European Forum

Ukrainian Parliament ousts Timoshenko’s government

Today (3 March) Ukraine's Parliament has voted out the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a no-confidence vote. The vote followed weeks of shifting alliances in the Parliament after the pro-Western Tymoshenko lost her bid for the Presidency to the pro-Russian Party of Regions leader, Victor Yanukovych.

Deputies passed a motion of no-confidence in Tymoshenko's administration, with 243 votes in favour out of the 450-seat chamber. Already before the vote passed, Tymoshenko stated that if the motion would be passed the government members would immediately leave their offices and her ‘Blok of Yulia Tymoshenko’ would go into the opposition. "If the government's dismissal is supported today, [..] our political force will immediately go into opposition and will clearly form a united democratic team in opposition," she said. She also stated that Ukraine had faced serious threats following Yanukovych's election as Ukrainian president. "We have to say now that a threat is coming from this person, Mr. Yanukovych. The first thing is the weakening of the independence of our state. The second is a direct threat to the territorial integrity of our country and a direct threat to our democracy, freedom of speech and the strategic ownership of our state," Tymoshenko stated.

Horse trading between the Parliament's five main factions to form a new coalition will now intensify and the parties will have 30 days to form a majority coalition. Mykola Azarov, a former Finance Minister and a likely candidate for the Prime Minister's post, told journalists that “the talks [to form a new coalition] are not simple but I think they will be finalised in the coming days”.

Yanukovych won the election almost a month ago but has not yet been able to create a new Parliamentary majority. A new majority coalition is expected to form around Yanukovych's Party of Regions and would then be able to put forward a new prime minister.

Ukraine desperately needs a stable government to tackle a deep economic crisis that has brought the country close to default. Under the country's constitution, the President's powers are limited and he needs a Parliamentary majority to govern effectively. Earlier, Yanukovych stated that if he will not manage to create a majority he will call for early elections.

Sources: Kyiv Post; RFE/RL