2008 Ukrainian political crisis
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Ukrainian political crisis started after President
Viktor Yushchenko
's Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (NU-NS) withdrew from the governing coalition following a vote on a bill (September 4, 2008) to limit the President's powers in which the Prime Minister
's Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) voted with the opposition Party of Regions
. The bill would have required the consent of the Prime Minister for the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General by the President, given the government power to appoint local heads of government if the President rejects the candidates, stripped from the President the right to reject a candidate for Prime Minister, dismiss the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministers, and appoint a head of the State Intelligence Service. President Yushchenko stated that a clear position on the events in Georgia
was one of the conditions under which return to talks in the Parliament was possible, as well as the repeal of all the constitutional laws adopted after September 3. Yushchenko claimed that a "de-facto coalition" was formed with 'no other aims but to conduct coup d'état and usurp power in the country'. Tymoshenko stated that the real intentions behind the President's party in 'declaring war on her' was to ensure his victory in the next presidential election, although she still called for a reformation of the coalition between the two parties. She also reiterated her position on the Georgian conflict, claiming to be neutral and more in line with the EU
.
Yuri Lutsenko leader of Civil Movement "People's Self-Defense" (part of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc) said that the breakup of the coalition was provoked by the Secretariat of the President and that "People’s Self Defense" was categorically against it.
Foreign media reported that the political crisis was sparked by the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia
that started in early August 2008 and began with a dispute between President Viktor Yushchenko
and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
over Ukraine's reaction to that conflict. The President gave his support for Georgia and strong criticism of Russia whereas other parties professed more balanced positions towards the two parties of that conflict. On September 16, the collapse of the BYuT/NU-NS coalition was officially announced. Following the failure to re-create the coalition, the Ukrainian parliament was dissolved by president Yushchenko on October 8, 2008, giving way to the third parliamentary election in three years.
Poland’s former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
stated dismissing Verkhovna Rada
, Yushchenko "shot himself in the foot. There was a chance to create a wide democratic coalition of BYUT, NUNS and the Lytvyn bloc, and we were working on it. Pres Yushchenko 'may suffer a substantial pratfall'.”
The crisis ended when the Orange Coalition was reformed on 9 December 2008, but including Lytvyn's Bloc after Volodymyr Lytvyn
was elected as parliamentary speaker the day before.
into and out of the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol
. He also came out strongly in support of Georgia's President
Mikheil Saakashvili
, condemning Russia's attacks within Georgia. Tymoshenko and her bloc put forward a less critical position towards Russia and the Prime Minister herself was out of public view during much of the conflict. On August 18, 2008 Yushchenko's office accused the Prime Minister of taking a softer position as a way to win the support of Russia during the 2010 Presidential election. Andriy Kyslynskyi, the president's deputy chief of staff, said Tymoshenko's actions showed "signs of high treason and political corruption" adding that documents supporting these allegations were being handed over to prosecutors. Tymoshenko denied the accusations and rejected the accusation that she was soft in her support for Georgia, saying that she supported the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia" but she does not agree with the president’s tough stance on the Black Sea Ports and defends her position as being "in line with the European Union and not to drag Ukraine into conflicts".
Andriy Semchenko, an MP from the Tymoshenko bloc, called on the President and the head of the President's Secretariat Viktor Baloha to apologize to the PM before there could be constructive work in the coalition. He said it was not appropriate for the President and Baloha to spread information that Tymoshenko was a traitor.
to pass it. They also approved legislation limiting the powers of the President while increasing the powers of the Prime Minister. In particular the parties approved legislation which would strip the President of the right to reject a candidate for Prime Minister, dismiss the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministers and appoint a head of the State Intelligence Service. Yushchenko promised to veto the legislation.
Following the vote President Yushchenko's bloc pulled out of the governing coalition saying Tymoshenko was colluding with the opposition and the President warned he would call a snap election if a new coalition was not formed within the required time. He further accused Tymoshenko of trying to set up a "dictatorship of the prime minister" and calling the parliamentary vote "a political and constitutional coup d'état." Tymoshenko rejected the allegations and said the real reason the president "declared a war against me is to ensure his victory in the next presidential elections." In spite of this Tymoshenko has called for restoring the coalition between the two groups. She also defended her position on Georgia saying it was "in line with the European Union and it is not to drag Ukraine into conflicts." Parliament further increased the powers of the Prime Minister by passing legislation requiring the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General by the President to receive the consent of the Prime Minister and giving the government power to appoint local heads of government if the President rejects the candidates.
