Ukraine parliament votes to remove president Yanukovych

The Ukraine Parliament voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych Saturday and called for new elections in three months. The vote by 328 members came about an hour after Yanukovych said he would not resign following days of bloody protests, the BBC reported. Lawmakers said early presidential elections would be held May 25. Opposition leaders had called for the early elections after a peace deal struck Friday between the government and opposition leaders said elections would be held by December. Yanukovych said in a television interview from a city near the Russian border he would not leave office because he needed to "protect the people." He accused protesters of conducting a "coup." Ukrainian anti-government protesters said they had entered the presidential compound and found them empty. Also Saturday, former president and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison. She was jailed in 2011 after being convicted of abuse of power. MPs had voted Friday to release her. Speaker Volodymyr Rybak resigned when Parliament resumed Saturday and was replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov, an ally of Tymoshenko. Police have abandoned their posts throughout Kiev, with the Interior Ministry issuing a statement that police were "at the service of the people and completely shares its aspirations for rapid changes." At least 77 people -- both protesters and police -- are reported to have died in clashes since Tuesday. The agreement mediated by the European Union calls for restoration of the 2004 constitution that limited the president's power. A unity government will be formed and constitutional reform begun to balance the powers of the various branches of government.