Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko, in a highly controversial act, removed from office one of Ukraine's Constitutional Court Judges. The Constitutional Court is currently considering an appeal against the President's decree dismissing Ukraine's democratically elected parliament. The President's removal from office of one of the judges reviewing his decree raises serious concerns of possible corruption and subjects the Office of the President to allegations that the President's actions were politically motivated and direct interference in the decision and determination of Ukraine's Constitutional Court. Yevhen Zakharov, spokesperson from the Kharkiv Human Rights Organisation ,in a recent interview with UkraineToday said that One of the identified problems with Ukraine's judicial system is the concern that Constitutional Court Judges are paid monthly 60000 UAH (Approximately US$12,000) substantially large salaries by Ukrainian standards. The ability

The ongoing power struggle between Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko, and the parliamentary governing majority continues unabated with the Parliament today passing a resolution calling for the holding of fresh presidential and parliamentary elections to be held no later then December 2007 . This move comes following the President's second decree issued on April 26, which annulled the fist decree made on April 2. The President has once again decreed that Ukraine's democratically elected parliament be dismissed for the second time. The President is seeking fresh parliamentary elections to be held on June 24. 160 members of parliament have lodge an urgent appeal in Ukraine's Constitutional Court claiming that the President's second decree is also unconstitutional in that it does not comply with the provisions of Ukraine's Constitution and that the President has exceeded his authority in dismissing Ukraine's democratically elected Parliament. Ukraine's

A recent opinion poll by Sotsis social and political study centre shows that Ukraine's Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych (45%), is the most trusted politician 13 percentage points above Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko (32%), and 12 percentage points ahead of Yulia Tymoshenko (33%). Source : Interfax Name Trust Distrust Ratio Spreed Yanukovych 45% 53% 0.85 8% Moroz 33% 62% 0.53 29% Azarov 32% 45% 0.71 13% Yushchenko 32% 64% 0.50 32% Lutsenko 31% 60% 0.52 29% Tymoshenko 31% 64% 0.48 33% Symonenko 30% 64% 0.47 34%

"Call the next witness!" said the King. Alice watched the White Rabbit as he fumbled over the list, feeling very curious to see what the next witness would be like, "for they haven't got much evidence yet," she said to herself. Imagine her surprise when the White Rabbit read out, at the top of his shrill little voice, the name "Alice!" "Here!" cried Alice, quite forgetting in the flurry of the moment how large she had grown in the last few minutes, and she jumped up in such a hurry that she tipped over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, upsetting all the jurymen on to the heads of the crowd below, and there they lay sprawling about, reminding her very much of a globe of gold-fish she had accidentally upset the week before. "Oh, I beg your pardon!" she exclaimed in a tone of great dismay, and began picking them up again as quickly as she could. As soon as the jury had a little recovered from the shock of being upset, and their

Commentary by Oleksandr Shepotylo Source: Ukrainian Observer Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is one of my favorite books. It has many allusions to the political situation in 18th century Europe described in a genre of political satire. One of the major themes in the book is the so-called egg dispute between the Lilliputians who preferred cracking open their soft-boiled eggs from the little end, and Blefuscans who preferred cracking the big end. Deep ideological differences between Big-Enders and Little-Enders even led the countries into war against each other. Lilliputians and Blefuscans could have benefited greatly by ending the war and engaging in free trade to their mutual benefit. However, the issue that was irrelevant for economic development plagued their relationships and considerably reduced potential for economic growth and prosperity. The seemingly ridiculous and artificial example of the egg dispute illustrates a very deep problem faced by many nations over and ove

Source: RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty The current political crisis seems to have been cunningly provoked by his fervent ally in the Orange Revolution, Yuliya Tymoshenko, who helped Yanukovych overcome Yushchenko's veto on the law on the cabinet of ministers and thus goaded Yushchenko into action against Yanukovych. Tymoshenko, for whom there has been no government role following the March 2006 elections, is the actor who most wants early elections and a new political opening. Sociological surveys indicate that Yanukovych's Party of Regions and Tymoshenko's eponymous bloc are poised to win a new poll and effectively inaugurate a two-party system in Ukraine. For any other country in transition such a situation could be a blessing. For Ukraine -- with Yanukovych's electorate entrenched in the east and the south and Tymoshenko's supporters grouped in the west -- such an election outcome could turn into a nightmare. For Yushchenko, any resolution of the current standoff d

Update: 28/4/2007. Recent reports have indicated that Ukraine's Constitutional Court has not decided on its actions in respect to its ruling on the President's first decree. It is expected that the Court will make an announcement early next week. Meanwhile 160 Members of Parliament have lodged an appeal against the President's second decree dated April 26 which is also before the Constitutional Court awaiting their consideration. Ukraine's Constitutional Court has withdrawn consideration of the Government appeal following the President's cancellation of his original April 2 decree dismissing parliament . The President's has withdrawn his original decree, which was under review by Ukraine's Constitutional Court on appeal by the Government, and has issued a second decree calling for new parliamentary elections to be held on June 24. The latest move by the President is seen as a means of the President to avoid accountability or ruling by Ukraine's highest

