KIEV, July 22 ??“ A confrontation between President Viktor Yushchenko and the pro-Russian coalition in Parliament was set to escalate sharply on Monday as deadline approaches when the president gets the power to dismiss the legislature.
The coalition threatened to impeach the president unless on Monday he submits for Parliament??™s approval the nomination of Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of the pro-Russian Regions Party, as the prime minister.
But Yushchenko has indicated on Saturday he would not do so, suggesting he has been apparently seeking to obtain the power to dismiss Parliament before taking decision on the nomination.
Yushchenko on Tuesday automatically gets the power to disband Parliament as lawmakers will probably miss a 60-day deadline set by the constitution to form the new government following the previous government??™s resignation.
???We expect on Monday to receive the nomination,??? Mykola Rudkovskiy, a senior member of the Socialist Party, a partner of the Regions Party in the coalition.
The pro-Russian coalition, which was formed after the Socialist Party had suddenly switched sides to join the Regions Party thus undermining the pro-Western coalition, seeks to avoid the dismissal of Parliament.
The new election would probably wipe out Socialist and Communist parties from Parliament, according to two recent opinion polls. Leftist voters were likely to punish the groups for their alliance with the Regions Party, a group that is widely perceived to be run by powerful tycoons.
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