On September 8, Our Ukraine MP Andry Parubij claimed Tymoshenko and Regions had already reached a deal on forming a new government and were dividing up posts for a new cabinet (a claim Tynoshenko has denied). He also said that if a coalition is formed between Tymoshenko's bloc and Regions, Our Ukraine would appeal to the Constitutional Court to assess the legality of the December 2004 changes made in the constitution which, if successful, would restore wide powers held by the office of president. During the "Freedom of Speech" program on September 9, 2008 Tymoshenko said she was "categorically against" the decrees made by Yushchenko on the Russian Black Sea Fleet saying they risked provoking a response from Russia.
On September 10, Tymoshenko reiterated her call for the coalition to be restored, but said she would not accept any preconditions for Our Ukraine to return. She also said at the moment they were not discussing any other coalition. Tymoshenko added that a snap poll would "destroy the normal life of the country" so it was not a way out of the crisis.
The same day Yan Bernazyuk, Yushchenko's liaison to the government of Tymoshenko, said representatives of the Presidential Secretariat were not allowed to attend the government session. Bernazyuk claimed the reason was because the government was discussing four issues which had a "clear Kremlin face" concerning "permits on use of mineral products without any contests, sales, and tenders." Yushchenko urged representatives and members of the regional, city and district councils to unite against the formation of a new coalition by retaining the "democratic coalition" in the local governments as well as for all other "national forces" to unite. He said the new relationship between the Tymoshenko bloc and Regions was a "serious threat for democratic choice of Ukraine" which was in danger of reconsidering "national priorities to principles of democratic governing, including the local one."
Officials from the Party of Regions accused Yushchenko of planning to impose direct presidential rule by dissolving the parliament without calling early elections. At the same time members of the Central Election Commission sympathetic to Yushchenko would resign prolonging the time without an acting parliament. Another claim said Yushchenko had secretly instructed the oblast
governors and leaders of NGOs to request the imposition of a direct presidential rule by Yushchenko and that he would launch a military coup. Yushchenko denied planning to resolve the crisis with force saying Ukraine can resolve the crisis in a "democratic way" through dialogue.
On September 16, the collapse of the BYuT/NU-NS coalition was officially announced. Yulia Tymoshenko unleashed one of her harshest attacks on Yushchenko yet, accusing the President of destroying the gains of the Orange Revolution
, sinking hopes of rebuilding the coalition. "Since 2004, this president has managed to destroy everything: people's faith in the ideals of the revolution and faith in the president himself - only 5 percent still support him," she told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "Unfortunately, this president will leave a legacy of shattered remnants of the 'orange' promises and democratic coalitions, of his own team and even of his friends and his own political standing." Tymoshenko also blamed Yushchenko for "everything bad that will happen in relations between Ukraine and Russia" calling for Ukraine to pursue a more "balanced" policy towards Russia. Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko and the Party of Regions of trying to create a twoparty system in parliament. The two blocs joined forces in drafting and registering a new law in parliament on September 17 that would introduce a two-round election system for parliament which would likely lead to BYuT and Regions being the only parties in parliament after the next election. Viktor Yanukovich said his party did not want to initiate early elections and added "The Constitution must be changed so as to provide efficient operation of authorities."
On September 18, Yulia Tymoshenko refused to resign as prime minister as agreed under a coalition pact saying "The coalition has not collapsed.... It's the president and part of his team betraying the democratic coalition who have left it unilaterally." She also made reference to the alleged poisoning plot that almost killed President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 by saying "The main poisoning is the poisoning with unlimited power, a serious intoxication in the presidential secretariat." Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko of not providing adequate funding for Ukraine's military and asked when she would show respect to Ukraine's soldiers.
President Yushchenko later said Tymoshenko was working with the Party of Regions, and the Communist Party on decisions aimed at destabilizing the country in order to establish a new political regime. Yuriy Yekhanurov
, Ukraine's Defense Minister and member of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc, said he and his political force would take all effort necessary to maintain the stability of the country.
