Yushchenko's Pick for Prime Minister OK'd

KIEV, Ukraine -- President Viktor Yushchenko won parliamentary approval Thursday to name his choice for prime minister on the second try, securing crucial support from the man he defeated in last year's bitter presidential race.

President Viktor Yushchenko (C), Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov (R), and Parliament Speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn (L), answer questions from the media in parliament
Lawmakers gave Yuriy Yekhanurov 289 votes, well above the 226 he needed to become premier.

The extra backing came from losing presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, help that Yushchenko needed to offset the defection of some of his Orange Revolution allies after the ouster of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The parliamentary hall erupted into applause, and Yushchenko, who had come to the session to make one final plea, stood up and warmly hugged Yekhanurov.

Yushchenko dismissed Tymoshenko on Sept. 8., but he failed on Tuesday to win approval for Yekhanurov. Tymoshenko had pleaded to return as prime minister, but Yushchenko stuck by Yekhanurov, an economist and moderate.

The new vote came after a series of consultations between Yushchenko and parliamentary faction leaders. Yanukovych's Party of the Regions gave Yekhanurov 50 votes, enough to push him over the required limit. In Tuesday's vote, Yanukovych's party abstained.

Yushchenko resubmitted Yekhanurov's candidacy late Wednesday after four-hour consultations with the party leaders, and he met again Thursday morning with Yanukovych.

The president had appealed to Ukraine's diverse political forces to unite behind Yekhanurov, asking them to avoid any moves that would destabilize the country.

Yushchenko sacked Tymoshenko's government after members of the Orange Revolution team began bickering over corruption accusations.

While Yushchenko has championed the dismissals as a fresh start, the near daily accusations between the former allies and the president's inability to get a new Cabinet approved have given the appearance of grounding government work to a halt in this nation of 48 million.

Yushchenko failed to convince Tymoshenko's 40-lawmaker bloc or the 56-member Communists to support Yekhanurov, and he didn't win significant results from two smaller parties.

But Yushchenko's turn to his former foe proved decisive. Before the vote, Yushchenko promised to liquidate the post of state secretary and the first presidential aide two jobs that critics said were used to block access to Yushchenko.

The Russian-born Yekhanurov is widely seen as a moderate candidate. But with parliamentary elections that could redraw Ukraine's political landscape just six months away, some lawmakers have complained his would be an ineffective, transitional government.

When Tymoshenko was approved as prime minister after the opposition's triumph in last year's presidential race, she won a record-breaking 373 votes. For many Ukrainians, Tymoshenko symbolized their revolution, being a charismatic orator with charm and trademark hairstyle that expressed her nationalist pride.

Source: AP