Opposition Bloc says it’s considering early parliamentary elections

The MPs of the Russian-oriented Opposition Bloc faction of Ukraine’s parliament are considering surrendering their mandates to force a dismissal of parliament and early elections, said on July 11 Yuriy Boyko, the party’s head. The Opposition Bloc controls 43 mandates and another 80 would be needed to force the parliament’s dismissal, he said. He called for a new parliament that will better address the concerns of the public.

The next day, Petro Poroshenko Bloc MP Mustafa Nayyem assured the public that the Opposition Bloc’s proposal would not force early elections. The revised election law calls for the seats of the resigning MPs to be refilled by other candidates further down on the party’s election list, he said. As for finding 80 more votes, “I don’t know where they will find them,” he said. “Perhaps (Oleh) Liashko and (Yulia) Tymoshenko will join and surrender their mandates together to force a parliamentary crisis and early elections.”

Zenon Zawada: We don’t see the Opposition Bloc seriously considering this maneuver. We certainly don’t see this proposal drawing much support in parliament. We view this as a public relations maneuver aimed at rallying support among the party’s base in southeastern Ukraine. 

It’s worth noting that the parliamentary coalition has yet to officially register the minimum of 226 MPs after claiming to have formed a majority in mid-April. The Poroshenko Bloc has registered 142 MPs and the People’s Front has registered 81 MPs, which adds up to 223 MPs, or three MPs short of the needed majority. We believe the Opposition Bloc and the pro-EU opposition parties are aware of this situation, yet it’s convenient for them to remain in the opposition and not make any attempts to take power.