Rada must be dissolved due to people's low confidence - Zelensky
KYIV. May 21 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sees the Ukrainian people's low confidence in the Verkhovna Rada and the actual absence of a coalition since 2016 as sufficient reasons for calling early parliamentary elections, the Ukrainian presidential website said on Tuesday.
"The main reason for dissolving the Verkhovna Rada is the Ukrainian people's very low confidence in this institution - 4%. This is how the parliament's work has been assessed and the most compelling reason for terminating its mandate. As a guarantor of the constitution, I am obliged to guarantee the Ukrainian citizens' rights. The legal reason for its dissolution is that there has been no coalition since 2016," the statement posted on the presidential website quoted Zelensky as saying following a meeting with the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada and the leaders of its parliamentary factions and groups.
The meeting participants discussed the early termination of the 8th Verkhovna Rada's mandate and the calling of early parliamentary elections. They also discussed a date for early elections and agreed that it would depend on when the president issues a decree on the parliament's dissolution.
They also talked about the convention of an extraordinary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada to pass amendments to the election laws, particularly to abolish the majoritarian system and lower the election threshold to 3%.
The participants also considered efforts to free Ukrainians from "Russian captivity," and Zelensky proposed that a special conversation be arranged on the matter with members of the previous president's team, the statement says.