Home › Politics › Ukraine's May 2019: snap election, new spelling
Ukraine's May 2019: snap election, new spelling
Summary
A look back at two decisions in Kyiv taken on 21 and 22 May 2019, one on parliament and one on the written language.
What was Ukraine's political agenda in the days leading up to 23 May 2019? Two official decisions stood out.
On 21 May 2019, President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree ending the powers of the 8th-convocation Verkhovna Rada and calling early parliamentary elections for 21 July 2019.
On 22 May 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a new edition of the Ukrainian orthography, drawn up by the Ukrainian National Commission on Orthography.
Two decisions, two spheres
The first decision concerned the make-up of the legislature and set a date for voters to choose a new one. The second concerned the rules of the written Ukrainian language, with the Cabinet endorsing the text prepared by the commission.
Taken together, the two decisions, made one day apart, covered both the country's political calendar and its language standards as of 23 May 2019.
