KIEV, January 10 (RIA Novosti) - The speaker of Ukraine's lower house of parliament had no right to hold a vote on the government's dismissal, Yuriy Yekhanurov, the prime minister who was sacked earlier in the day, said Tuesday.

"According to procedural norms, speaker [Volodymyr Lytvyn]  had no right to put the issue up for vote, but he did," Yekhanurov said, commenting on the parliament's decision to dismiss his government.

"No legal consequences [of the dismissal] can be expected," he said.

Yekhanurov said he and the government would continue working but with the word "acting" before their titles, while their international contacts would have to be reduced significantly.

The acting prime minister, who was appointed to the premiership in September, said he was confident that his government would remain in power until spring.