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Last Updated: Oct 13, 2008 - 8:21:11 AM |
KIEV — Ukraine's feuding leaders intensified their
power struggle Saturday, with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko seeking
to undo President Viktor Yushchenko's decision to hold early
parliamentary elections.
Election officials refused to start preparations for the early vote
after a court suspended Yushchenko's decree at Tymoshenko's request.
But Yushchenko later appealed the suspension, paving the way for a
protracted legal struggle.
Yushchenko has the power to dissolve parliament and call an early
election, unless a court overrules his decision.
Last week, he ordered parliament dissolved and set the vote for Dec. 7,
following the collapse of his pro-Western coalition with Tymoshenko,
his estranged ally from the 2004 Orange Revolution.
But Tymoshenko, who is determined to retain her job and avoid the third
election in as many years, has vowed the vote will not take place.
Kiev's District Administrative Court suspended Yushchenko's decree
while it considers an appeal by Tymoshenko's party, Central Election
Commission spokeswoman Zoya Sharikova said.
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.
Source:Ocnus.net 2008
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