You're reading: Tymoshenko says Rada must urgently consider Yatsenyuk’s dismissal

Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko has said that President Petro Poroshenko did not begin consultations after the breakup of the parliamentary coalition, and urged Verkhovna Rada to conduct an extraordinary session to consider dismissing Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

“We are appealing to the president of Ukraine and to the chairman of Verkhovna Rada with one single demand under Article 83 of our Constitution, which says that an extraordinary Verkhovna Rada session with a stated agenda shall be called solely by the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada or at the behest of the president of Ukraine. Also, there is still a chance to gather one-third of deputies’ signatures, but it is the same – the factions of the president and of the prime minister,” Tymoshenko told a press conference in Kyiv on Feb. 22.

The politician stressed the urgency of an extraordinary parliamentary session “with a single-point agenda: the resignation of the Yatsenyuk government”.

Even though the prime minister has survived the no-confidence vote, there is still a chance to dismiss him personally, which will entail resignation of the entire Cabinet, Tymoshenko said.

The extraordinary session is necessary to enable democratic forces to review the “deeply erroneous” strategy of the economic and social policies pursued by Yatsenyuk and his Cabinet, Tymoshenko said.

“A review of the strategy, a review of all provisions of the coalition agreement, and approval of a step-by-step roadmap for leading Ukraine out of the crisis is today an urgent task that Verkhovna Rada must fulfill, but it is the president who must take the initiative of calling an extraordinary session,” Tymoshenko said.

At the same time, she said that 26 days are now left before the 30-day period expires since the coalition collapsed. “Under the Constitution, if after the collapse of the coalition no new one is formed within 30 days, the president may disband the parliament. Furthermore, under the Constitution, the president is obligated to begin consultations after the coalition breaks up. Unfortunately, none of this is being done today,” she said.