At a press briefing today, Viktor Yanukovych stated: "We quite openly said, that in order to preserve peace in Ukraine, we will go to elections which are illegal, and for the calling of which, there were no grounds....we said that those policians who want to receive an answer from the Ukrainian people, they will receive it."
BYuT leader, Yuliya Tymoshenko, has declared that she is not Yushchenko, and so Yanukovych and Rinat Akhmetov, PoR's principal sponsor, will receive no amnesties, and assets deemed to have been gained illegally by means of shadowy privatisations will be returned to the state.
In a recent TV interview, she calls the recent shady purchase of a major stake in 'Dniproenergo' by Akhmetov's DTEK company "a second Kryvorizhstal in magnitude".
Will PoR be prepared to go into opposition as a result of elections its leadership consider illegal, if results are not it their favour?
Will PoR be prepared to form a coalition with the party of a president who dismissed parliament and forced these 'illegal' elections, and who today, when being interviewed by western journalists, described last year's compromise deal with Yanukovych, giving Yanuk the PM's job, "..a big mistake. I was naive."?
why would they have to bother about getting the election made illegal? If they really don't want her as PM then couldn't 150 POR people legally resign their seats in the new Rada?
ReplyDeleteI think the question of legality of the elections and the right of Ukraine's president to dismiss a democratically elected government is an issue that will not go away. Democracy is based on the rule of law and the presidents dismissal of Ukraine's parliament is without any doubt unconstitutional.
ReplyDeleteAccording to article 90 of Ukraine's constitution the president can only call fresh elections after 30 days following the failure of the parliament to convene its regular session. September 4 was the scheduled date set for the parliament's next session.
If the parliament fails to obtain a constitutional mandate of 300 plus elected members before October 4 then the president has the legal authority to call fresh elections but not before then.
I doubt very much that the new parliament will meet before November and even then there is all likelihood that the losing party will not recognise the outcome of the September 30 poll.
If the results of the election are to be respected by all sides then the election itself must be held on legal grounds.
Viktor Yushchenko intervened in the operation of Ukraine's court by illegal dismissing three Constitutional Court judges in order to prevent the court from ruling against his decrees.
One of the biggest failings of the European Community was not ensuring that Ukraine's constitutional Court rule on the legality of the president's decrees.
If the elections are deemed to be unconstitutional then they will only divide Ukraine. Current public opinion polls show Ukraine is once again evenly divided and the actions of the president have not instill confidence or united Ukraine.
In the absence of a legal ruling on the president's decree Ukraine could very well become more divided then ever. Fresh parliamentary elections will not resolve the current political crisis. fresh presidential elections might.
Ukraine could become the next European hotspot as a result of the EU failsing