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| Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko during a televised address to the nation, 08 Oct 2008 |
Ukraine's president has dissolved parliament, after failing to agree with parliamentary leaders on forming a new coalition.
President Viktor Yushchenko announced the decision Wednesday after meeting with party leaders. After the group failed to reach agreement on a new government, Mr. Yushchenko told the lawmakers he would give them more time to resolve their stalemate. But hours later, he called for new elections.
His decision culminates a fierce battle between Mr. Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
In a televised address Wednesday, Mr. Yushchenko accused Ms. Tymoshenko of ignoring national interests for the sake of acquiring power. He said the democratic coalition was ruined by the "ambition of one person."
The ruling coalition, which the president shared with the prime minister, collapsed last month over differences on how Ukraine should respond to Russia's military incursion into Georgia. The two leaders also clashed over Ms. Tymoshenko's support of an opposition bid to trim the president's powers.
More than 30 days have passed since the coalition fell apart, which means the president now has the right to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
Mr. Yushchenko and Ms. Tymoshenko were close allies during the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought the president to power. They have since disagreed, reconciled and fallen out again.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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