This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/8547293.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Ukraine PM Tymoshenko forced out | Ukraine PM Tymoshenko forced out |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Ukraine's parliament has passed a motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government. | Ukraine's parliament has passed a motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government. |
She and her cabinet will now have to resign, while the new president, Viktor Yanukovych, will try to assemble a new coalition in parliament. | |
If he fails, the country will face snap parliamentary elections. | If he fails, the country will face snap parliamentary elections. |
Despite defeat in recent presidential elections, Mrs Tymoshenko resisted pressure to quit, saying she would only go into opposition as a last resort. | Despite defeat in recent presidential elections, Mrs Tymoshenko resisted pressure to quit, saying she would only go into opposition as a last resort. |
But before the vote on Wednesday she indicated her cabinet would not stay on as a caretaker government. | But before the vote on Wednesday she indicated her cabinet would not stay on as a caretaker government. |
"If the dismissal of the government is passed today, at that very same moment our government will leave the cabinet. Our political force will cross into the opposition," she said. | |
Her new goal would be to hold Mr Yanukovych to account, she said. | |
"We will protect Ukraine from this new calamity that has befallen her," she said. | |
The motion did pass, gaining the backing of 243 out of the chamber's 450 MPs. It was reported that seven members of Mrs Tymoshenko's bloc voted against her. | |
Coalition talks | |
On Tuesday the speaker of parliament said Mrs Tymoshenko's coalition had officially collapsed, as it had failed to prove it had a majority. | On Tuesday the speaker of parliament said Mrs Tymoshenko's coalition had officially collapsed, as it had failed to prove it had a majority. |
As well as Mrs Tymoshenko's own bloc, the coalition also included a bloc linked to former President Viktor Yushchenko, and a third led by the speaker of parliament, Volodymyr Lytvyn. | |
Mr Yanukovych's Party of the Regions has been in opposition, but he wants to bring it into government. | |
He now has 30 days to form a new coalition, and 60 days to form a government. If he is unable to do so, he will have to call fresh parliamentary elections. | |
The Party of Regions has named its deputy leader, Mykola Azarov, as its candidate for prime minister. He said he expected coalition talks to be "finalised in the coming days". | |
The three-way rivalry between Mrs Tymoshenko, Mr Yanukovych and former President Yushchenko has left Ukraine in political deadlock for several years, undermining its ability to deal with a severe economic crisis. | |
Analysts said as long as Mrs Tymoshenko remained at the head of the government, the stalemate was likely to continue. |