Tymoshenko PM bid blocked as power impasse deepens

Ukraine:Allies of prime minister Viktor Yanukovich blocked deputies from entering Ukraine's parliament yesterday to vote on Yulia Tymoshenko's bid to replace him, deepening a power struggle that could paralyse the country's political structures.

The blockade prevented supporters of Ms Tymoshenko and President Viktor Yushchenko from confirming her as Ukraine's new premier, a day after she accused Mr Yanukovich's Regions Party of rigging a ballot in which she fell one vote short of approval.

Members of the Regions Party later prevented parliamentary speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk from reaching his podium to formally open a session of the assembly, forcing him to postpone the vote on Ms Tymoshenko's candidacy until today at the earliest.

Ms Tymoshenko insists her coalition with Mr Yushchenko's party is solid and gives her the support of 227 deputies, one more than she needs to return to a post from which the president sacked her in 2005, just months after they had led the Orange Revolution.

She accuses Mr Yanukovich and his allies of tampering with parliament's electronic voting machine, which said that she only received 225 votes in Tuesday's ballot. At least two of her supporters say the machine would not accept their voting cards.

But the SBU security service, summoned to investigate, said checks revealed no interference in the system.

Oleksander Turchinov, one of Ms Tymoshenko's lieutenants, told reporters any new vote should be taken by a show of hands.

"The speaker would call on each member to raise his hand and say publicly whether he is for or against," Mr Turchinov said.

Some analysts doubt the machines malfunctioned or were sabotaged, and believe long-standing cracks in the relationship between allies of Ms Tymoshenko and Mr Yushchenko have re-emerged and may fatally undermine their planned alliance.

"I actually expected this to happen; full support was very doubtful. Tymoshenko could only be agreed to if the more moderate people in parliament knew that she would not have all the authority," said Katya Malofeeva, an analyst at Renaissance Capital bank.

"People would not be comfortable with her doing what she wants. It's definitely a strong sign that she needs to negotiate further."

Before agreeing to nominate Ms Tymoshenko, President Yushchenko repeatedly called on her to seek broad support that would forge links between her pro-EU power base in western Ukraine and the pro-Russian eastern regions where Mr Yanukovich dominates. Mr Yanukovich denies rigging the vote and has asked his rivals for coalition talks - something to which Mr Yushchenko might agree, but Ms Tymoshenko would not.

"There is a chance [that she could become premier] but I think it's unlikely," said Ms Malofeeva. "We may not see a new government by the end of this year, beginning of next." - (Additional reporting: Reuters)