Verkhovna Rada votes to limit presidential powers, political jostling continues

The Verkhovna Rada reconvened yesterday after summer recess, adopting a series of laws that curtail the powers of the president. Among other things, the laws ease rules for impeaching the head of state and remove the president’s power to veto a candidate for prime minister. The bills were initiated by the opposition Party of Regions, which voted together with the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc to gain a parliamentary majority for passage. In a sign that further reshuffling is ahead – at a meeting last night, the pro-Yushchenko Our Ukraine bloc voted to leave the parliament’s ruling coalition with the Tymoshenko Bloc in protest of the vote.