Ukraine President Zelenskyy Calls Snap Parliamentary Elections for July 21

Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree to dissolve the current parliament and has called for new elections on July 21. This follows his promise to do so during the inaugural speech just a day earlier.

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The decree was published on the official website of the head of state. It says the decree comes into force on the day it is published.

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The decree was signed on the same day that Zelenskyy held a meeting with the representatives of the parliamentary factions.

After signing the decree, Zelenskyy immediately convened an extraordinary parliamentary meeting for the following day, May 22.

Some MPs, such as Iryna Gerashchenko, a deputy from Petro Poroshenko’s Bloc who was present at that meeting, called dissolving the Parliament and early elections a “violation of the law”.

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The Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR), the largest coalition of NGOs and experts, developing and implementing necessary reforms in the country, urged the president to abandon his intentions to dissolve the parliament.

Zelenskyy promised to dissolve the parliament after his election win against former President Petro Poroshenko. His Servant of the People political party is not represented in the current parliament but is widely expected to do well in the legislative elections.

/By Dziugas Kuprevicius