Ukraine’s President dissolves parliament

Ukraine’s President Yushchenko has dissolved the country's parliament – just a year after it was formed. He made this announcement during a televised address to the nation.

“As of October 8 I have received no proposals from any political force to form a majority coalition. And now, when the deputies have driven themselves into a deadlock, it is Ukrainian peole who are to have their say. Under the Ukraine's constitution, I am terminating the powers of the country's parliament of the sixth convocation and calling for an early parliamentary election,” Yushchenko said.

Ukraine will now face its third general election in three years on the 7th of December.

He blames Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko for destroying the Orange coalition, and causing the political crisis.

But Timoshenko's party claims the president's actions are illegal and say they are ready to appeal the decision in court.

Coalition collapsed

The political crisis started when the parliamentary coalition collapsed.

It was formed by the President’s Our Ukraine People's Self-Defence party and the Prime MInister Yulia Timoshenko's bloc.

Last month the two leaders exchanged accusations.

President Yushchenko called the Prime Minister a traitor, after her party supported legislation reducing the president's power.

Timoshenko and Yushchenko used to be close allies during the so-called Orange revolution four years ago.

Corruption conspiracy?

Meanwhile Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said Victor Yushchenko has engineered the parliamentary crisis in an attempt to stop the probe into Ukraine’s arms deals with Georgia. He added that the recent fire at military depots in Ukraine may be connected with the investigation.

The head of the Ukrainian parliamentary commission, Valery Konovalyuk, said the supply of weapons to Georgia undermined Ukraine’s security and violated national legislation. A number of media reports have accused Yushchenko of personally authorising the deals.

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