UKRAINE’S new president, a comedian before he turned to statecraft, made a dramatic entrance to the political stage Monday by disbanding parliament minutes after his inauguration.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who won 73 percent of the vote last month, justified his contentious decision on the grounds that the legislature, controlled by allies of the man he defeated, is riddled with self-enrichment.

Elections to the Supreme Rada were scheduled for Oct. 27, which raised the prospect of Zelenskiy struggling to enact his agenda in the face of a hostile parliament over his first few months in power.

Zelenskiy, a comedian who played the role of a Ukrainian president on a popular TV show for years, is gambling that his popularity will see the next parliament dominated by supporters of his agenda to reform Ukraine and steer a new path with Russia.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainian politics for the past quarter-century created “opportunities for kickbacks, money laundering and corruption.”

Zelenskiy’s efforts follow repeated attempts by the majority in the current parliament to stymie his campaign promise for a new election.

Since last month’s election, Zelenskiy’s opponents in the Rada sought to put off the inauguration close to the May 27 deadline by which the parliament can be dissolved.

At the end of his swearing-in ceremony, Zelenskiy asked the Supreme Rada to adopt a bill against illegal enrichment and support his motions to fire the country’s defense minister, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and the prosecutor general. All are allies of Zelenskiy’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko.

That’s when he dropped his bombshell about dissolving parliament. Zelenskiy told lawmakers they only have a few weeks to support his motions, as that’s as long as the current parliament has.

Two of the three officials he has asked to leave, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak and SBU chief Vasyl Grytsak, promptly handed in their resignations.

Later, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said he would resign today.

(SD-Agencies)