KIEV, Ukraine (AP) – Pilot Nadiya Savchenko on Friday called for early parliamentary elections in Ukraine to “infuse fresh blood” into its politics, a call that may send shock waves across the volatile nation.
Savchenko, who has become a national icon in Ukraine after spending two years in a Russian prison, told The Associated Press that the “Ukrainian people deserve a better government than they now have.”
She said the government has failed public expectations raised by the ouster of Ukraine’s former Moscow-friendly president in February 2014, who was driven from power by massive street protests.
Savchenko was elected into Parliament on a ticket of Yulia Tymoshenko’s political party soon after her Russian ordeal began.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his allies in the ruling parliament coalition strongly oppose early elections, arguing that they would only foment instability and deepen Ukraine’s economic crisis. With the popularity of Poroshenko and his coalition partners sinking amid the economic troubles, an early vote will likely leave them with far fewer seats in Parliament.