KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych announced Monday he formally accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his government.
"I accept the resignation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, which results in the resignation of the entire composition of the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine," a statement from Yanukovych was quoted by the National News Agency of Ukraine as reading.
October elections in Ukraine left the ruling Party of Regions in power, though the opposition Fatherland party of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was close behind in second place.
Yanukovych called on Azarov to keep the government working until a new government is formed. The news service reports that several ministers in Azarov's government resigned after they were elected to Parliament in the October contest. No date was given for when a new government would form.
European observers expressed concern about the "abuse of power and the excessive role of money in this election." Tymoshenko, a former revolutionary leader jailed after a conviction on corruption charges, launched a hunger strike to protest the conduct of the elections.
Azarov had rejected the political concerns that emerged following the October election.
