KIEV, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday has elected 14 new members of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), the parliament's press service said in a statement.
The Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency said that representatives of all parliamentary factions, except for the Opposition Bloc, became the members of the CEC.
One seat in the CEC remains vacant after the voting in the parliament, the agency said.
Earlier in the day, the parliament has dismissed 13 members of the CEC, whose term in the office has expired, while two other commission's members retained their posts.
On Sept.18, the parliament adopted a law increasing the number of seats in Ukraine's CEC from 15 to 17, which is aimed at enabling each parliamentary political force to have its representative in the commission during the elections.
The establishment of the balanced election commission is one of the recommendations for Kiev made by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to ensure the smooth run of the elections.
The presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for March 31, 2019, while parliamentary elections have been set for Oct. 27, 2019.
