KIEV, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's parliament has failed to meet the presidential deadline for adopting laws needed to hold early parliamentary elections, and to end an ongoing political crisis.
Viktor Yushchenko said earlier Thursday he expected parliament pass all the relevant bills by the end of the day.
He had given lawmakers an extra day to decide on the legislation, in particular on amendments to the 2007 state budget relating to election campaign financing.
The presidential press service said that if lawmakers failed to vote in the necessary bills, the opposition Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine factions would formally recall their deputies from the Supreme Rada, and parliament would lose its legal power.
Under this outcome, "elections will be held in 60 days, in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution" Yushchenko said.
The Tymoshenko Bloc said earlier Thursday that 106 of its 125 members in parliament had submitted formal requests to quit, which will now be considered by the parliamentary executive office.
