Ukraine court moves presidential election

KIEV, Ukraine, May 14 (UPI) -- The Ukraine Constitutional Court voted in favor of President Viktor Yushchenko's appeal and moved the presidential election date from October to January.

The country's highest court declared "unconstitutional" a parliamentary decree that set the election for Oct. 25 because Yushchenko's five-year term expires in January 2010, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency said Thursday.

On April 1, the Ukraine parliament scheduled the presidential election for Oct. 25 and on April 8, Yushchenko submitted his appeal to the court.

Yushchenko argued a constitutional amendment of 2006 says the presidential election should be held the last Sunday of the last month of the fifth year of the head of state in office, which in his case is Jan. 17, 2010.

Yushchenko was was elected president in December 2004 but formally took the office in January 2005.