KIEV, July 26 – Parliament will hold an emergency session on Monday, one day earlier than had been earlier expected, opening the way for reshuffle of its leadership and a go-ahead to controversial language legislation.

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn signed an order calling for the session following a petition submitted by 157 lawmakers, according to an announcement posted on Parliament’s website on Thursday.

The session has been pushed for by the ruling Regions Party after Lytvyn earlier this month refused to sign a bill which introduces Russian as the second state language in many Ukrainian regions.

The move put the bill on hold from reaching the office of President Viktor Yanukovych, who needs to sign it in order to put it in effect.

The bill, seen as a centerpiece of Regions Party’s campaign ahead of the October 28 general elections, has been criticized by opposition groups as provocative for de-facto splitting the country into Russian- and Ukrainian-language territories.

It would also diminish the role of Ukrainian language, which has been suffering for the past 300 years that Ukraine had been effectively under Moscow’s control up to until winning its independence in 1991.

Lytvyn is now facing a dilemma: to sign the bill despite his objections and to stay as the speaker through the elections, or to refuse to sign it and to be replaced by a figure more loyal to the Regions Party.

If Lytvyn choses the second option, he will most likely be replaced with Adam Martyniuk, the first deputy speaker of Parliament, according to one lawmaker. Martyniuk chaired the session on July 3, when the controbversial bill had been approved in the second - and the final - reading.

Former President Leonid Kravchuk, a major critic of the bill, said the bill poses a danger for Ukraine and must be rejected.

“For the sake of Ukraine’s unity, the bill cannot be allowed,” Kravchuk said.

Kravchuk recently sent a letter to Yanukovych explaining why the bill is bad and would split Ukraine. He said Yanukovych had immediately called him to discuss the issue.

“He said he set up the group of experts,” Kravchuk told Krayina magazine. “They are working on how to improve the bill, or to change it in a way that would create all opportunities for the Ukrainian language to develop.”

The emergency session was widely expected to be held on Tuesday, July 31, forcing the leading opposition group, Batkivshchyna, decided to hold its pre-election meeting one day earlier, on Monday.

Now, with the session and the meeting both due on Monday, it was unclear how will the opposition act, with some opposition lawmakers suggesting the group may skip the session altogether. (tl/ez)