Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s decree to dissolve parliament came into force on Tuesday when it was published in the official gazette, the Reuters news agency reports.

Yushchenko, locked in a long-running power struggle with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, signed the decree on Monday. Yanukovich had urged him to hold back from publishing the decree because he said it could tip the country into chaos.

The decree also sets an early parliamentary election for May 27. Yanukovich’s supporters in parliament said on Monday the decree was akin to the start of a coup.

Under Ukrainian law the decree automatically comes into force after publication in the official gazette.

The tough stances adopted by both sides raised tensions in the former Soviet republic 2-1/2 years after the so-called “Orange Revolution,” when peaceful mass protests forced out the political establishment that had held power for years.

Lawmakers from Yanukovich’s coalition in parliament have written to the Constitutional Court asking it to rule on whether Yushchenko was acting legally by dissolving parliament, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday.

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