KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma endorsed a package of election reforms Monday as international mediators met to discuss a new election.
The move is an about-face for Kuchma, who said Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin a re-run of the run-off would not be legal, the Vedomosti newspaper said.
Adding to the political turmoil after the Nov. 21 vote, the Interfax news agency reported the Our Ukraine parliamentary faction demanded the dismissal of the interior minister, the prosecutor general and the Central Elections Commission.
Citing an opinion poll by the Levada Research group, Russia's Novosti news agency wrote in a headline "Yanukovych stands no chance" in the scheduled Dec. 26 vote. The report said the pro-Moscow prime minister had lost ground to Western-backed challenger Viktor Yushchenko, who had 56 percent support.
