The Verkhovna Rada blocked early elections for Zelensky

Ukraine has again shown that it is a parliamentary republic with rather weak presidential power. Having approved the date of the inauguration of President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky the day before, the Verkhovna Rada today blocked the advantageous opportunity for him to call early elections in July instead of October.

What happened

The largest Popular Front faction (former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and head of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov) withdrew from the European Ukraine coalition in the Verkhovna Rada, thus causing its collapse and blocking Zelensky’s opportunity to call early elections the day before.

Ukrainian observers are divided on whether Zelenskiy can dissolve parliament, but after the deadline for calling early elections, this will not make much political sense. The government may also remain in place - at least until the formation of a new coalition, but rather until the scheduled parliamentary elections, said . Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman

Read also Zelensky got the opportunity to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada

Quote. “Today, one of the factions in the Verkhovna Rada decided to leave the “coalition”. But how can one get out of something that does not exist?.. The current game in parliament is another evidence that the deputies are indifferent to the people who elected them. It is more important for them to prolong their serene existence” (statement by Zelensky’s team).

It's a matter of timing

According to the law of Ukraine, the president has the right to dissolve the parliament no later than six months before the expiration of the powers of the Verkhovna Rada. Parliamentary elections in Ukraine are scheduled for October 27, respectively, the inauguration on May 20 gave Zelensky such an opportunity.

The official collapse of the coalition begins the countdown of the 30-day period for the formation of a new parliamentary majority. If it is not formed before June 16, the parliament can be dissolved by the president, but he will no longer be able to call early parliamentary elections.

Who benefits? Early elections are beneficial for Zelensky, who has not yet squandered his electoral popularity, and his Servant of the People party, and disadvantageous for the “old” parties. The president-elect's team said a decision on parliament would be made known shortly after the inauguration.

What's next? Zelensky’s supporters considered the lack of a real majority in it to be the reason for dissolving the Rada: the coalition, created back in 2014 as part of five factions, has lost three of them and has less than 226 required deputies. Theoretically, Zelensky can still apply to the Constitutional Court with a lawsuit about the illegitimacy of the Verkhovna Rada.