Many pro-democracy analysts reacted to the court decision with dismay. Olekisy Haran, professor of political science at Kyiv Mohyla National Academy, an independent university, said the constitutional change was “essentially a usurpation of power [that] moved Ukraine one step closer to authoritarianism”.
Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovich has won much expanded powers, fuelling opposition criticisms that he is displaying authoritarian tendencies.
