Ruling coalition dismissed in Ukraine, PM resigns

The ruling coalition formed by the Batkivshchina party, the liberal UDAR party, the nationalist Svoboda party and a group of independent lawmakers was officially dismissed today. Former members of the coalition now call for early parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of the Batkivshchina party resigned from office in response to the coalition's dissolution.

According to Ukrainian political analyst Alexey Poltorakov, the decision to hold early elections is based on the former coalition's members' desire to acquire more places in the new parliament.

The pro-president Solidarnost party is too weak to become a dominant political power in the parliament and the former ruling Party of Regions collapsed after President Yanukovych fled the country, so the members of the former coalition are likely to secure a majority of the vote and to dominate the legislature, the expert explains.

Early parliamentary elections were promised by President Petro Poroshenko during his presidential campaign.