Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

Ukraine parliament announces end to "orange" coalition Source: RAI Novisti KIEV, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's west-leaning "orange" coalition has been formally dissolved, following one party's defection to a pro-Russian camp, the press service of the Ukrainian parliament said Monday. The coalition, formed on June 22 by the pro-presidential Our Ukraine party, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Socialist Party, collapsed last week as the Socialists withdrew to team up with the Party of Regions and the Communists. Their decision was prompted by the surprise election of Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz as parliament speaker, a position originally promised to a member of President Viktor Yushchenko's party. The parliamentary press service said the Supreme Rada had registered documents confirming the dissolution of the coalition and the formation of the new coalition that had already nominated Viktor Yanukovych, leader of the Party of Regions, as the count

Ukraine's socialists accuse president over coalition collapse Source: RAI Novosti 19:40 07 / 07 / 2006 KIEV, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's Socialist Party blames President Viktor Yushchenko for a virtual collapse of a coalition majority formed in the country's parliament in June, a party member said Friday. Ivan Boky said, "The president ruined the coalition by nominating Petro Poroshenko for the post of [Supreme Rada] speaker." The coalition of Western-leaning forces broke up when the Party of Regions, holding 186 seats in the Rada, and the Socialist and Communist parties with 33 and 21 seats respectively joined forces late Thursday to elect Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz as speaker. The three parties are currently holding talks on the formation of a new parliamentary coalition. Boky said anarchy followed the collapse of the "orange" coalition that "ruined the economy and created political instability." "Therefore, we had to assume

Ukraine president may dissukrolve Rada if no govt. formed by deadline Source: RAI Novosti 19:25 07 / 07 / 2006 KIEV, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Friday he may dissolve the country's parliament if deputies fail to form a government by the July 22 deadline. "To avoid debates over the political and legal legitimacy of elections of the Supreme Rada speaker or prime minister, we should stick exclusively to the provisions in the constitution," the president said. "Therefore, I would say that a threat of dissolving the parliament exists in this context." Yushchenko also said he was concerned that talks in parliament may fall outside the framework of the country's constitution. Under Ukrainian law, the president may dissolve parliament and call new elections if a new government is not formed after the dismissal of the old cabinet.

Ukrainian parliament elects Socialist leader as speaker Source: RAI Novosti KIEV, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Leader of the Socialist Party Oleksandr Moroz is Ukraine's new parliamentary speaker. Two hundred and thirty-eight deputies in the 450-seat house voted late Thursday in favor of Moroz, who occupied the post in 1994-1998. The Supreme Rada resumed work Thursday after the opposition ended its the blockade of the rostrum and reached a compromise with the coalition majority. Yanukovych's Party of Regions had staged a sit-in since June 27 in protest against the allocation of Cabinet and Supreme Rada portfolios by the coalition of three Western-leaning groupings. Deputies from former premier Yulia Tymoshenko's eponymous bloc and the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc refused to participate in the vote in protest against the Socialist faction. They claimed the Socialists had breached an "orange" coalition agreement, which had a provision to elect a candidate from pro-