Ukraine's plenary session to discuss the formation and constitution of a new government was blocked Tuesday by opposition lawmakers who occupied the speaker's podium ahead of a key vote on constitutional change.
Around 40 lawmakers from the opposition Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) Party, Vitaliy Klitschko’s UDAR and the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) Party blocked the podium a half an hour before the start of the plenary session and demanded a return to the 2004 constitution.
Several thousands activists gathered in Independence Square in the heart of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday in an effort to push the parliament to bring back the 2004 constitution.
Pro-opposition demonstrators, that assembled outside the parliamentary building faced newly-installed barricades and clashed with riot police, resulting in the injury of at least four policemen from Ukraine's Internal troops.
Police sources said the protesters set a tent on fire belonging to the ruling Party of Regions outside the parliament and wounded some lawmakers.
After setting two police trucks ablaze, about 100 metres short of the building, protesters threw paving stones at police who retaliated with tear gas, rubber-bullets, stun and smoke grenades to disperse the crowd of protesters.
The opposition wants to curtail powers accumulated by President Viktor Yanukovych such as appointing the prime minister and government as well as regional governors.
The leader of UDAR Party, Vitaliy Klitschko urged President Yanukovych to call early elections to put an end to the ongoing clashes.
Ukrainian parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2017 while the presidential elections are due in 2015.
Yanukovych planned to name his next prime minister on Tuesday to replace the Russian-born Mykola Azarov who was dismissed last month, while the opposition hopes for a moderate successor as a sign that Yanukovych is open to change.
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