Yushchenko swears himself in as President of Ukraine

Ukraine latest update: Yushchenko swears himself in as president

Our correspondent in Kiev, Ukraine, 4:20pm GMT — Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko swore himself in as Ukrainian president with his hand on a 500-year-old bible at the end of an emergency parliament session boycotted by pro-government deputies.

                      According to some eye-witnesses, minutes later, the state authorities started issuing weapons to special police forces and criminal groups, reported local news agency Obozrevatel on its website.

Pro-government parliamentary deputies did not attend the emergency session of parliament in order that there would not be enough members present to vote through any legislation aimed at overturning official election results, officially won by Prime-Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Yushchenko’s declaration of presidency is not legal, but rather a symbolic gesture, as a rapidly growing force of 200,000 of his supporters are now surrounding a sealed parliament in the freezing weather, as they are finishing work at the moment.

Victor Yushchenko has now headed to the capital’s main square to swear himself in again in front of a huge crowd of people.

Some observers are saying Yushchenko’s declaration could spark an imminent revolution.

More local and regional authorities in Western and Central Ukraine have today already declared that they recognized Yushchenko as Ukraine’s new president.