Yeltsin Ally Seeks Early Vote
Wednesday, 25 November 1998
M O S C O W (AP)
THE LEADER of the main pro-government party in Russia's parliament
called Wednesday for early presidential elections, a potent sign that
President Boris Yeltsin has lost political clout even among his allies.
Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, meanwhile, barreled ahead with his
efforts at tackling Russia's worst economic crisis since the 1991 Soviet
collapse, urging "emergency measures" to save Russians from the ravages
of the turmoil.
The next presidential election is not scheduled until the middle of 2000.
The ailing Yeltsin is constitutionally barred from running for a third term,
but has insisted that he will serve out his current term.
Alexander Shokhin, leader of the pro-government Our Home is Russia
faction, said that presidential and parliamentary elections should be held
simultaneously next September.
Russia's opposition, especially the Communist Party, has long called for
Yeltsin to step down. In recent months, as the economy has worsened and
Yeltsin has fallen ill three times, some prominent allies or former allies of
the president have called for early elections.
"This is an idea that might assist with constructive reforms in the country
and save money ... simultaneously," Shokhin said, according to the Interfax
news agency.
In October, the upper house of parliament, which has consistently
supported Yeltsin, voted 79-18 in favor of a resolution demanding the
president's resignation.
Yeltsin remained in a Kremlin hospital Wednesday, recuperating from
pneumonia, the latest in a series of illnesses that have reduced him to a
part-time president.
His press service said Yeltsin's condition was "stable."
Primakov, one of the most popular figures in Russian politics since his
appointment in September, insisted again Wednesday that he would not
run for president, even considering the "latest developments" - presumably
referring to Yeltsin's sickness.
Primakov spent most of the day talking about the economy. He said the
1999 budget - which the Cabinet is due to debate over the next few days -
would have to include unspecified emergency measures to cushion
economic blows.
However, he said the economy had no problems that couldn't be fixed with
help from the state.
"We can't go on waiting for the market environment to solve our
problems," the prime minister said. "In such a difficult transition,
development must progress along a mechanism worked out in advance."
Later Wednesday, Primakov chaired a meeting of prime ministers from 12
former Soviet republics seeking to bolster mutual cooperation at a time
when many face deep economic problems - most of which stem from
Russia's meltdown.
Russia's economy, which had begun to grow last year for the first time
since the Soviet collapse, succumbed this year to the global economic
crisis that started in Asia. It crashed in August, when the Russian
government devalued the ruble and effectively defaulted on its foreign
loans.
So far, Primakov's Cabinet has been unable to settle on a budget, and was
reportedly divided last week among three rival versions of the plan. The
Finance Ministry submitted a new plan Wednesday that is intended to
address all the Cabinet's concerns, Interfax said.
Also Wednesday, Deputy Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was quoted
as saying that foreign banks had agreed to reschedule $22.5 billion in
Russia's debt to the London Club of creditors. The two sides began talks
Monday in London. |
