You're reading: Ukraine’s parliament fires interior minister

Ukraine's parliament onJan. 28fired the country's interior minister, a powerful ally of prime minister and presidential hopeful Yulia Tymoshenko just 10 days before election day.

The initiative to fire Yury Lutsenko was raised by the parliamentary faction loyal to Tymoshenko’s opponent in the Feb. 7 vote, Victor Yanukovych.

Tymoshenko reacted by appointing Lutsenko to the post of acting interior minister, neutralizing the move. Parliament has no power to fire acting ministers, meaning little has changed.

Control over the police could prove decisive if unrest follows the election. Following a vote judged to be fraudulent in 2004, police allowed the Orange Revolution — a huge, peaceful protest on a central square in Kiev. Ralliers forced authorities to cancel vote results in favor of Yanukovych, paving the way for a revote and election of Victor Yushchenko, the outgoing incumbent.

Lutsenko said in televised remarks that his initial ouster was a precursor to vote fraud.