Ukraine 'nemae groshi' for its new elections

…or has no money for the early vote. Ukrainian president and prime minister conducted an emergency discussion Sunday abut the fate of the early parliamentary elections in the country. The discussion showed that they both shared completely different views on the matter.

Photo: Ukraine 'nemae groshi' for its new elections

President Yushchenko is not going to withdraw his decree about the dissolution of the parliament. He also said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel Inter that the early elections must take place in Ukraine as it was scheduled in his decree – i.e. on December 7.

Yushchenko said that he did not see any obstacle for the elections. The money for the elections should be taken from the reserve fund – about $100 million are required for the purpose.

He also added that it would be irresponsible for the prime minister to step down under the current circumstances.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko appeared on the air of the above-mentioned TV channel afterwards. The prime minister said that she was strongly against both the dissolution of the Ukrainian Parliament (The Supreme Rada) and the appointment of early elections in the nation.

“Holding the new elections in insane. I know that they are not going to happen” Tymoshenko said.

Ukraine ’s Minister for Internal Affairs, Yuri Lutsenko, offered to overcome the political crisis by means of holding early parliamentary and presidential elections, Interfax reports.

“We would thus be able to overcome the crisis at a jump. I am strongly against the early elections. It is not the future of Yushchenko, Tymoshenko, Yanukovich, it is the future of Ukraine per se,” the official said.

The Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote that Yushchenko made an emotional decision when he set the date of new elections on December 7. Yushchenko will not refuse from the re-election of the national parliament, although he can delay the voting date. It would help the president build a team for the new campaign. Many of Yushchenko’s former allies have now taken Tymoshenko’s side. However, several new parties have evinced interest in take the place of the pro-presidential force.

Tymoshenko’s bloc has lost many of its voters due to the economic crisis, for which many Ukrainians blame their prime minister. Such a detail may give an additional incentive to Yushchenko to destroy the union between Tymoshenko’s bloc and the party chaired by Viktor Yanukovich.

Kiev 's District Administrative Court suspended Yushchenko's decree ordering the vote while it considers an appeal by Tymoshenko's party, Central Election Commission spokeswoman Zoya Sharikova told The Associated Press. Yushchenko's office appealed that suspension to a higher court, saying the order had no authority since Yushchenko fired the judge before he made the ruling. It was unclear when the appeal will be heard.

Tymoshenko ally Volodymyr Pilipenko said that firing the judge was "an act of despair" on the part of the president.

"The court ruling has been handed down and the election process cannot begin," he said.

Tensions grew later in the day as Tymoshenko and Yushchenko dispatched rival security forces to Kiev's Appeals court, where the president's appeal was being considered, according to Pilipenko. He said that Tymoshenko's allies planned hold a round-the-clock vigil at the court to prevent any illegal action from taking place.

Tymoshenko and Yushchenko have turned into bitter rivals ahead of the 2010 presidential vote. Their shaky alliance collapsed last month after Tymoshenko moved to trim presidential powers. Yushchenko also accused Tymoshenko of selling out to the Kremlin and betraying efforts to join NATO by failing to condemn Russia's August war with Ukraine's ally Georgia.

Speaking on a popular television talk show Friday, Tymoshenko said the country could not afford an election and that parliament would not pass the necessary legislation.