ousted last week after losing a bitterly fought presidential runoff to Yanukovich in February, condemned the move. “We call this a constitutional coup d’etat,” said Tymoshenko lawmaker Ivan Kyrylenko, and urged Yanukovich either to seek a “real coalition” or call a snap parliamentary election. Yanukovich’s victory is expected to tilt the ex-Soviet republic -- split between a Russian-leaning south and east and a Western-friendly west and center -- back towards Moscow after five years of fractious pro-Western rule following the Orange Revolution.
