Rada ends emergency session without discussing Zelenskiy's proposed electoral changes:
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- Ukraine's parliament has ended an emergency session without discussing amendments to the electoral law proposed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy, who was inaugurated on May 20, has called for electing the next chamber entirely on party lists, arguing that the current system in which part of parliament is elected in single-ballot races favors corruption.
The emergency session was called by Andriy Parubiy, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, at Zelenskiy's request. But lawmakers on May 22 voted 127-92 against discussing the proposed electoral amendments during the session.
The move is seen as another indication of a growing standoff between lawmakers and Zelenkiy, who on May 21 issued a decree to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada and set snap parliamentary elections for July 21.
The next parliamentary session is scheduled for May 28.
Parubiy said in a Facebook post on May 21 that Zelenskiy's decree was illegal.
"It is sad and alarming that the guarantor of the constitution starts his work in the post with a gross violation of the constitution," Parubiy said.
Parubiy added that lawmakers will launch an appeal at the Constitutional Court in a bid to overturn Zelenskiy’s decree.
A comedian and actor with no previous political experience, Zelenskiy has taken the helm of a country of 44 million that faces deep-seated corruption, economic challenges, and a deadly war in eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskiy appointed on May 21 a new chief of the General Staff to head the Ukrainian military amid a conflict with Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and picked his legal adviser, Andriy Bohdan, as his chief of staff.
Bohdan has also worked as a lawyer for tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskiy, adding to questions about the extent of ties between the new president and the billionaire who owns the TV station that has hosted Zelenskiy's comedy programs and his hit sitcom Servant Of The People.
Tetyana Kozachenko, head of the public council on lustration issues at the Justice Ministry, contended in a Facebook post on May 22 that Zelenskiy's appointment of Bohdan violates legislation on lustration because he held government posts under ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych. She said the law prohibits people who served under Yanukovych from holding government posts for 10 years.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy canceled the appointment of Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal as deputy chief of staff on May 22, one day after he named her to the position. Some media reports said that Zerkal declined to take the job, and she said she would explain the situation later.
Zelenskiy defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko by a wide margin in a presidential runoff vote on April 21.
The 41-year-old ran for president without the support of a political party and has no formal backing in parliament now.
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. (CLICK TO ENLARGE.)
Those appointments are now coming fast and furious.