KIEV, Nov. 11 - The Constitutional Court will probably next week approve a law postponing the next Parliamentary election until October 2012, a newspaper reported Thursday, citing a source at the court.

The decision will most likely be announced on Nov. 18 or Nov. 19, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported, citing the source.

The court must announce its decision before Nov. 22, a week before parties are supposed to start campaigning for the next election currently due in March 2011.

An election in March 2011 would most likely benefit opposition leaders, such as former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and may complicate life for President Viktor Yanukovych and his government.

Serhiy Liovochkin, the chief of staff at the Yanukovych administration, said Wednesday that running the election in March 2011 may pose some “technical difficulties,” but he did not elaborate.

The Constitutional Court is almost entirely dominated by loyalists of Yanukovych and tends to support decisions and policies that had been pursued by his administration.

Yanukovych on Thursday declined to comment on the upcoming ruling.

“It is hard to say what ruling will be approved by the Constitutional Court because there are different interpretations of the constitution,” Yanukovcyh told reporter in Kalush, the Ivano-Frakivsk region. “I don’t want to substitute the court right now.”

Yanukovych said he would accept any decision by the court.

The court ruled last month to change Ukraine’s constitution overnight by shifting huge powers to Yanukovych away from the government and the ruling coalition in Parliament.

But the change of the constitution, a controversial move criticized by the opposition, has also automatically scheduled the next parliamentary election for March, or 1.5 years earlier.

Lawmakers loyal to Yanukovych last month approved the bill that re-schedules the parliamentary lection on October 2012. At least 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat Parliament have to approve the bill after the approval of the Constitutional Court in order to change the constitution.

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, a member of the coalition with Yanukovych, said earlier this month that he hoped the court would provide its clarification to the constitution.

Lytvyn said recently thast most current lawmakers do not support the idea of holding the next election in March 2011, and would rather agree to postpone the election until either March 2012 or October 2012.

“We can talk about March 2012, but not about March 2011,” Lytvyn said. “Don’t wake up the trouble if it is asleep.”

“Parliament is operational, it is working supporting an absolute majority of proposals submitted by the head of state,” Lytvyn said. “What else does one need? Simply the next election?”

The bill was approved by 260 lawmakers in the 450-seat Parliament and submitted to the Constitutional Court on October 19. (nr/ez)