Ukraine Parliament Wants New Government by February 25

On Saturday, Ukraine’s parliament passed a resolution that kicked out President Viktor Yanukovich and set new elections on May 25, but it also voted out many department heads, while other posts resigned. Now Ukrainians need to structure a new government as soon as possible.

“There is no time to wait, as without the prime minister there will be no negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and Russia regarding financial aid. Without financial help Ukraine will default, as it already came down to pre-default condition,” said political analyst Taras Berezovets. “I hope that we will have a prime minister tomorrow (on Feb. 24). Tymoshenko renounced her candidacy already, and I think (Arseniy) Yatseniuk has the highest chances.”

Yanukovich left Friday night after he signed a deal with the opposition, and Members of Parliament from Yanukovich’s Party of Regions left their posts.

“We are creating a group of around 40 deputies and it will join the coalition majority,” says Anatoliy Kinakh, who recently quit the Party of Regions faction. “We don’t have time. I hope that we’ll finish forming [a] coalition and new government by (Feb. 25). We can’t allow political problems to add to the social and economic crisis, as then the situation will go out of control.

They voted speaker Oleksandr Turchynov as interim president on Sunday. 

Parliament also wants to bring up the European Union trade deal Yanukovich turned down in November, which set off the massive protests in Independence Square in Kiev.

Residents in Ukraine’s port city Sevastapol may cause a few headaches in Kiev. On Sunday, they held demonstrations pledging their allegiance to Russia.