( Reuters ) - President Viktor Yushchenko said on Thursday he would call a snap parliamentary election in Ukraine within 60 days if the chamber failed to pass a package of laws by the end of the day.
Yushchenko was speaking during a one-day visit to Croatia. In Kiev, parliament resumed deliberations after failing on Wednesday to meet a two-day deadline to approve laws needed to hold the poll on September 30.
The election date was set under a deal the president struck this week with his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.
Yushchenko, who earlier on Thursday extended the deadline for the largely hostile legislature until the end of Thursday, warned that if deputies failed to pass the necessary laws his allies in the chamber would immediately give up their seats.
"So the election will be held automatically within 60 days -- this is a clause in the constitution," Yushchenko said.
Parliament speaker Oleksander Moroz said earlier on Thursday that the chamber would probably need to continue working on Friday to complete passing all the laws needed to hold the election.