[img caption=”Pro-Yushchenko protestors in the tent city in Kiev’s city center.” float=”right” width=”500″ height=”375″ render=”<%photoRenderType%>”]8855[/img] Kiev
In another major development in Ukraine’s post-presidential election crisis the national parliament, the Verkhovnaya Rada, met in emergency session on Saturday and voted to declare last Sunday’s electoral results invalid. The parliament also passed a vote of no confidence on the country’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC), which had rushed to certify the results of balloting and ignored the multiple charges of fraud by international observers.
However, Ukraine’s political system is close to that of other former Soviet Republics in that the real powers of parliament are limited and the president is an almost benign dictator. Parliament’s vote, although it clearly reflects the will on the people who have taken to the streets by the hundreds of thousands in protest, is only symbolic and is not legally binding. The more meaningful decision has to be taken by outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who has been reluctant to see anyone other than his current Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovich, succeed him.
