KIEV, March 17 – President Viktor Yanukovych will be asked this week by a public group to dismiss Parliament amid other steps that may weaken Ukraine's opposition and bolster its pro-government party, a state-owned news agency reported Sunday.

The call for the dismissal is part of a resolution that will be formally announced on Tuesday in Kharkiv at a meeting of a little-known civic group United Social Network, Ukrinform reported.

The group, holding the meeting in Kharkiv, where the city authorities are loyal to Yanukovych, may also initiate a referendum that would completely reshape the country’s political system that would weaken opposition groups and benefit Yanukovych.

The developments come amid speculations that Yanukovych may be seriously considering dismissing Parliament after his Regions Party had failed to secure majority at October 2012 elections.

With the Regions Party’s unexpectedly weak representation in Parliament, it has been mostly relying on 40-50 independent lawmakers for approval of key government appointments and legislation.

But even this operation has ground to a standstill last week after opposition groups have moved to bloc Parliament in protest of the rising pressure against opposition lawmakers. This is the second stoppage of Parliament since October elections.

“More than four months have passed after the elections but Parliament has failed to implement its constitutional duties and to approve vitally important laws,” Ukrinform reported citing the resolution.

“The Cabinet of Ministers cannot work in circumstances like this. The legislative branch of power is in fact paralyzed,” the resolution says. “The country has stopped developing. It cannot go on like this!”

The president has the power to dismiss Parliament if the legislature stays idle for at least 30 days.

The United Social Network, which will hold the meeting on Tuesday, also warned that if Yanukovych fails to dismiss Parliament, the group will initiate a referendum that would amend the constitution to change the political system.

The changes would include reducing the number of seats in Parliament to 300 from 450, create an upper house of Parliament, cancel lawmaker immunity from prosecution and replace parliamentary election law with majority-based system of vote.

All of the suggested changes would greatly weaken opposition parties and will de-facto benefit Yanukovych and his Regions Party, analysts said.

A number of small civic organizations from another Ukrainian city, Kherson, have reportedly also backed the demands of the United Social Network, Unian news agency reported Sunday.

Such orchestrated approval of the pro-Yanukovych initiatives across the country by a number of small organizations raises suspicions the move may be staged by the authorities to justify potential sweeping political changes ahead, analysts said.

The developments come after opposition leaders warned last week that Parliament will not re-open anytime soon and that the early parliamentary elections may be the only way out of political crisis. (tl/ez)