KIEV, Dec. 11 – Newly elected lawmakers will try to debate and approve incumbent Mykola Azarov as Ukraine’s next prime minister on Wednesday, one day earlier than had been earlier expected, lawmakers said Tuesday.

The vote is expected to come after lawmakers debate and approve Volodymyr Rybak, one of the founders of the Regions Party and a long-time ally of President Viktor Yanukovych, as Parliament’s next speaker.

The plans show the ruling party has been seeking to speed up the key appointments in Parliament and the Cabinet, which may take place even before Yanukovych returns from a visit to India.

“Everybody understands that any further delay with the appointment of the Parliamentary leadership and postponed formation of the government would hurt Ukraine’s positions on international arena and domestically,” Volodymyr Oliynyk, a senior member of the Regions Party, said.

Yanukovych is expected to address the lawmakers, who have their first session on Wednesday after October 28 elections, with a video address that has been recorded on Sunday.

The nomination of Rybak, who, like Yanukovych, is a prominent member of the Donetsk political elite, comes as a surprise and shows that the president wants to have the speaker that is absolutely loyal to him.

Earlier reports suggested Volodymyr Lytvyn, a former speaker of Parliament, and Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych were likely candidates for the post of the speaker.

“Volodymyr Rybak is one of the founders of the Regions Party. He’s got a huge experience in local governance and in Parliament. By all parameters his candidacy is the most suitable,” Oleksandr Yefremov, the senior member of the Regions Party, said.

The vote for Azarov and Rybak will come as a test for the Regions Party no whether they can assemble a capable majority in Parliament.

The Regions Party and loyalist independent lawmakers controlled 223 seats in the 450-seat Parliament as of a week ago, but there may be two more lawmakers joining them on Wednesday.

Oleksandr Tabalov and Andriy Tabalov, a father and a son who run a business holding in the Kyrovohrad region that were elected to Parliament as members of the opposition Batkivshchyna party, on Tuesday refused to join the group for undisclosed reasons.

That potentially makes them easy targets for the Regions Party for joining them and increasing the ranks of their coalition to 225 seats, still one seat short of majority.

But there were also talks underway between the Regions Party and the Communist Party, which was promoting its Ihor Kaletnyk for the post of the first deputy speaker of Parliament.

If the Regions and the Communist agree to cooperate, which is likely, there will be no problem to approve Rybak as the speaker of Parliament, with Kaletnyk as his first deputy, lawmakers said.

The Communist Party said earlier it would not join the coalition with the Regions Party, but may join forces with them to secure a top post in Parliament. (tl/ez)