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Ukrainian Legislature Votes 'No Confidence' In Government

1 December 2004 -- The Ukrainian parliament passed a motion of no confidence today in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych that was put forward by the opposition, which is bitterly contesting the official results of the recent presidential vote through street demonstrations and legal challenges.

The enforceability of today's parliamentary vote is unclear, since under the Ukrainian Constitution the power to dismiss the government also lies with the president.

Moreover, the legislature may not dismiss the prime minister within one year of its approval of a government program, a step that the Verkhovna Rada took in March. The parliament in a separate vote today annulled its March resolution on approving the government's program, but that move would likely face legal challenges if invoked to unseat Yanukovych.

But the no-confidence measure delivers a strong political message as the two sides continue to disagree.

Deputies in the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted in favor of sacking Yanukovych's government and forming a "government of national trust."

The motion was supported by 229 deputies, three more than required.

Today's vote came minutes after deputies initially rejected the motion and after outgoing President Leonid Kuchma announced that he supports holding a new presidential election, not just a new ballot for the disputed second-round runoff of 21 November.

Efforts At Mediation

EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Secretary-General Jan Kubis, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus were expected to participate in talks today in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

They hope to bring together supporters of both Prime Minister Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, one day after the opposition said it was breaking off negotiations and resuming its blockade of government buildings.

In talks on 26 November, the mediators persuaded Yanukovych, the declared winner of the 21 November poll, and Yushchenko to seek to resolve their dispute through talks. The opposition pulled out of those talks yesterday after they failed to make any headway.

Tensions Still High

Demonstrators have meanwhile surrounded and virtually blockaded the offices of parliament, the government, and the president in the capital today, according to RFE/RL's Kyiv bureau.

The regional assembly in Yanukovych's home region of Donetsk also voted today to hold a referendum on 9 January to seek autonomy from the central government, heightening fears that the crisis could ignite historical east-west divisions in the country.

Opposition supporters stormed into the parliament building yesterday shortly after an attempt to push through a no-confidence vote against Yanukovych's cabinet failed.

In an apparent bid to defuse the crisis, Yanukovych yesterday offered Yushchenko the post of prime minister in exchange for both men to be withdrawn from fresh elections, but Yushchenko has publicly ignored the offer.

Yushchenko claims the 21 November runoff was rigged in Yanukovych's favor, a charge supported by many election observers and Western governments.

(compiled from RFE/RL and agency reports)

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