KIEV — Ukraine’s ruling coalition collapsed on Tuesday as newly elected President Viktor Yanukovych moved to oust Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and consolidate power.
Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said leaders of parliamentary factions had met and the coalition partners had failed to submit enough signatures to demonstrate that they maintained a majority.
“In line with the Constitution of Ukraine … I announce that the coalition in parliament has ceased its activity,” Lytvyn told the parliament.
Tymoshenko remains in office but faces a vote of no confidence in her government on Wednesday.
Tymoshenko, who has refused to recognize Yanukovich’s election victory, lashed out at her former allies in the parliament, telling reporters: “Today they destroyed the last bastion, the last barricade defending our Ukraine.”
A formal announcement of the collapse of the coalition and a motion of no confidence in the government have to occur for Yanukovych’s supporters to begin the difficult process of creating a new government.
The collapse of the coalition indicates that the no-confidence vote will pass if coalition members who refused to submit their signatures vote with Yanukovych loyalists.
Weeks of horse-trading are expected as Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions works to form its own coalition and, later, a new government. The various parliamentary factions have 30 days to form the new coalition and 60 days to form a new government.
If this proves impossible, Yanukovych has the right to call a new parliamentary election — a scenario feared by investors because it would prolong uncertainty for months as Ukraine continues to struggle without foreign lending.
If Wednesday’s vote passes, Tymoshenko would be expected to stay on as acting prime minister until a replacement is voted in. But there were signs Tuesday that she might not stick around to do the job, spelling further uncertainty for the country.
Asked if she would quit her office if the vote passes, Tymoshenko replied: “Absolutely. If the government is dismissed, all responsibilities will immediately be laid on Yanukovych.”
Yanukovych has named three likely candidates for prime minister: reformist former Central Bank chief Sergei Tigipko, former Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Russian-born former Finance Minister Mykola Azarov, a close ally of Yanukovych.
To form a coalition, the Party of the Regions effectively has to poach dozens of deputies from the Our Ukraine faction, an alliance of a myriad of parties once grouped around former President Viktor Yushchenko and part of the outgoing coalition.
“To dismiss Tymoshenko tomorrow is not a problem,” said analyst Mikhail Pogrebinski, “but as for a coalition — that’s not clear.”
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov presented his credentials on Wednesday to Yanukovych, renewing diplomatic relations between the two countries for the first time since August 2009, when the Kremlin declined to send an ambassador to Kiev until Yushchenko was out of office.
Yushchenko’s efforts to take Ukraine out of Russia’s orbit and join NATO and the European Union infuriated the Kremlin. Yanukovych plans to visit Moscow on Friday.
“Allow me to express my respect for the Ukrainian people and wish you success in your role as president,” Zurabov told Yanukovych during a televised ceremony.
(Reuters, AP)