KYIV, Ukraine - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych refused Wednesday to bow to the president's order to hold early parliamentary elections, saying he would wait until the Constitutional Court rules on its legality.
President Viktor Yushchenko ordered parliament dissolved on Monday night, and called new elections for May 27, plunging Ukraine into its most serious political crisis since the 2004 Orange Revolution.
Yanukovych has called Yushchenko's decision illegal and appealed to the 18-judge Constitutional Court.
"Until the issue is considered by the Constitutional Court, we will not prepare for elections in any way," the prime minister said Wednesday.
He accused the president's office of putting pressure on the judges, and announced that the chief justice planned to resign. Court spokesman Ivan Avramov said he had no such information.
The dispute between Yushchenko and Yanukovych echoed their struggle over the 2004 presidential election, when Yushchenko's supporters erected a tent city in the capital Kyiv, claiming the vote was fraudulent.
The protests, which lasted for weeks, became known as the Orange Revolution, after Yushchenko's campaign color. Yushchenko, who was disfigured by dioxin poisoning during the campaign, won a repeat vote. The mystery of how he was poisoned has never been solved.
Ukraine's Supreme Court played a major role during that dispute. This time, the focus is shifting to the little-known Constitutional Court. Avramov said the court has 15 days to render a preliminary decision on whether to accept the case. But the final decision is up to a six-judge panel that faces no time limit.
Yanukovych's supporters expanded a tent camp outside the parliament building and set tents up on Independence Square in downtown Kyiv. Yushchenko's supporters called off plans for a separate rally on the plaza, saying they wanted to avoid raising tensions.
Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko, Yushchenko's ally in the coalition government, said it was wrong to wait for the slow-moving court and suggested those ministers who disagree should resign.
"We cannot wait for the court's decision which can come in three days or in three months. The president took all responsibility for the order and it must be fulfilled," he said.
Yanukovych staged a remarkable comeback last year, when his party won the largest share in parliamentary voting. In August, he put together a coalition that forced Yushchenko to name him prime minister, then expanded it by persuading lawmakers from pro-presidential factions to defect.
Last month, 11 lawmakers joined the ruling coalition, moving it closer to a 300-seat, veto-proof majority in the parliament that would allow Yanukovych's allies to change the constitution.
Yushchenko has called the defections illegal, saying the law permits only blocs, not individual lawmakers, to switch sides. He also says Yanukovych has violated a promise to support the president's policies.
The United States and Russia have appealed for calm in this nation of 47 million that finds itself caught between its historic ties to Russia and its aspirations to move closer to Europe.
Although Yushchenko and Yanukovych differ over whether Ukraine should join NATO or more closely tie its fate to Russia, much of the wrangling has been widely viewed as efforts by their financial backers and behind-the-scene power-brokers seeking to protect business interests.
Several business clans are known to be vying for influence over lucrative enterprises -- for example, ventures connected to the country's natural gas transport system.
