The legislature, where Moscow-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has a majority, has refused to obey the April 2 order. Thousands of the majority coalition's supporters have been rallying in the capital waiting for a Constitutional Court decision on the matter, fueling the ex-Soviet state's worst crisis since the 2004 "orange revolution."
Lawmakers said it would ask governments and parliaments in Europe and other countries, as well as international organizations, to send monitors to Ukraine, which, they said, is facing "a threat to its sovereignty, territorial integrity and regional stability."
The Supreme Rada held an emergency session Monday after its decision late last week to adjourn until April 17. The ruling coalition, which has been at the center of a political brawl over its expansion, made other concessions to the president last week, including a decision to return to its original lineup.
However, President Viktor Yushchenko, who has accused the coalition of usurping power, reiterated Sunday that he would not backtrack on his order and urged fair elections May 27.
Lawmakers also accused Yushchenko of pressurizing the Constitutional Court, which is expected to get down to the case Wednesday. The president has been reportedly meeting with court judges in public.
Earlier Monday, the leader of the coalition's Communist faction, Petro Symonenko, called the situation critical, saying the presidential decree could trigger a national confrontation.
"... steps undertaken by the president could put the country on the brink of a national confrontation," Symonenko said.
Pro-presidential Our Ukraine party said Monday it would begin protests Wednesday to support Yuschehnko. Rostrums are being mounted on European Square for the protests due to start 4 p.m. (5 p.m. Moscow time, 1 p.m. GMT).
Supporters of the coalition and government have occupied nearby Independence Square, where they have set up a tent camp, for the second week running.
The premier earlier suggested he could request help from Russia, its historic ally, and Poland, which had a major role in the "orange revolution" that brought the Western-leaning Yushchenko to power after a race against Yanukovych.
The president and his supporters in the government have said the current conflict is a domestic affair.
