Brawls disrupt Ukrainian parliament - FT.com Brawls broke out in Ukraine's newly elected parliament for a second day as an invigorated opposition prevented pro-presidential lawmakers voting to confirm their choice for prime minister. Coming a day after the parliament convened for its first session, Thursday morning's clashes suggest that the ruling party of President Viktor Yanukovich may find it harder to rush through legislation as it did before, despite holding a majority through an alliance with independents and communists. Alleging that pro-presidential lawmakers violated constitutional and parliamentary norms by voting on behalf of absent colleagues, opposition lawmakers stormed the podium. Led by two newcomer parties - the far-right Svoboda party and the Udar party of heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko - the opposition chanted "Shame, shame!" and successfully blocked the speaker's rostrum, preventing the vote taking place. The arrival of these parties into parliament has bolstered the opposition, which had been led by the Fatherland party of Yulia Tymoshenko, the jailed former prime minister. The session resumed around noon after an agreement was reached that the opposition's main demand, for each lawmaker to vote individually, was met. But the situation remained tense before a vote when Mykola Azarov, Mr Yanukovich's longtime ally, was expected to be confirmed as prime minister, a post he has held since Mr Yanukovich was elected in 2010. Ukraine's new parliament was elected on October 28 in a contest attacked by western observers, including a mission led by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as a step back for democracy. The country is teetering on the verge of recession and preparing for tough talks on financial aid with the International Monetary Fund. Opposition parties said their election victory was stolen by a combination of vote fraud, manipulation and voter intimidation. The charges are steadfastly denied by pro-presidential allies and election officials. The parliament on Thursday approved a member of Mr Yanukovich's Regions party to take the post of the speaker. Volodymyr Ryback was backed today by 250 lawmakers in the 450-seat legislature.