Ukraine to go to the polls on June 14... or maybe not Viktor Yushchenko has postponed the holding of elections until June 24 , following the ruling from the Constitutional Court preventing elections being held on May 27. Questions surrounding the legality of the president's decree dismissing Ukraine's democratically elected parliament remain in abeyance as Ukraine's Constitutional Court moves into closed session to consider it's ruling. The status of the original decree is unclear with some commentators suggesting that the President has withdrawn his original decree and has substituted it with a new decree. Others say that the President's latest decree is just clarification and amendment to the original decree. The governing coalition states that the presidents actions are once again unconstitutional and vowed to continue to fight the ruling in the Constitutional Court. Both sides to the current political crisis have agreed to abide by the Courts ruling (All except

Ukraine urged to solve its crisis peacefully, but could the EU have done more? External relations - 25-04-2007 - 18:24 With the political crisis in Ukraine continuing, MEPs discussed the situation with the Council and Commission. While Ukraine is seen as a vital interest of the EU, there was a consensus that the country's politicians must find a solution themselves without outside interference. Some speakers, however, suggested that the EU might have played a more active role in Ukraine's recent political development. Council and Commission Opening for the Council, Germany's Federal Minister of State Günther Gloser welcomed this opportunity to debate developments in Ukraine, adding that their importance could not be overstated. Ukraine's 2004 "Orange Revolution" had set an example for other states in the region, he said, but the wrangling required to form a government thereafter had proven very difficult. In April 2007, President Viktor Yushchenko had sought t

Ukraine's top administrative court says no elections May 27 15:35 Source: RIAN News Service KIEV, April 25 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's Supreme Administrative Court has banned holding early parliamentary elections May 27 amid the ongoing political turmoil in the former Soviet country, the justice minister said Wednesday. Update: ITAR-TASS - Court issues statement of clarification KIEV, April 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukraine’s Higher Administrative Court has called into question the timeline for early parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 27, but has not banned them. “The Higher Administrative Court has issued a separate ruling in respect to this case, which noted the obvious fact of inaction on the part of the Central Election Commission in terms of violating the timescale and the procedure for forming territorial election commissions, which calls into doubt the holding of early parliamentary elections within the period determined by the presidential decree,” the court’s press serv

Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko, has seen his approval rating increase since his conflict with Ukraine's Governing coalition, up from a low of 10% to 20%. The recent published poll by Kiev International Institute for Sociology Ukraine's Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, leading on an approval rating of 34.5% with Yulia Tymoshenko trailing the President on 16% Source: Ukrainian Journal Based on this information, if there was a fresh Presidential elections and all three candidates stood, we would see a repeat run-off ballot between the two Viktors.

Vote for Green Tea Submitted by a Ukraine Today reader April 22, 2007 I like tea. Green tea. I hate you coffee drinkers. Always on and on about your damned coffee. Shut up! When I am in a cafe with one of you, and you order coffee, I always cancel your order. I make you drink green tea. My dream is to be King of some tin-pot wannabe ex-Soviet regime. I would get even with you coffee drinkers. I would start a green tea revolution! Mind you, I’m not a native speaker of any local dialectal mutations of the Russian language, but I understand that’s not a prerequisite. I could pretend. And I’m not very bright. But I understand that’s not a problem either. I like America. I do have a lot of experience pushing buttons on the machines down at the brickworks. That would be much the same as pushing the buttons on the money-printing machines over at the central bank, wouldn’t it? As King, I would unite all us green tea drinkers, and all you coffee drinkers, by making everyone drink green tea! T

Legality of pre-term Parliamentary Elections. The Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) in its resolution dated April 19, 2007 asks the Venice Commission to review and provide an opinion on the constitutional and legislative basis for pre-term parliamentary elections. Constitutional Court Authority The Assembly reiterates that the authority of the sole body of constitutional justice – the Constitutional Court of Ukraine – should be guaranteed and respected. Pressure in any form on the judges is intolerable and should be investigated and criminally prosecuted. On the other hand, it is regrettable that in the eight months of its new full composition, the Constitutional Court has failed to produce judgments, thus failing to fulfil its constitutional role and to contribute to solving the crisis in its earlier stages which undermines the credibility of the court. There is an urgent need for all pending judgments, and in particular the judgment concerning the constitutionality of t

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)yesterday considered further the current Ukrainian Crisis. The PACE resolution adopted by 107 votes to 5, called on Ukraine’s leaders and parliament to resolve the crisis in a legitimate, strictly constitutional and peaceful manner, “whether that be by calling legitimate early elections, emanating from the ruling of the Constitutional Court, or by way of a negotiated compromise.” PACE did not specify if it's resolution related only to Parliamentary elections or also included fresh Presidential elections which have been called for by the governing coalition. If the Constitutional Court rules against the President's decree there will be growing pressure for the President to resign and face early elections in order to renew his mandate. The qualifying statement related to the ruling of the Constitution Court sent a clear signal to Viktor Yushchenko and Ukraine's Office of the President that Ukraine must respect the out

