What was Ukraine's political agenda on 27 May 2019?
A look back at two decisions that framed the days leading up to 27 May 2019: a dissolved parliament and a new spelling code.
What did Ukraine's political calendar look like on 27 May 2019? Two decisions taken in the preceding week set the frame.
On 21 May 2019, President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree ending the powers of the Verkhovna Rada of the 8th convocation. The same decree called early parliamentary elections for 21 July 2019. By 27 May, the country was therefore in the run-up to a snap vote, with the existing parliament's mandate already terminated.
One day later, on 22 May 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a new edition of the Ukrainian orthography, the Ukrainian Pravopys. It was prepared by the Ukrainian National Commission on Orthography. The step placed a language-policy question alongside the political one, and it came while government business continued despite the dissolution of parliament.
Taken together, the two decisions show a state operating on two tracks: preparing for an early election while its executive branch moved ahead with a major regulatory text.
