Poroshenko opposes granting parliament right to elect president

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has spoken out against granting the parliament the right to elect the head of state.

He stated this in his annual address to the Verkhovna Rada on the domestic and foreign situation of Ukraine on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I will never agree with the proposals to deprive people of their right to elect the president and pass it to the parliament. The amount of powers of the head of state should also be sufficient for the effective performance of the functions of the supreme commander-in-chief," Poroshenko said.

At the same time, he recalled that in his inaugural speech he had emphasized his loyalty to the idea of a parliamentary-presidential republic, although later he had given up certain powers of the head of state in voting for amendments on justice and decentralization.

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