On 19 September Yulia Tymoshenko called the information about the existence of an informal coalition between BYuT, the Party of Regions and Communist Part of Ukraine “black political propaganda.” The Premier believed that the spreading of such information was aimed at changing the arrangement of political forces leading up to the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2010
. She also stated: “I think that this (the creation of a coalition of a different format) can be a last resort and forced step before the dissolving of the Verkhovna Rada
, the Communists
have nothing to do with this.” On 22 September Our Ukraine issued a statement which said: "People’s Union Our Ukraine call on everybody, for who the values of independence and freedom are more important than personal or group interests, to unite around President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko, as a guarantor of the national state, and around Our Ukraine, as the only real force defending Ukrainian interests in the current Verkhovna Rada" and called on BYuT members to "put interests of nation before the interests of party leaders, to refuse being accomplices of the plot (to revise the Ukrainian Constitution and give all power to the hands of the pro-Kremlin parliamentary oligarchs
), and to take part in the unification process of Ukrainian democratic forces".
On 26 September 2008, Tymoshenko suggested holding early parliamentary and presidential elections as a way out of the crisis. Tymoshenko said in parliament she would accept any conditions of Our Ukraine "in order to preserve Ukraine's strategic orientation, to preserve the parliament and not to throw the country into a new crisis." Talks were on track to reforge the orange coalition by early October 2008. But no coalition was formed on 8 October and in the evening of 8 October while visiting Italy President Yushchenko announced Ukraine's third general election in less than three years in a pre-recorded speech on Ukrainian television.
On 10 October the People’s Self-Defense (PSD) leader Yuriy Lutsenko
announced that all democratic forces should unite into a single democratic bloc on basis of BYuT at the snap poll. Although other PSD members disagreed and rather continued to collaborate with Our Ukraine
.
International reactions were also negative: the European Union
did hope beforehand that there will be no snap elections and Poland’s former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
, stated that by dissolving the Verkhovna Rada
, Yushchenko "shot himself in the foot."
On October 16, after resistance, the cabinet
endorsed amendments to the 2008 national budget to finance the snap elections.
Proposal by (October 19) by Yulia Tymoshenko to create a "megacoalition" and by Viktor Yanukovych
(October 23) to create a "anti-crisis government" in the Ukrainian Parliament and postpone the snap elections until the threat of the global financial crisis had passed lead to nothing.
On October 29 the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada
) voted against a bill to finance the early elections. On October 31, the Verkhovna Rada refused to include a provision on funding snap parliamentary elections into a bill on immediate anti-financial crisis measures.
that the election could no longer take place this year because anti-crisis actions had to be undertaken first.
Early December 2008 there were negotiations between BYuT and Party of Regions to form a coalition but after Volodymyr Lytvyn
was elected Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
(parliament of Ukraine
) December 9, 2008 he announced the creation of a coalition between his Lytvyn Bloc, BYuT and OU-PSD. After negotiations the three parties officially signed the coalition agreement on December 16. It is unsure if this coalition will stop the snap election although Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn predicts the Verkhovna Rada will work until 2012.
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
's Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (NU-NS) withdrew from the governing coalition following a vote on a bill (September 4, 2008) to limit the President's powers in which the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
's Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) voted with the opposition Party of Regions
Party of Regions
The Party of Regions is an Ukrainian political party created on October 26, 1997 just prior to the 1998 Ukrainian parliamentary elections under the name of Party of Regional Revival of Ukraine. It was reformed later in 2001 when the party united with several others...
. The bill would have required the consent of the Prime Minister for the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General by the President, given the government power to appoint local heads of government if the President rejects the candidates, stripped from the President the right to reject a candidate for Prime Minister, dismiss the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministers, and appoint a head of the State Intelligence Service. President Yushchenko stated that a clear position on the events in Georgia
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
was one of the conditions under which return to talks in the Parliament was possible, as well as the repeal of all the constitutional laws adopted after September 3. Yushchenko claimed that a "de-facto coalition" was formed with 'no other aims but to conduct coup d'état and usurp power in the country'. Tymoshenko stated that the real intentions behind the President's party in 'declaring war on her' was to ensure his victory in the next presidential election, although she still called for a reformation of the coalition between the two parties. She also reiterated her position on the Georgian conflict, claiming to be neutral and more in line with the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Yuri Lutsenko leader of Civil Movement "People's Self-Defense" (part of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc) said that the breakup of the coalition was provoked by the Secretariat of the President and that "People’s Self Defense" was categorically against it.
Foreign media reported that the political crisis was sparked by the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
that started in early August 2008 and began with a dispute between President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
over Ukraine's reaction to that conflict. The President gave his support for Georgia and strong criticism of Russia whereas other parties professed more balanced positions towards the two parties of that conflict. On September 16, the collapse of the BYuT/NU-NS coalition was officially announced. Following the failure to re-create the coalition, the Ukrainian parliament was dissolved by president Yushchenko on October 8, 2008, giving way to the third parliamentary election in three years.
