Ukrainian Parliament Dismisses Finance Minister

07 June 2018 21:50

Ukraine’s parliament has voted to dismiss Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk from his post today, following clashes between the MP and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

Groysman yesterday signed a motion to dismiss Danylyuk from his post. Today 254 deputies voted in favor of the motion.

Photo credit: Vladyslav Musienko/POOL/UNIAN

Tensions came to a head between Danylyuk and Groysman when the PM rejected Danylyuk’s choice for deputy minister. In turn, Danylyuk accused the PM of favoring pro President Petro Poroshenko candidates.

Groysman also accused Danylyuk of misconduct after the deputy wrote a letter to the ambassadors of G7 countries regarding conflict within the Ukrainian government.

The last straw, according Danylyuk, was his refusal to sign a regional funding program that would have seen funding be distributed to lawmakers from majority constituencies.

Photo credit: Vladyslav Musienko/POOL/UNIAN

Danylyuk has attributed his firing to his refusal to take part in financing corruption. Yesterday, in a Facebook post, he claimed that he was faced with a choice – either to become an accomplice to corruption or quit.

His sacking is expected to cause tension between the government and Ukraine’s foreign partners, who view Danylyuk as a reformer.

Ukrainian media reports that a number of deputies in Groysman’s cabinet have referred to Danylyuk as "the last reformer", noting however that he didn’t have enough time to put his plans into action.

Photo credit: Anastasia Syrotkina/POOL/UNIAN

Danylyuk was a fierce critic of the of the former State Fiscal Service head Roman Nasirov, who he threatened with dismissal, accusing him of sabotaging fiscal reform. He also appealed to law enforcement officers to look into Nasirov’s activities.

Nasirov was fired around a year after he was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement in 2017. Earlier this year Danylyuk filed a motion to the Cabinet of Ministers to dismiss him.

Danylyuk’s deputy Oksana Markarova will temporarily take over as acting finance minister until his replacement is appointed.