Ukraine remains in limbo

Ukraine's outgoing president accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich yesterday, but the country remained in political limbo during a drawn-out transition after last month's election.

Liberal Viktor Yushchenko - who defeated Mr Yanukovich in a December 26 rerun election after demonstrations against an earlier vote that was rigged - met reporters at a mountain retreat but gave no clues about plans to staff a new government.

"We will count on new names," was all he would say. The election commission met to finalise results that could at last see Mr Yushchenko confirmed president. The Supreme Court said it would meet today to hear an appeal by Mr Yanukovich, and other court cases could follow.

There is little doubt Mr Yushchenko will take power some time this month. But the official result has been held up by legal challenges mounted by Mr Yanukovich, who has vowed to fight the outcome even though he says he has no hope of success.

"There was no need to torture the nation for so long," Mr Yushchenko told reporters at Tysovets, a resort in Western Ukraine's Carpathian mountains where he is holidaying with his political ally Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Mr Saakashvili also came to power on a wave of protests that followed a rigged election, and the two have stood side by side.

"The Ukrainian and Georgian revolutions represent a new wave of Europe's liberation and will lead to the final victory of democracy in Europe," they said in a joint statement.

Mr Yushchenko's supporters have complained that outgoing president Leonid Kuchma's allies are dragging out the transition before their enemies take power.

Since the election, one member of the outgoing cabinet was found dead with a gunshot to the head. Other officials have been sacked by Mr Kuchma and some are rumoured to have left the country.

Mr Kuchma named Finance Minister Mykola Azarov acting prime minister to replace Mr Yanukovich. Hours later Mr Azarov led the cabinet's weekly meeting.

With the transition stalled, Mr Yushchenko's supporters have been jockeying for positions in his new government.

Yulia Tymoshenko, one of his most radical and popular supporters, opened the bidding for the post of prime minister, suggesting in a television interview that Mr Yushchenko had picked her.

"I am certain that Viktor Andreyevich will put up the worthiest candidate, and I believe that as for my candidacy, Viktor Andreyevich has made a decision," she said.

But Mr Yushchenko's backers do not have enough votes in parliament to guarantee any candidate's confirmation. Ms Tymoshenko, who is wanted by Russia on criminal charges for business deals in the 1990s, is seen as a divisive choice and a less polarising figure could expect an easier ride.