Poland’s former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
stated dismissing Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
, Yushchenko "shot himself in the foot. There was a chance to create a wide democratic coalition of BYUT, NUNS and the Lytvyn bloc, and we were working on it. Pres Yushchenko 'may suffer a substantial pratfall'.”
The crisis ended when the Orange Coalition was reformed on 9 December 2008, but including Lytvyn's Bloc after Volodymyr Lytvyn
Volodymyr Lytvyn
Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn is a Ukrainian politician and the current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until 2006, he was re-elected in December 2008 after his party agreed to join the former coalition of Yulia...
was elected as parliamentary speaker the day before.
Treason accusation
During the conflict between Russia and Georgia, Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko issued a decree requiring advance notice of the movements of the Russian Black Sea FleetBlack Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
into and out of the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. He also came out strongly in support of Georgia's President
President of Georgia
The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
, condemning Russia's attacks within Georgia. Tymoshenko and her bloc put forward a less critical position towards Russia and the Prime Minister herself was out of public view during much of the conflict. On August 18, 2008 Yushchenko's office accused the Prime Minister of taking a softer position as a way to win the support of Russia during the 2010 Presidential election. Andriy Kyslynskyi, the president's deputy chief of staff, said Tymoshenko's actions showed "signs of high treason and political corruption" adding that documents supporting these allegations were being handed over to prosecutors. Tymoshenko denied the accusations and rejected the accusation that she was soft in her support for Georgia, saying that she supported the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia" but she does not agree with the president’s tough stance on the Black Sea Ports and defends her position as being "in line with the European Union and not to drag Ukraine into conflicts".
Andriy Semchenko, an MP from the Tymoshenko bloc, called on the President and the head of the President's Secretariat Viktor Baloha to apologize to the PM before there could be constructive work in the coalition. He said it was not appropriate for the President and Baloha to spread information that Tymoshenko was a traitor.
Coalition collapses
On September 1, 2008 Prime Minister Tymoshenko put forward draft legislation which would facilitate the procedure for impeachment, though she insisted it would not have an impact on President Yushchenko and was meant for future presidents. When the legislation came to a vote two days later, Tymoshenko's bloc voted together with the Party of Regions and CommunistsCommunist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
to pass it. They also approved legislation limiting the powers of the President while increasing the powers of the Prime Minister. In particular the parties approved legislation which would strip the President of the right to reject a candidate for Prime Minister, dismiss the Defense, Interior and Foreign Ministers and appoint a head of the State Intelligence Service. Yushchenko promised to veto the legislation.
Following the vote President Yushchenko's bloc pulled out of the governing coalition saying Tymoshenko was colluding with the opposition and the President warned he would call a snap election if a new coalition was not formed within the required time. He further accused Tymoshenko of trying to set up a "dictatorship of the prime minister" and calling the parliamentary vote "a political and constitutional coup d'état." Tymoshenko rejected the allegations and said the real reason the president "declared a war against me is to ensure his victory in the next presidential elections." In spite of this Tymoshenko has called for restoring the coalition between the two groups. She also defended her position on Georgia saying it was "in line with the European Union and it is not to drag Ukraine into conflicts." Parliament further increased the powers of the Prime Minister by passing legislation requiring the appointment and dismissal of the Prosecutor General by the President to receive the consent of the Prime Minister and giving the government power to appoint local heads of government if the President rejects the candidates.
On September 8, Our Ukraine MP Andry Parubij claimed Tymoshenko and Regions had already reached a deal on forming a new government and were dividing up posts for a new cabinet (a claim Tynoshenko has denied). He also said that if a coalition is formed between Tymoshenko's bloc and Regions, Our Ukraine would appeal to the Constitutional Court to assess the legality of the December 2004 changes made in the constitution which, if successful, would restore wide powers held by the office of president. During the "Freedom of Speech" program on September 9, 2008 Tymoshenko said she was "categorically against" the decrees made by Yushchenko on the Russian Black Sea Fleet saying they risked provoking a response from Russia.
On September 10, Tymoshenko reiterated her call for the coalition to be restored, but said she would not accept any preconditions for Our Ukraine to return. She also said at the moment they were not discussing any other coalition. Tymoshenko added that a snap poll would "destroy the normal life of the country" so it was not a way out of the crisis.
