Ukraine parliament backs tymoshenko
18 December 2007
Published in International Herald Tribune /
Reuters
By Yuri Kulikov
Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday restored Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister, sealing a political comeback for a leading figure from the former Soviet country's 2004 "Orange Revolution".
Tymoshenko, who confronted a powerful coalition led by outgoing prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, won 226 votes in the chamber, the exact number required to take office.
By Yuri Kulikov
Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday restored Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister, sealing a political comeback for a leading figure from the former Soviet country's 2004 "Orange Revolution".
Tymoshenko, who confronted a powerful coalition led by outgoing prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, won 226 votes in the chamber, the exact number required to take office.
Tymoshenko, known for her stirring oratory in the
2004 pro-Western "Orange Revolution" and who was
premier for seven months before being sacked by
President Viktor Yushchenko in 2005, heads an
"orange" coalition of her own bloc and his Our
Ukraine party.
Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk grinned broadly as his vote, the last to be counted in the chamber, gave Tymoshenko the numbers she needed to win the ballot.
A beaming Tymoshenko, wearing her traditional peasant braid and a white suit, was quickly surrounded by applauding supporters.
Tymoshenko says she will uphold the ideals of the 2004 Revolution which pledged to move Ukraine closer to the West and eventually seek membership of the European Union and NATO.
She has said her priorities will be to clean up corruption still rampant in Ukraine 16 years after independence from Soviet rule and proceed with vital economic, judicial and political reforms including a "clean" privatisation programme.
Tymoshenko, now backed again by Yushchenko, fell short by a single vote last week, plunging the assembly into tumult. She blamed the outcome on tampering with the electronic voting system, though officials found no evidence.
Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk grinned broadly as his vote, the last to be counted in the chamber, gave Tymoshenko the numbers she needed to win the ballot.
A beaming Tymoshenko, wearing her traditional peasant braid and a white suit, was quickly surrounded by applauding supporters.
Tymoshenko says she will uphold the ideals of the 2004 Revolution which pledged to move Ukraine closer to the West and eventually seek membership of the European Union and NATO.
She has said her priorities will be to clean up corruption still rampant in Ukraine 16 years after independence from Soviet rule and proceed with vital economic, judicial and political reforms including a "clean" privatisation programme.
Tymoshenko, now backed again by Yushchenko, fell short by a single vote last week, plunging the assembly into tumult. She blamed the outcome on tampering with the electronic voting system, though officials found no evidence.