KIEV, Dec. 24 – The government on Thursday unlocked financing for the presidential election following repeated complaints from the Central Election Commission and a warning from President Viktor Yushchenko.

The Treasury sent a letter to the commission saying the financing of 191 million hryvnias is now available, allowing the commission to go ahead and print ballots and hire staff ahead of the vote.

“This fully meets our requirements in 2009,” Zhanna Usenko-Chorna, a member of the commission, told Ukrayinski Novyny news agency.