KIEV, July 17 – Speculation grew Tuesday on the timing of an emergency session of Parliament as pro-government lawmakers seek to replace the parliamentary speaker with a figure loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych.

Yuriy Hrymchak, a senior opposition lawmaker and a member of the rules and procedures committee, said there were signs the emergency session has been planned for July 23, or a week earlier than had been earlier expected.

“The emergency session will most likely take place,” Hrymchak said in a statement released by the People’s Self-defense group. “I have an impression that members of the rules and procedures committee have never left for holidays. Everyone is in place and working. This is strange.”

The timing of the emergency session is important as opposition groups earlier planned massive street protests on July 31, the day when they expect the emergency session will be held.

Hrymchak said the Regions Party mulls the July 23 session as most opposition lawmakers will be in Kharkiv on this day to support former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko at a court session.

The Regions Party seeks to reshuffle the leadership of Parliament to replace speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn and deputy speaker Mykola Tomenko, appointing figures that will be more loyal to Yanukovych.

The loyalist speaker will have to sign a controversial bill that in this case will reach the office of Yanukovych, which needs to sign it into law. The bill, approved by Parliament in early July, elevates the Russian language to the level of the state language in many Ukrainian regions, a legislation that may split the country.

The bill, which Lytvyn refused to sign, has triggered a political crisis in Ukraine. Lytvyn submitted resignation on July 4 and opposition launched street protests and hunger strikes in downtown Kiev in protest of the bill.

The developments forced the Regions Party to change regulations that make it easier to replace the speaker of Parliament, winning last week a ruling of the Constitutional Court.

Vadym Kolesnichenko, a lawmaker from the Regions Party who drafted the language bill, said he sees no problem with holding the emergency session on July 23.

“We stated our intentions to hold the session for one or two days,” Kolesnichenko told Interfax-Ukraine, adding it only takes 150 signatures from fellow lawmakers to call the session and that can be done within two or three days. The Regions Party has at least 175 lawmakers. (tl/ez)