KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's parliament brought down the government today, approving a no-confidence motion as international mediators gathered in the capital to try to bring the spiraling political crisis to a peaceful resolution.

The dramatic vote came only days after the Election Commission certified Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich as winner of Ukraine's disputed presidential run-off, though opposition leader Victor Yushchenko has said the vote was fraudulent - an allegation backed by Western governments.

The vote with 229 in favor came minutes after the 450-member chamber initially turned down the motion by a vote of 222-1, and after outgoing President Leonid Kuchma announced he supported holding an entire new presidential election, not just a revote of the disputed second round.

Ukraine had a first round of voting in which no one candidate received more than half the votes, setting up a runoff between the top two candidates. The results from the Nov. 21 runoff provoked a national standoff when the opposition refused to accept them, citing vote fraud - a charge backed by many international monitors.

"Where in the world do they have a third round of elections? A revote - it's a farce," Kuchma said at a government meeting. "I never supported it because it is unconstitutional."

The opposition has sought a revote, claiming victory was stolen from its candidate, Viktor Yushchenko.

Kuchma's proposal seemed to be an attempt to buy the government time in the face of mass protests that have paralyzed the capital for 10 days and blocked government business. It also opened up the possibility of bringing new candidates into the race - which the government has appeared to favor and the opposition fiercely opposes.

But following parliament's no-confidence vote, Kuchma must dismiss his government, said Kiev-based analyst Markian Bilynskyj. Pro-communist parliamentary groups used a similar move in 2001 to oust Yushchenko from the prime minister's post, Bilynskyj said.

As Ukraine's politicians staked out their positions, international mediators renewed efforts to defuse the crisis and the Supreme Court considered whether the election results were valid.