Three Factions Demand Resignation of Ukrainian Prime Minister
The current political crisis in Ukraine is taking place against the backdrop of disputes over the resignation of the Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, as stated by Yuriy Lutsenko after a meeting of the Coalition Council.
“We have a whole parade of opposing statements: on the one hand, the People’s Front delivers ultimatums on Yatsenyuk as the Prime Minister of Ukraine; on the other hand, three other factions do not want to see Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister. Moreover, today’s statement by the leader of the Radical Party, Oleh Lyashko, shows that there is a potential that as Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk cannot gain the votes he needs for the implementation of laws. This has resulted in a full-scale political crisis,” Lutsenko noted.
According to him, the Self Reliance, Fatherland and Radical parties insist on the resignation of Yatsenyuk. When asked who they would seek for a new Prime Minister, Lutsenko said, “There are a lot of options, but I would recommend that my colleagues stop making demands and ultimatums and solution will follow.” He added that now, Yatsenyuk does not have the support of the Coalition in making decisions in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
“It has become clear today that the Government of Yatsenyuk does not have the 226 votes needed to adopt important laws on European integration or the development of the country and economy. What should we do? We have to search for a way out without provocation, I can’t see any other way out,” Lutsenko stressed.
The Parliamentary Coalition was formed in late November 2014. It includes five factions: Petro Poroshenko Bloc “Solidarity”, the People’s Front, Self Reliance, Radical and Fatherland parties. On the 1st of September 2015, the Radical Party left the Coalition.
At that time, Oleh Lyashko stated that the Radical Party is in opposition to the current authorities, and according to him, have joined the Opposition Bloc along with representatives of the oligarchic groups during the vote on the first reading of the bill on Constitutional amendments addressing decentralization.
In late January 2016, Oleh Lyashko reported that he is ready to join the Parliamentary Coalition again if the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Volodymyr Groysman, accept economic and political proposals made by the Radical Party. Meanwhile, he noted that it wasn’t about returning to the current Coalition; the Radical Party is only ready to join a new Coalition and a new Government.
Today, Lyashko stated that he decided to leave the negotiating process with the Coalition as they refused to create a new Coalition and Government. On the 3rd of February, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Aivaras Abromavičius, made a statement regarding his resignation due to active counteraction to reform efforts. He accused the first Deputy of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc “Solidarity”, Igor Kononenko, of attempts to block the work of his team. Kononenko denied the accusations.
After this, at a special meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Oleksiy Pavlenko, the Minister of Information Policy, Yuriy Stets, the Minister of Healthcare of Ukraine, Alexander Kvitashvili and the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Andriy Pyvovarsky, withdrew their notices of resignation, which had been filed earlier.
The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, responded to the crisis in the government and stated that it should be immediately resolved.