The same day Yan Bernazyuk, Yushchenko's liaison to the government of Tymoshenko, said representatives of the Presidential Secretariat were not allowed to attend the government session. Bernazyuk claimed the reason was because the government was discussing four issues which had a "clear Kremlin face" concerning "permits on use of mineral products without any contests, sales, and tenders." Yushchenko urged representatives and members of the regional, city and district councils to unite against the formation of a new coalition by retaining the "democratic coalition" in the local governments as well as for all other "national forces" to unite. He said the new relationship between the Tymoshenko bloc and Regions was a "serious threat for democratic choice of Ukraine" which was in danger of reconsidering "national priorities to principles of democratic governing, including the local one."
Officials from the Party of Regions accused Yushchenko of planning to impose direct presidential rule by dissolving the parliament without calling early elections. At the same time members of the Central Election Commission sympathetic to Yushchenko would resign prolonging the time without an acting parliament. Another claim said Yushchenko had secretly instructed the oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
governors and leaders of NGOs to request the imposition of a direct presidential rule by Yushchenko and that he would launch a military coup. Yushchenko denied planning to resolve the crisis with force saying Ukraine can resolve the crisis in a "democratic way" through dialogue.
On September 16, the collapse of the BYuT/NU-NS coalition was officially announced. Yulia Tymoshenko unleashed one of her harshest attacks on Yushchenko yet, accusing the President of destroying the gains of the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
, sinking hopes of rebuilding the coalition. "Since 2004, this president has managed to destroy everything: people's faith in the ideals of the revolution and faith in the president himself - only 5 percent still support him," she told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "Unfortunately, this president will leave a legacy of shattered remnants of the 'orange' promises and democratic coalitions, of his own team and even of his friends and his own political standing." Tymoshenko also blamed Yushchenko for "everything bad that will happen in relations between Ukraine and Russia" calling for Ukraine to pursue a more "balanced" policy towards Russia. Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko and the Party of Regions of trying to create a twoparty system in parliament. The two blocs joined forces in drafting and registering a new law in parliament on September 17 that would introduce a two-round election system for parliament which would likely lead to BYuT and Regions being the only parties in parliament after the next election. Viktor Yanukovich said his party did not want to initiate early elections and added "The Constitution must be changed so as to provide efficient operation of authorities."
On September 18, Yulia Tymoshenko refused to resign as prime minister as agreed under a coalition pact saying "The coalition has not collapsed.... It's the president and part of his team betraying the democratic coalition who have left it unilaterally." She also made reference to the alleged poisoning plot that almost killed President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 by saying "The main poisoning is the poisoning with unlimited power, a serious intoxication in the presidential secretariat." Yushchenko accused Tymoshenko of not providing adequate funding for Ukraine's military and asked when she would show respect to Ukraine's soldiers.
President Yushchenko later said Tymoshenko was working with the Party of Regions, and the Communist Party on decisions aimed at destabilizing the country in order to establish a new political regime. Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuriy Yekhanurov
Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense in from 2007 to 2009...
, Ukraine's Defense Minister and member of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc, said he and his political force would take all effort necessary to maintain the stability of the country.
On 19 September Yulia Tymoshenko called the information about the existence of an informal coalition between BYuT, the Party of Regions and Communist Part of Ukraine “black political propaganda.” The Premier believed that the spreading of such information was aimed at changing the arrangement of political forces leading up to the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2010
Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
The Ukrainian presidential election of 2010 is Ukraine's fifth presidential election since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The first round was held on January 17, 2010...
. She also stated: “I think that this (the creation of a coalition of a different format) can be a last resort and forced step before the dissolving of the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
, the Communists
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
have nothing to do with this.” On 22 September Our Ukraine issued a statement which said: "People’s Union Our Ukraine call on everybody, for who the values of independence and freedom are more important than personal or group interests, to unite around President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko, as a guarantor of the national state, and around Our Ukraine, as the only real force defending Ukrainian interests in the current Verkhovna Rada" and called on BYuT members to "put interests of nation before the interests of party leaders, to refuse being accomplices of the plot (to revise the Ukrainian Constitution and give all power to the hands of the pro-Kremlin parliamentary oligarchs
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
), and to take part in the unification process of Ukrainian democratic forces".
On 26 September 2008, Tymoshenko suggested holding early parliamentary and presidential elections as a way out of the crisis. Tymoshenko said in parliament she would accept any conditions of Our Ukraine "in order to preserve Ukraine's strategic orientation, to preserve the parliament and not to throw the country into a new crisis." Talks were on track to reforge the orange coalition by early October 2008. But no coalition was formed on 8 October and in the evening of 8 October while visiting Italy President Yushchenko announced Ukraine's third general election in less than three years in a pre-recorded speech on Ukrainian television.
