Viktor Yushchenko will be sworn in as Ukraine's president on Jan. 23, ending a two-month standoff over disputed election results, the state-run Ukrinform news service said, citing parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.
Ukraine: the end of electoral crisis
23:23 2005-01-20
Viktor Yushchenko will be sworn in as Ukraine's president on Jan. 23, ending a two-month standoff over disputed election results, the state-run Ukrinform news service said, citing parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.
The noon inauguration in the Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, will be followed by the resignation of the government of interim Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Ukrinform said. Yushchenko, 50, has said the official ceremony will be followed by a popular celebration in Kiev's Independence Square, the center of protests that led to the annulment of the Nov. 21 second-round presidential vote that Yushchenko lost.
The final move allowing Yushchenko to take office from outgoing President Leonid Kuchma came early today when the Supreme Court rejected former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's last complaint against the Dec. 26 re-run of the election, informs Bloomberg.
According to the NYTimes, Ukraine's parliament voted today to inaugurate Viktor A. Yushchenko as the country's next president on Sunday, nearly three months after the first votes were cast.
Mr. Yushchenko's inauguration - only the country's third since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 - will end a tumultuous electoral crisis that prompted huge public demonstrations and behind-the-scenes intrigue, deeply dividing the country and souring relations with Russia.
Despite legal challenges that have delayed his inauguration, Mr. Yushchenko has been acting as president-elect. He announced today that he would, as promised, make his first trip abroad to Moscow. His spokeswoman, Irina Gerashchenko, announced that he would visit on Monday, a day after he takes the oath of office.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had twice called to congratulate Mr. Yushchenko's opponent, Viktor F. Yanukovich. This time, he congratulated Mr. Yushchenko. But in a sign of lingering frostiness, he did so in a statement posted on the Kremlin's Web site and passed through diplomatic channels, not in a telephone conversation, a spokeswoman said.
In his statement, Mr. Putin urged Mr. Yushchenko to respect the economic and social bonds that tie Ukraine and Russia, which showed signs of strain after the Kremlin's open support for Mr. Yanukovich's candidacy. "The development of good neighborly and equal relations with Ukraine is one of Russia's most important national priorities," Mr. Putin's statement said.
http://newsfromrussia.com/main/2005/01/20/57917.html
23:23 2005-01-20
Viktor Yushchenko will be sworn in as Ukraine's president on Jan. 23, ending a two-month standoff over disputed election results, the state-run Ukrinform news service said, citing parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.
The noon inauguration in the Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, will be followed by the resignation of the government of interim Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Ukrinform said. Yushchenko, 50, has said the official ceremony will be followed by a popular celebration in Kiev's Independence Square, the center of protests that led to the annulment of the Nov. 21 second-round presidential vote that Yushchenko lost.
The final move allowing Yushchenko to take office from outgoing President Leonid Kuchma came early today when the Supreme Court rejected former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's last complaint against the Dec. 26 re-run of the election, informs Bloomberg.
According to the NYTimes, Ukraine's parliament voted today to inaugurate Viktor A. Yushchenko as the country's next president on Sunday, nearly three months after the first votes were cast.
Mr. Yushchenko's inauguration - only the country's third since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 - will end a tumultuous electoral crisis that prompted huge public demonstrations and behind-the-scenes intrigue, deeply dividing the country and souring relations with Russia.
Despite legal challenges that have delayed his inauguration, Mr. Yushchenko has been acting as president-elect. He announced today that he would, as promised, make his first trip abroad to Moscow. His spokeswoman, Irina Gerashchenko, announced that he would visit on Monday, a day after he takes the oath of office.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had twice called to congratulate Mr. Yushchenko's opponent, Viktor F. Yanukovich. This time, he congratulated Mr. Yushchenko. But in a sign of lingering frostiness, he did so in a statement posted on the Kremlin's Web site and passed through diplomatic channels, not in a telephone conversation, a spokeswoman said.
In his statement, Mr. Putin urged Mr. Yushchenko to respect the economic and social bonds that tie Ukraine and Russia, which showed signs of strain after the Kremlin's open support for Mr. Yanukovich's candidacy. "The development of good neighborly and equal relations with Ukraine is one of Russia's most important national priorities," Mr. Putin's statement said.
http://newsfromrussia.com/main/2005/01/20/57917.html
