President Viktor Yuschenko issued another decree Thursday shortly before the Constitutional Court was to rule on his previous order that set early polls for May 27. The move has outraged the premier and his allies in parliament, who have opposed snap elections, protracting the crisis in the ex-Soviet state.
"An inquiry was filed today by 160 lawmakers," the court's acting press secretary Ivan Avramov said, adding the inquiry would be examined in due time, without elaborating.
Yushchenko's new decree questions current court hearings, which are widely expected to be in favor of his long-time rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The European Union and some European leaders have urged both factions in the conflict to honor any court ruling, and suggestions have been made in Ukraine that Yushchenko should step down if the court overturns his order triggered by the defection of pro-presidential lawmakers to Yanukovych's camp.
The leader of the Communist Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, blamed Yushchenko Friday for his "maniacal desire to stay in power" and pushed for a national campaign for a no-confidence vote. "It is necessary to start gathering signatures across Ukraine to express no-confidence in the president," Petro Symonenko said.
Yushchenko's original decree April 2 and the legislature's defiance to dissolve itself plunged the country into political turmoil and sparked mass protests in the capital, Kiev.
