Arseny Yatseniuk elected for new term as Ukraine PM

Ukraine's parliament elected Arseny Yatseniuk for a new term as prime minister at its opening session on Thursday.

President Petro Poroshenko and a newly-formed coalition in the assembly supported his appointment during the first session of the parliament, which was elected in October.

A total of 341 deputies in the 450-seat parliament voted for Yatseniuk to stay on as head of the government, a post he has occupied since the overthrow of former president Viktor Yanukovych.

Former deputy prime minister Volodymyr Groysman was also elected to the post of speaker.

Under Ukrainian law, the speaker is the first to stand in for the president if the head of state is unable to fulfil his duties.

Thursday marked the parliament’s first session since former president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February after months of protests.

Agencies