Europe

Ukrainian Parliament Accepts Prime Minister's Resignation

Lawmakers voted to accept Oleksiy Honcharuk's resignation after he'd served just six months.

Ukrainian Parliament Accepts Prime Minister's Resignation
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
Article by Bailey Vogt
SMS
March 4, 2020

Ukraine's parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to oust Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. 

Lawmakers voted 353-0 to accept Honcharuk's resignation. He'd served just six months but faced stiff criticism from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to The Associated Press, the president said prior to the vote that he wanted "new brains and new hearts in the government," adding that Honcharuk fell short in boosting manufacturing and collecting taxes.

Earlier this year, the PM was caught on tape saying Zelenskyy, who was an actor before becoming president, didn't understand economics. Despite this, Zelenskyy asked for him to stay on his team.

Lawmakers replaced Honcharuk with Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.