Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko declared Wednesday that he
supported the establishment of a coalition government made up by
Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc and the Our Ukraine Party-People's
Self-Defense bloc.
Yushchenko said in a national television speech that he
supported the two blocs forming the majority of the parliament,
adding that all legal rights of opposing parties should be
guaranteed to keep the government under supervision.
Ukraine's two major political parties, Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc
and Our Ukraine Party-People's Self-Defense, have signed a draft
deal on a coalition government Monday, under which the Tymoshenko
party will nominate the candidates for the prime minister, the
first vice prime minister and nine ministers, while Our Ukraine
will nominate the candidates for the parliament speaker, two vice
prime ministers and ten ministers.
According to the deal, the coalition government will try to gain
Ukraine's official membership of NATO and the European Union, and
strengthen its relationship with Russia and other neighboring
countries.
In last month's legislative elections, Ukrainian Prime Minister
Victor Yanukovych's Regions Party garnered 175 seats out of a total
of 450, Tymoshenko's bloc collected 156, Our Ukraine 72, the
Communists 27 and the Lytvin party 20.
The total seats by Tymoshenko's bloc and Our Ukraine surpassed
the majority, which enabled them to establish a coalition
government.
(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2007)
