Poroshenko approves dissolution of Ukrainian parliament

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree Wednesday dissolving the country’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and setting new elections for October 26, the president’s website stated, according to RIA Novosti.

The decree automatically went into force after the president had signed it.

The decree also stipulates that the country’s Cabinet of Ministers is to finance the elections.

Poroshenko decided to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada on August 25. The same day, the president said that new parliamentary elections in Ukraine will take place on October 26.

The current parliament was elected in the fall of 2012. In accordance with Ukrainian law, the next parliamentary election was previously to take place in 2017.

Following his election on May 25, Poroshenko has repeatedly highlighted the need to hold early parliamentary elections, saying the current composition fails to represent the interests of Ukrainian society.

According to Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, one billion hryvnias ($72.2 million) is earmarked to be spent on parliamentary elections in the country.