4 March 2010
Yesterday Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers led by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko failed a no confidence vote in the Verkhovna Rada. According to law, the cabinet will remain in place until a new government is formed, but Tymoshenko has already announced her plans to go on vacation. A day earlier Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn declared the majority parliamentary coalition that included Tymoshenko’s eponymous bloc, the Our Ukraine Bloc and Lytvyn Bloc disbanded after it failed to produce the necessary number of signatures following a 10-day period to prove it still held a majority in parliament. Brad Wells: Ukraine’s parliamentary factions have 30 days from Tuesday to form a new coalition – composed of factions representing a majority of deputies in the Rada and 60 days after that to establish a new government. If it fails to meet the deadlines, President Viktor Yanukovych has a right to call early elections.