Ukranian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said he intends to lead coalition talks with up to five parties as soon as all the votes from Sunday’s general election are tallied.
With almost all the ballots counted on Wednesday, his party, the People’s Front, have a narrow lead over the president’s party, called Petro Poroshenko’s Bloc.
“I propose to name the new coalition – “European Ukraine” in honour of the people who stood on Maidan. People expect from us to fulfill the agreement between Ukraine and the EU and make Ukraine a European country,” announced Yatsenyuk.
Petro Poroshenko’s Bloc is Yatsenyuk’s party’s main strategic partner, however the prime minister has said he would look elsewhere if President Poroshenko disagrees with his coalition plans.
Among the political groups Yatsenyuk also hopes to include is the Fatherland party led by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. On Wednesday she said she would join his coalition.
Yatsenyuk has announced that he would be interested in bringing the newly formed Self-Help Party and the Radical Party in to the new government as well. He aims to seal a pact within 20 days.
Meanwhile, Moscow-backed elections are set to take place on November 2 in the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Euronews’ correspondent in Kyiv, Maria Korenyuk, said that “if parties accept Yatsenyuk’s offer, they have to name their candidates for the ministerial positions by Monday. The new government is to be formed based on the model set out by the European Commission. This involves a public hearing that is broadcast live.”