Who replaced Razumkov? Rada elects new speaker on 8 October 2021
A day after parliament dismissed its speaker, lawmakers chose Ruslan Stefanchuk to lead the Verkhovna Rada.
Who would lead Ukraine's parliament after the abrupt removal of its speaker? On 8 October 2021, the Verkhovna Rada answered that question by electing Ruslan Stefanchuk as its new chairman.
The vote followed a decision taken on 7 October 2021, when the Rada approved the resignation of Dmytro Razumkov from the post of speaker. As reported at the time, Razumkov was dismissed after disagreements with President Volodymyr Zelensky and with the stance of the ruling Servant of the People party on legislation intended to reduce the influence of Ukrainian oligarchs.
The two votes, on consecutive days, changed the leadership of the chamber within about 24 hours. The parliament in question was the 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, which sits in Kyiv and began its term on 29 August 2019.
The sequence closed one dispute over the speaker's chair and opened a new phase for the chamber under Stefanchuk, whose election on 8 October 2021 completed the handover.
