Zelensky's first day: oath, dissolved parliament, resigning prime minister
A look back at the inauguration that set Ukraine on course for a snap parliamentary election.
What did a new president do with his first hours in office? On 20 May 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian and reality television actor, was sworn in by the Verkhovna Rada as the 6th President of Ukraine, and used the occasion to announce the dissolution of parliament and call a snap parliamentary election.
A swift break with the legislature
The announcement came as part of the inauguration itself. Rather than work with the existing Rada, the new head of state moved immediately to end its mandate and send voters back to the polls. The background to the event notes that the election had originally been scheduled for the end of October, so the decision brought the vote forward.
The government reacts
The consequences for the executive appeared on the same day. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced that he would resign on Wednesday, in response to the new president's disbanding of parliament. The first day of the presidency therefore combined a change of head of state with the prospect of a change of government.
What followed
The snap election was held later, on 21 July 2019. According to the background, Zelensky's Servant of the People party won an outright majority of seats, taking 254. None of that was known on 20 May 2019, when the only certainties were the oath, the dissolution announcement and the prime minister's declared intention to step down.
The day's events set the terms of what came next: a new president with a fresh mandate, a parliament whose time was cut short, and a government preparing to leave office.
