Tymoshenko halts lawsuit against Ukrainian election decree

Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc has withdrawn a lawsuit against a presidential decree dissolving parliament and calling early elections, a spokesman said today. Last week, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko suspended his October 9 decree, citing the need to "stabilize the political situation in the country and minimize the negative effects of the global financial crisis on Ukraine's economy." Tymoshenko halts lawsuit against Ukrainian election decree "There is now no sense in continuing this case, as the issue of elections is no longer relevant. It is now time to return to normal life without campaigns, and to tackle the economy," the bloc's court representative, Valeriy Pysarenko, said. Yushchenko's decree dissolving parliament and calling new elections for December, and instructions to allocate money for the election campaign, have been repeatedly blocked by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government. The power struggle between the premier and the president went to the courts, and the Kiev District Court overturned the presidential decree. In response, Yushchenko signed a decree abolishing the court, replacing it with two administrative courts. "The case needs to be closed as the courts have become theaters where the judges are leading actors," Pysarenko said. According to the latest opinion polls, 90 percent of Ukrainians are against holding snap parliamentary elections. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, leaders of the 2004 "Orange Revolution," have drifted apart over a host of issues, including Russia's war with Georgia in August. Both are expected to run for president in 2010.

Tymoshenko halts lawsuit against Ukrainian election decree

"There is now no sense in continuing this case, as the issue of elections is no longer relevant. It is now time to return to normal life without campaigns, and to tackle the economy," the bloc's court representative, Valeriy Pysarenko, said.

Yushchenko's decree dissolving parliament and calling new elections for December, and instructions to allocate money for the election campaign, have been repeatedly blocked by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government.

The power struggle between the premier and the president went to the courts, and the Kiev District Court overturned the presidential decree. In response, Yushchenko signed a decree abolishing the court, replacing it with two administrative courts.

"The case needs to be closed as the courts have become theaters where the judges are leading actors," Pysarenko said.

According to the latest opinion polls, 90 percent of Ukrainians are against holding snap parliamentary elections.

Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, leaders of the 2004 "Orange Revolution," have drifted apart over a host of issues, including Russia's war with Georgia in August. Both are expected to run for president in 2010.