[JURIST] Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko [official website] Monday abolished the Kiev District Court by decree [decree 922/2008 text, in Ukrainian] after it decided Saturday to block a previous presidential decree dissolving parliament and directing parliamentary elections in the wake of the collapse of the governing coalition. The Kiev court made the ruling against the elections in response to a lawsuit brought by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website] against Yushchenko and Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) [official website] claiming that the election was called earlier than indicated by law. Monday's decree establishes two administrative courts to replace the district court. Additionally, Yushchenko issued another decree [decree 923/2008 text, in Ukrainian] designed to further safeguard the voting rights of citizens and the vote itself, which is scheduled for December 7. Political allies of Tymoshenko have said they will continue to oppose the elections. AP has more. RIA Novosti has additional coverage.

Ukraine's leadership is seriously divided in the wake of the 2004 Orange Revolution [backgrounder] that brought Yushchenko to power as president. The populist Tymoshenko was originally a Yushchenko ally, but more recently has become disaffected, leading to the collapse of the government [press release] over disagreements on both domestic and international issues.