Ukraine's parliament passed a no-confidence vote yesterday, ousting Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych's government, as the declared winner of the disputed election refused to step down from his post.
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, savoring the momentum generated by mass street protests and Western pressure on outgoing President Leonid Kuchma's government, told thousands of his shivering supporters massed in Kiev's Independence Square on Wednesday night that victory was near.
International mediators brought the two candidates and Kuchma together on Wednesday for compromise talks and won agreement from all sides that they would respect the court's ruling.
The negotiations -- shepherded by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and other European officials -- came after Ukraine's parliament passed a no-confidence measure in Yanukovych's government with 229 votes, just three more than necessary in the 450-seat parliament.
A no-confidence vote automatically triggers the government's resignation, which the president must accept -- though he can allow it to continue to exercise its powers for up to 60 days until a new Cabinet is formed.
However, many experts questioned the constitutionality of the vote, and Yanukovych called it a "political move that contradicted the law." He refused to step down.
Yushchenko urged the crowds to stay out in the streets until a revote of the Nov. 21 runoff with Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is called and a date set. Yushchenko, who claims his victory was stolen by government-backed fraud, suggested such a vote could be held as early as Dec. 19.
The Supreme Court was expected to rule yesterdayday on the appeal by Yushchenko's campaign to invalidate the runoff result, based on claims of widespread violations across Yanukovych's eastern and southern strongholds. The runoff has been discredited by both sides, with Yanukovych -- the officially declared winner -- submitting his own appeal against the results, focusing on pro-Yushchenko western provinces and the capital.
Yanukovych's appeal has not yet been taken up for consideration, but if the court rules in Yushchenko's favor and declares the vote invalid, considering Yanukovych's appeal would be pointless.
The Supreme Court yesterdayy rejected Yanukovych's objections to parts of the opposition's appeal, leaving open the possibility that the judges might name Yushchenko the president based on first-round results, which Yushchenko won. The court has not yet started deliberating on the merits of the appeal itself.
While a new election in this bitterly divided nation of 48 million is looking increasingly possible, what remains unclear is whether Ukraine will stage a repeat of the runoff, as Yushchenko is demanding -- or start the election from scratch, as Kuchma proposed.
Kuchma has pushed for a completely new election in apparent hopes of fielding a new, more popular successor as his government scrambles to stay in power with his 10 years in office running out.
Ukrainian media have frequently tipped Yanukovych's former campaign chief, Serhiy Tyhypko, as the most likely choice. Tyhypko, a young and charismatic politician, might fare better against the reform- and Western-oriented Yushchenko than Yanukovych did.
Yushchenko, who has led the opposition for years, firmly rejected Kuchma's proposal and said he would accept only a repeat runoff.
But in a victory for the government, Yushchenko agreed during the compromise talks to quickly call on his supporters to lift their siege of official buildings. The weeklong blockade has paralyzed government business and prevented Yanukovych and Kuchma from entering their main offices.
As of yesterday morning, however, dozens of Yushchenko's supporters stood shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking entrances to the Cabinet complex. Giant speakers blasted rock music, and the crowd kept growing.
"We aren't letting anyone through. Why should we? We are so close to victory, why surrender now?" Natalya Nechipurenko said.
Solana told reporters that changes in the law would be required to stage a new vote, and suggested the process could take a month.
The two candidates signed a deal setting up a group of lawyers to work out proposals for the "completion of the election," a reference to drafting legislation.
Yushchenko, Yanukovych and other participants in the talks emphasized the need to prevent any actions that could split the country.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique