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Ukraine's Parliament Adjourns Without No-Confidence Motion

30 November 2004 -- Ukraine's parliament ended its session today without adopting a motion of no-confidence in the government as proposed by opposition deputies led by presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko.

Ukraine has been in political turmoil since the 21 November presidential runoff that saw Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych declared the winner and sparked protests involving tens of thousands of opposition supporters who felt the election was rigged.

Yushchenko supporters broke through a fence surrounding parliament during today's debate during an emergency session, chanting "Yushchenko! Yushchenko!" before they were forced back.

Much To Resolve

Parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said debate on the no-confidence motion will resume tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Anatoliy Bliznyuk, said today there will be no referendum on autonomy on 5 December, as had been reported.

Bliznyuk said a referendum will still be held but at a later date.

The Supreme Court also resumed hearings today on opposition complaints that the election results were rigged in Yanukovych's favor. Under Ukrainian law, the court cannot rule on the overall result but can declare results invalid in individual districts.

That decision is expected sometime in the next several days.

Yesterday, outgoing President Leonid Kuchma suggested that a new election could be held to defuse the crisis.

Ukraine's central bank announced today that it is forbidding commercial banks to make early deposit withdrawals and it set limits on cash and noncash foreign-currency transactions to preserve stability during the country's current political crisis.

EU And Russian Moves

Fears that Ukraine could split have spurred diplomatic efforts.

EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana will return to Ukraine to try to help mediate the situation. Solana was in Kyiv on 26 November.

Much of the international community -- including the United States and the European Union -- has expressed similar doubts about the fairness of the election.

Russian State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov predicted today that Ukraine is headed for breakup or bloodshed over the disputed presidential election. Gryzlov last week took part in attempts to mediate between pro-Russian Yanukovych and the West-leaning Yushchenko.

(AP/Reuters/AFP)

Copyright (c) 2004. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org