Smart Politics parliamentary group in Ukraine moves to oust PM Shmyhal's govt
The inter-factional parliamentary group Smart Politics is initiating a motion to dismiss the Ukrainian government, according to its leader, independent MP Dmytro Razumkov.
"The government must be dismissed – we, together with the Smart Politics team, are initiating this process," Razumkov stated on Telegram on Friday.
According to the MP, the Cabinet has failed across all areas of governance.
"Budget deficit, lack of funding for the army, and the threat of payment delays to defenders for the second consecutive year. A disastrous foreign policy – the government's inaction cost us preferential trade access, which equates to at least EUR 3.5 billion in annual losses for the Ukrainian economy! Declining industrial output... Rising tariffs and taxes have led to the closure of hundreds of thousands of sole proprietorships and widespread job losses," he said.
Razumkov argued that removing the current government would be a rescue measure for the country.
He also emphasized that Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal should resign voluntarily, which would save time otherwise spent on formal procedures to remove the government.
Razumkov later announced on Facebook that the process of the government's resignation had already been launched. He published a screenshot of the official Verkhovna Rada letterhead with the first signatures of MPs supporting the government's resignation.
At the same time, Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zhelezniak, of the Holos faction, noted on his Telegram channel that current legislation contains a provision prohibiting the dismissal of the government during martial law.
"This was first pointed out a year ago by my colleague Fedir Venislavsky – the Law 'On the Legal Regime of Martial Law' contains an active provision, Article 10, titled 'Inadmissibility of Termination of Powers of State Authorities and Other Government Bodies Under Martial Law.' It states: 'During the period of martial law, the powers of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine may not be terminated,'" Zhelezniak wrote.
At the same time, he added, "When the prime minister or the Cabinet is dismissed, is this considered a 'termination of powers' or is the principle of continuity of government in effect? On this point, neither the law nor the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada offers a clear answer – except... for one incidental provision that clearly puts everything into perspective."
Specifically, he explained that when the Cabinet of Ministers is replaced, all draft laws submitted by it are automatically withdrawn – under Article 27 of the Law on the Cabinet of Ministers and Article 105 of the Law on the Rules of Procedure.
"The key point here is that in both cases, the withdrawal of legislative proposals submitted by the previous government occurs explicitly because of the 'termination of powers.' And if we look at the history of the most recent government transitions – from Yatsenyuk to Groysman, or in this parliamentary convocation from Honcharuk to Shmyhal – this was precisely the case. In each of these instances, it was treated as a termination of powers," the MP said.
Based on this, Zhelezniak concludes that the dismissal of the prime minister and the appointment of a new government constitutes a "termination of powers of the Cabinet of Ministers," which is explicitly prohibited under Article 10 of the Law on Martial Law.
"Even if Shmyhal were to submit a resignation voluntarily," Zhelezniak said.
