Ukraine's parliament ruled today that a contested presidential run-off vote handing victory to Prime Minister Mr Viktor Yanukovich was invalid and failed to reflect the will of voters.
Ukraine's parliament, in a vote providing a moral boost for opposition supporters massed in the capital, said today the disputed presidential poll handing victory to Prime Minister Mr Viktor Yanukovich was invalid.
The parliament has no legal authority to annul the election results, but with vast crowds backing liberal challenger Mr Viktor Yushchenko's call for a new vote, the declaration carries political weight. It comes two days ahead of a Supreme Court case examining Mr Yuschenko's complaints of poll irregularities and as European Union president the Netherlands said the bloc wanted to see new elections.
The chamber passed by a large majority a resolution proclaiming the November 21st poll was invalid, subject to many irregularities and failing to reflect voters' intentions. But at the end of a highly charged emergency session, it failed to pass a motion on staging a rerun of the vote.
After a day of talks with his rival on Friday, overseen by mediators from Russia and the European Union, Mr Yushchenko told a crowd of supporters in Kiev he wanted a new poll on December 12th.
The chamber also expressed no confidence in the Central Election Commission and called on outgoing President Mr Leonid Kuchma to appoint new members. On Monday, the Supreme Court will examine Mr Yushchenko's complaints of widespread poll irregularities.
As the session opened, 100,000 Yushchenko supporters massed outside parliament chanted their candidate's name and the European Union pressed for a new vote.
"We think the best, the ideal, outcome would be elections," Dutch Foreign Minister Mr Bernard Bot, speaking on behalf of the EU told reporters in The Hague.
"If we are heading for elections, it should happen rather soon, before the end of the year."
The disputed election has raised tensions between the West and Russia, which fears losing its hold over ex-Soviet Ukraine. It has also exposed a centuries-old faultline dividing the country into east and west.
German Foreign Minister Mr Joschka Fischer said Russia had to accept the will of the electorate in Ukraine.
Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin has congratulated Mr Yanukovich twice. Russia has since backed off, urging Ukrainians to settle their differences through the courts.