KIEV, Sept. 14 – President Viktor Yushchenko on Monday appealed to the Constitutional Court to nullify controversial legislation that was recently approved to govern the next presidential election, setting stage for a battle with two main presidential candidates.

The legislation, which among other things restricts involvement of public organizations in vote counting, was signed into law by Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn after being twice rejected by Yushchenko.

The legislation is thought to benefit Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych by allowing their allies to control regional election commissions.

Yushchenko’s appeal to the Constitutional Court shows he is determined to stop the legislation, in a development that comes five days before the official start of the presidential campaign.

Many politicians, including Lytvyn, said that some of the clauses of the legislation are controversial and may indeed be rejected by the Constitutional Court.

This, Lytvyn said, may trigger a chain of events that may cause political turbulence, clashes and lengthy court battles over the election, further complicating political situation in Ukraine.

“I am convinced there are reasons for the Constitutional Court to define that some clauses of the law to be unconstitutional,” Lytvyn said, adding that the election may be “disorganized.”

The law, which was advocated by Tymoshenko and Yanukovych, de-facto, gives their political groups – as opposed to public organizations - more power in crucial issues, such as vote counting.

The legislation also reduces time of campaigning to 90 days from 120 days, makes it extremely difficult to vote by Ukrainians living overseas and allows adding new people to voter lists on the day of the vote, which may lead to fraud.

The legislation is a major setback for Arseniy Yatseniuk, a popular former speaker of Parliament and a potential presidential candidate, who does not have a strong party backing him, unlike Tymoshenko and Yanukovych.

The legislation was approved at an emergency session of Parliament last month as lawmakers loyal to Tymoshenko and Yanukovych had joined forces to override the veto from the president.

Tymoshenko and Yanukovych, the biggest rivals at the election due January 17, 2010, joined forces to approve the controversial legislation after their attempts to make amendment to the constitution had failed.

Tymoshenko and Yanukovych on several occasions joined forces in a clash with Yushchenko, including the attempt to schedule the presidential election on November 24, 2009, or three months earlier than is required by the constitution.

But Yushchenko prevailed by submitting the appeal to the Constitutional Court, forcing lawmakers to approve the January 17, 2010 as the date for the next presidential election. (tl/ez)