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Ukraine president takes political stage in dramatic fashion
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Ukraine’s new president, a comedian before he turned to statecraft, made a dramatic entrance to the political stage Monday, disbanding parliament minutes after his inauguration.Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who won 73 percent of the vote last month, justified his contentious decision on the grounds that the legislature, controlled by allies of the man he defeated, is riddled with self-enrichment. Elections to the Supreme Rada were scheduled for October 27, which raised the prospect of Zelenskiy struggling to enact his agenda in the face of a hostile parliament over his first few months in power. A snap parliamentary election will be held within two months of his signing a formal dissolution decree. Zelenskiy, a comedian who played the role of a Ukrainian president on a popular TV show for years, is gambling that his popularity will see the next parliament dominated by supporters of his agenda to reform Ukraine and steer a new path with Russia. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian politics for the past quarter-century created "opportunities for kickbacks, money laundering, and corruption." Zelenskiy’s efforts follow repeated attempts by the majority in the current parliament to stymie his campaign promise for a new election. Since last month’s election, Zelenskiy’s opponents in the Rada sought to put off the inauguration close to the May 27 deadline by which the parliament can be dissolved. And in a dramatic move last week, the Rada announced the collapse of the ruling parliamentary coalition. According to parliamentary rules, the chamber cannot be dissolved for 30 days after the governing coalition has been disbanded. Zelenskiy’s supporters argue that the Rada’s actions are legally void because the coalition had long ceased to exist and that the Ukrainian Constitution, unlike the Rada regulations, doesn’t contain such a rule. Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kiev-based think-tank Penta, said Zelenskiy’s announcement shows "political will for radical change." "The legally dubious decision to disband parliament will certainly be contested in court but Zelenskiy has shown that it is going to be him who will lay down the agenda and that he will dominate the political landscape," he said. Zelenskiy’s landslide victory reflected Ukrainians’ exhaustion with widespread corruption and the country’s political elite. Before disbanding parliament, the 41-year-old Zelenskiy upended other Ukrainian political traditions on inauguration day. Posted by: Fred 2019-05-21 |
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