KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko said Monday he would ask Parliament for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's government. Speaking to supporters more than a week after the presidential runoff that has deeply divided the nation, Yushchenko said he would call for the vote because the government had lost control of the country, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Since the Nov. 21 runoff, which gave the victory to Yanukovych amid accusations of voting improprieties from both Yushchenko supporters and international observers, thousands of Ukrainians from both camps have demonstrated in major cities.

The nation's Supreme Court is considering an appeal from Yushchenko. Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma has suggested a new vote be held.

Yanukovych's supporters, located mainly in the Russian-speaking eastern regions and favoring closer ties with Russia, have threatened to demand autonomy if Yushchenko becomes the new president. The pro-Western Yushchenko carried the vote in the mostly Ukrainian-speaking western provinces.

Kuchma warned that the country's financial system faced collapse after reports from Ukraine's central bank that there had been a rush to withdraw bank deposits.

Copyright 2004 by United Press International