KIEV, March 10 - President Viktor Yanukovych, despite growing concerns in Ukraine, on Wednesday signed into law a bill allowing individual lawmakers – in addition to groups – to join governing coalitions.

The move effectively allows his Regions Party and its allies to quickly form a coalition that will be backed by a dozen defectors from two opposition groups.

“We have to find political will to create the majority in Parliament,” Yanukovych said at a meeting with main political groups. “Ukrainian society and our world partners are waiting for political stability in our country.”

Yanukovych seeks to form the new government quickly in order to approve the 2010 budget, which is critical for resuming of lending from the International Monetary Fund.

The government will also have to approve a number of other measures, including narrowing budget deficit and hiking domestic natural gas prices, which are also demanded by the IMF.

Ukraine’s economy contracted 15% on the year in 2009, one of the worst such indicators in the world, after the country’s steel exports had plummeted due to weakening demand overseas.

The Regions Party and its allies – the Communist Party and the group led by Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn - do not control enough seats in Parliament to create the coalition.

The new legislation allows them to rely on a dozen of defectors from two opposition groups to form the coalition, and the new government.

But the plans to create such coalition have been severely criticized by many rival political groups.

Former President Viktor Yushchenko, who seeks to boost public support for his party, Our Ukraine, said he will appeal to his supporters for massive civil disobedience.

“If the president goes this way, I will appeal to the nation for the disobedience,” Yushchenko said at a meeting in Lviv.

Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, herself a foe of Yushchenko, also attacked Yanukovych.

“From this very moment is has become clear that there is no guarantor of the constitution in Ukraine,” Tymoshenko said. “If the coalition and the government is formed on the basis of this unconstitutional legislation, there will be illegal coalition and illegal government.”

“Ukraine will not have legitimate authorities,” she said. “It’s very pity that this is what Yanukovych begins with.”

Vadym Karasiov, a Kiev-based political analyst, said the developments show that the crisis is not over, and may eventually escalate.

“The crisis continues,” Karasiov said. “If the coalition and the government are formed, according to the new legislation, this is not going to finish in a simple way.” (tl/ez)