Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, locked in a legal conflict with parliament, yesterday proposed setting up a commission to draft a new version of the constitution to be submitted to a referendum.

Yushchenko has criticized constitutional changes in force since the New Year that have cut his powers and expanded those of parliament.

He has been at odds with the assembly for weeks since ignoring its vote to dismiss his government ahead of a March 26 election to an assembly keen to use its expanded powers.

"I propose a plan to carry out real mass political reform create a constitutional commission...with the aim of drafting a new version of the Ukrainian constitution," Yushchenko told parliament in his State of the Union Address.

"The completed draft would be submitted to country-wide discussion...and would then be put to a country-wide referendum."

Under the current constitution, the president is entitled to call a referendum on constitutional issues.

Yushchenko said his proposal was "optimal in terms of uniting the tasks of mass participation and the legitimacy of the entire constitutional process. I am certain we can achieve a full consensus on this matter."

Yushchenko came to power just over a year ago on the back of mass protests against alleged electoral fraud.

But his first year in office has been jolted by the division of his team into two camps, each accusing the other of corruption.

The split culminated in the dismissal of his popular, prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, last September, generating disillusion among supporters of the "orange revolution."

(China Daily February 10, 2006)