Opposition to Presidential decree
Most politicians, besides the president's closest allies, denounced the decree, with even some Yushchenko sympathisers and allies from the Presidents own party, vowing to challenge his action in the courts.On 10 October the People’s Self-Defense (PSD) leader Yuriy Lutsenko
Yuriy Lutsenko
Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko is a Ukrainian politician and statesman and former Minister of Internal Affairs, he occupied this post in the two Cabinets of Yulia Tymoshenko and in Cabinets of Yuriy Yekhanurov, and Viktor Yanukovych...
announced that all democratic forces should unite into a single democratic bloc on basis of BYuT at the snap poll. Although other PSD members disagreed and rather continued to collaborate with Our Ukraine
Our Ukraine
The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc is an electoral alliance active in Ukraine, associated with former President Viktor Yushchenko. Since 2005, the bloc has been dominated by a core consisting of the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party and five smaller partner parties.The Our Ukraine Bloc is...
.
International reactions were also negative: the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
did hope beforehand that there will be no snap elections and Poland’s former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
, stated that by dissolving the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
, Yushchenko "shot himself in the foot."
On October 16, after resistance, the cabinet
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
endorsed amendments to the 2008 national budget to finance the snap elections.
Proposal by (October 19) by Yulia Tymoshenko to create a "megacoalition" and by Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
(October 23) to create a "anti-crisis government" in the Ukrainian Parliament and postpone the snap elections until the threat of the global financial crisis had passed lead to nothing.
On October 29 the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
) voted against a bill to finance the early elections. On October 31, the Verkhovna Rada refused to include a provision on funding snap parliamentary elections into a bill on immediate anti-financial crisis measures.
Juridical challenge of Presidential decree
The Kiev District Administrative Court on 11 October 2008 suspended Yushchenko's election call, responding to a lawsuit filed by BYuT MPs. Tymoshenko refused to approve funds for the election, stating that Ukraine couldn't afford an early election and that she expected parliament to refuse the necessary funds, as well. Yushchenko appealed the suspension on the basis that he had fired the judge who gave the order beforehand. Prime Minister Tymoshenko and President Yushchenko dispatched rival security forces to the appeals and Tymoshenko's supporters planned to hold a round-the-clock vigil at the court to prevent illegal action from taking place. The Kiev Prosecutor's Office also launched an investigation of the judge who suspending the decree on the charge of "knowingly passing an unlawful ruling". On 13 October President Yuschenko liquidated the Kiev District Administrative Court altogether. On October 15, Kiev Regional Administrative Court suspended the president decree on liquidation of the Kiev District Administrative after the Supreme Court had asked Yuschenko to cancel the decree on liquidation of the Kiev District Administrative Court. So on October 15 Yuschenko liquidated the Kiev District Administrative Court again. On October 17 The Kiev Central Administrative Court has overturned the ruling of the Kiev District Administrative Court. On October 28 The Kiev Appeal Administrative Court cancelled the suspension of Yushchenko's election decision by the Kiev District Administrative Court.End of Crisis
On October 22, President Yushchenko stated that the precise date for the early election could not be set until parliament (work in parliament was blocked by protests from October 21 till October 24) approved finances for the poll and voted for legislation to help Ukraine through the world financial crisis. So far parliament hasn't approved funding. On November 12, 2008 Yushchenko stated in an interview published in the Warsaw daily RzeczpospolitaRzeczpospolita (newspaper)
Rzeczpospolita is a Polish national daily newspaper, with a circulation around of 160,000. Issued every day except Sunday. Rzeczpospolita was printed in broadsheet format, then switched to compact at October 16, 2007...
that the election could no longer take place this year because anti-crisis actions had to be undertaken first.
Early December 2008 there were negotiations between BYuT and Party of Regions to form a coalition but after Volodymyr Lytvyn
Volodymyr Lytvyn
Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn is a Ukrainian politician and the current Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously served in that position from 2002 until 2006, he was re-elected in December 2008 after his party agreed to join the former coalition of Yulia...
was elected Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament. The speaker presides over the parliament and its procedures. They are elected by secret ballot from the parliament's deputy ranks...
(parliament of Ukraine
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
) December 9, 2008 he announced the creation of a coalition between his Lytvyn Bloc, BYuT and OU-PSD. After negotiations the three parties officially signed the coalition agreement on December 16. It is unsure if this coalition will stop the snap election although Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn predicts the Verkhovna Rada will work until 2012.