"The ruling of Ukraine’s Constitutional Court in the current crisis should be accepted as binding by all sides" - Parliamentary Assembly said in a resolution adopted on 19 April. The Assembly warned that pressure in any form on the judges of the Court was ''intolerable'', and should be investigated and criminally prosecuted.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor-Generals Office has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that officials have illegally pressured Constitutional Court justices, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported . Comments recently made by Yulia Tymoshenko outside the constitutional Court could constitute Contempt of Court and a deliberate attempt to intimidate and theatern Constitutional Court Judges. Yulia Tymoshenko following the decision of Ukraine's Constitutional Court to consider the merits of the Government's appeal against Viktor Yuschenko, Ukraine's President, decree dismissing Ukraine's democratically elected parliament, called on Viktor Yuschenko to withdraw his nominees from the Court. Yulia Tymoshenko in hear speech attacked the decision of the Court and claimed that the Court was corrupt. She failed to provide any evidence or statements backing up her claim. Yesterday, Yabloko party leader Mykhailo Brodskyi claim ed that Yulia Tymoshenko has asked him for USD 3

The Council or Europe - Parliament Assembly has called on Ukraine to adopt a full parliamentary system in line with European Standards "It would be better for the country to switch to a full parliamentary system with proper checks and balances and guarantees of parliamentary opposition and competition." The PACE: Explanatory memorandum presented to the Assembly meeting held on April 19 by Mrs Severinsen and Mrs Wohlwend, co-rapporteurs on Ukraine raised concern about the inevitable conflict of power under Ukraine's Parliamentary-Presidential system between the Parliament and the President. The report states: "The failure to establish clearly defined and law-based institutions to guarantee in practice separation of power, democratic rights and freedoms, by providing for an effective system of checks and balances is at the very heart of the political struggle that has unfolded in the country over recent months and sparked into an open crisis upon the dissolution of th

According to a poll conducted by the Kiev-based International Institute of Sociology, if parliamentary elections in Ukraine were held in the middle of April, the Party of Regions led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich would have won. Source: ITAR-TASS News Service The Party of Regions would have been supported by 35.9 percent of those who intend to vote. The Yulia Timoshenko Bloc would have received 20.9 percent, the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc would have scored 11.6 percent, and the Communist Party 3.4 percent. Other parties and blocs would not have passed the 3-percent barrier. People’s Self-Defense created by former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko would have received 2.1 percent, the Natalia Vitrenko Bloc 1.5 percent, the Socialist Party of Alexander Moroz 1.5 percent, and former parliament speaker Vladimir Litvin’s bloc 1.4 percent. If early parliamentary elections, called by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko for May 27, take place, the Party of Regions and the Communis

Kyiv April 18 - 125 Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and 80 Our Ukraine Party members of Ukraine's Parliament (Rada) have threatened to resign if the Constitutional Court rules against Viktor Yushchenko's Presidential decree dismissing the Parliament. Yesterday the Constitutional Court agreed to consider the appeal lodged by the governing coalition claiming that the Presidents decree was unconstitutional. The Court voted 11 out of 18 to hear the appeal. In what is seen by many as an attempt to intimidate the Court in the hope of influencing the Courts determination Yulia Tymoshenko claimed that the Constitutional Court was corrupt and that she would not respect the Courts decision following yesterday's ruling. This is in spite the fact that the Court is yet to rule on the Constitutionality of the President's decree. Members of Parliament when appointed to the Parliament take an oath " I swear allegiance to Ukraine. I commit myself with all my deeds to protect the sovereign

Unity of Ukraine is crucial for unity of Europe - PACE President "Dividing Ukraine into `pro-Western` and `pro-Russian` is an offence to the wisdom of the people of Ukraine " said Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden. How true. The sooner the Western and Ukrainian media cease promoting this false stereotype the better off Ukraine and the world will be.

Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has described a Constitutional Court session reviewing President Yushchenko's decree dissolving parliament as "a farce," and urged the president to recall the judges appointed on his quota. Source: RIA Novosit "The Constitutional Court in its present form cannot and must not be an arbiter," she said. She said the crisis can only be resolved by going to the country, not a handful of people who are neither free nor unbiased. " We will not accept the decision of this Constitutional Court, because it cannot be legal," Tymoshenko said. Ukraine's Constitutional Court said earlier Tuesday it decided to study a presidential decree ordering the dissolution of parliament nonstop, from April 17 through 27, until a final ruling is passed. The decision was upheld by 11 out of 18 judges.

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE HAS PREPARED THE LEGAL OPINION WITH REGARD TO THE RESULTS OF LEGAL EXAMINATION OF DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE "ON PRE-TERM ABATEMENT OF AUTHORITY OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE " Following interpellation of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Justice has prepared the Legal Opinion with regard to the results of legal examination of Decree of the President of Ukraine dated April, 2 the year 2007 N 264 "On pre-term abatement of authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine" Below is presented the full text of the Opinion : Legal Opinion Ministry of Justice with regard to the results of legal examination of Decree of the President of Ukraine dated April, 2 the year 2007 N 264 "On pre-term abatement of authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine " The President of Ukraine by Decree dated April, 2 the year 2007 N 264 "On pre-term abatement of authority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ", referring to Article 5 para. 2-