Ukraine parliament sacks government

KIEV - Ukraine's opposition has scored a victory in its drive to overturn what it says was a rigged election, with parliament sacking the government of prime minister and president-designate Viktor Yanukovich.

Several hurdles remain before opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko can claim outright victory in a crisis that has threatened to tear apart the ex-Soviet state which sits between former master Russia and an expanded European Union.

Yanukovich called the parliamentary decision illegal on Wednesday, refusing to accept it.

The vote passed at the second attempt through secret ballot at an unruly sitting of the assembly, with Yushchenko's backers sporting orange scarves and ties -- his campaign colour.

Outside, tens of thousands of his supporters followed the debate through loudspeakers, cheering wildly at every procedural measure and embracing as the outcome was announced.

"It is an important and serious victory for us, but there is still a lot to be done," parliamentary deputy Mykola Tomenko told crowds in Independence Square, taken over by opposition supporters since the disputed November 21 presidential election.

The opposition has vowed to use "People Power" to win demands for a new election soon.

The parliamentary vote came just before the start of talks between international mediators and the two candidates on the crisis.

It was in a break during those talks that Yanukovich spoke to reporters about the parliamentary vote against him.

"I will never recognise this decision ... they approved the decision in political terms. But it is against the law, it is against the constitution," he said.

Mediators included European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus. Also present was outgoing Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.

Kuchma earlier made clear he would not easily give up his battle with the opposition, rejecting its key demand for a repeat of the presidential run-off which official results said his protege won.

"Any rerun would simply be a farce. I cannot see it in any other way and I will never support it as it would be unconstitutional," he told a meeting of economic officials.

But the European Union's Dutch presidency said a rerun was the only way out.

"I don't see how all the complaints that have been filed on the second round of the elections can be solved in such a way that the outcome of this round of elections is ultimately acceptable to all," Dutch Europe Minister Atzo Nicolai said.

"In such a case a new second round of elections may be the only way out. We then have to ensure they are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner," he told the European Parliament.

The Supreme Court was sitting for a third day to decide whether the election was fraudulent.

If it rules in favour of the opposition, the Central Election Commission will have to revoke the victory it handed to Yanukovich and can then either set a repeat vote or a completely new election which would take up to three months to complete.

Yanukovich, who has repeatedly said there was cheating in Yushchenko's stronghold in western Ukraine, submitted his own case on fraud, one of the court's judges said.

The sacking of Yanukovich, crucially for the opposition, means he has effectively lost his administrative power base to help in a new election.

There is widespread speculation that Kuchma will drop him and look for a new protege to challenge Yushchenko, something he could not do if there is a simple rerun of the November 21 run-off.

The world view of the two rivals differs widely, with Yushchenko looking to the European Union that has expanded up to Ukraine's borders as crucial to hopes of raising the economy.

Yanukovich looks to achieve that goal with traditional partners in the former Soviet Union, especially Russia which has dominated Ukraine for centuries and is its main source of energy. More exports, however, go to the European Union.

The EU views Ukraine, with its industrial and agricultural might still to be exploited, as a future member.

For Russia, it is part of the family. Its loss to the embrace of the West would underline the Kremlin's dwindling influence in a region it once ruled.

- REUTERS