Ukraine Prez dissolves parliament, calls snap poll

Moscow, Apr 3: Ukranian President Viktor Yushchenko last night dissolved the parliament and called a snap poll scheduled for May 27.

Mr Yushchenko made the announcement in a televised address to the nation after consultations with the parliamentary leadership and the leaders of parliamentary factions.

He said he had signed the decree in order to defend the nation from encroachments on the constitutional order in the country.

''This is an extraordinary step but it became inevitable. The situation in the country remains stable, there will be no disturbances,'' Yushchenko said, calling for people to resist provocations from the opposition.

He also accused the majority coalition, led by pro-Moscow Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, of trying to expand its power base by unconstitutional means, notably by taking in individual lawmakers.

''My actions are dictated by the strict necessity to save the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity,'' Yushchenko said in his televised address to the nation. ''It is not only my right, it is my obligation.'' ''Deliberate efforts are being made in parliament to worsen the political crisis, posing a threat to our country and people,'' he said.

Under the constitution, only entire factions, and not individuals, can join the coalition. But last month eleven lawmakers allied with Mr Yushchenko switched sides.

Parliamentary speaker Oleksander Moroz said the President had no legal grounds to dissolve the parliament.

The snap election is another attempt by Mr Yushchenko to resolve the country's ongoing political crisis, which has faced Ukraine since the parliamentary election in March 2006.

Last week, supporters of both sides took to the streets in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, in mass rallies.

Yushchenko's supporters urged him to dissolve parliament while protesters from the Yanukovych camp said they would dispute the legality of such a move with the Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile, Mr Yushchenko has postponed his visit to Moscow today, amid an escalating political crisis in the former Soviet republic, the Kremlin press service said yesterday.

''Referring to the domestic political crisis, the Ukrainian President said to President Vladimir Putin on the telephone that his visit to Moscow earlier planned for the next few days was impossible,'' it said.

UNI