Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

There has been a lot of speculation and allegations about Ukraine's local elections which are being held this weekend.  Normally local elections would not rate much attention but in Ukraine the word election and corruption go hand in hand. Former Prime-Minster come self declared opposition leader in exile (She is not a member of parliament) Yulia Tymoshenko, has come out and declared the election fraudulent with another round of allegations of vote rigging and illegal printing of ballot papers. Tymoshenko last week took the media with her to expose a illegal printing of ballot papers in Lviv.  Problem was when they got there there was no signs or evidence of any ballot papers.  Similar allegation were made in Kharkiv region but it turned out the factory was authorised to publish ballot papers. The real problem facing Tymoshenko is credibility. During the 2010 Presidential elections Tymoshenko also made allegations of vote fraud and declared that the elections in which she l

Semi-Presidentialism, Political Reform, and the Future of Ukrainian Democracy by Andreas Umland Source: Foreign Policy Journal.   The current public controversy about what division of power Ukraine should have in the future is overdue.  The various political crises of the past fifteen years have amply shown that the Ukrainian Constitution, whether in its 1996 or 2004 versions, needs revision. However, the arguments made in Ukrainian mass media today concerning constitutional reform mostly ignore what political science has to say about the appropriateness of various forms of presidential rule for post-communist transition states. For this reason, many of the current public exchanges about the division of power that Ukraine supposedly requires miss the point. These discussions are mainly about the amount of prerogatives that Ukraine’s future more or less powerful President should have. The arguments thus remain within the realm of a comparison betwe

Much of the debate in Ukraine is about the perceived notion of "Nationalism" and  ethnicity, the  us versus them argument. Russia is not a threat to Ukraine, it is Ukrainians and their political leaders that undermine Ukraine's stability and prosperity.  Their political leaders. sadly, have failed to represent their Citizens. Instead they seek to promote division  based on ethnicity.  The concept of Nationalism more often then not divides a nation as opposed to uniting its people.  One mans notion of National values is another mans vilification. Exactly who is  Ukrainian and who is not?  And should it matter?  No more is this divide greatest then in the Language debate.  Nationalism is more often than not used to rally the troops when those that promote it as a political tool have nothing else to unite the nation or offer as an alternative policy to secure support.  It is for this reason Ukraine remains divided. Ethnically Ukraine encompasses many nationalities a

Ukraine democratic coalition needs a common policy for reform. Where to?  Whats next? Ukraine needs to form a "Democratic coalition" with a single goal of getting the foundation for a true independent democratic state right Ukraine needs to rebuild the foundation stones of democracy. It has to make a stand for set the agenda for reform.   Get the foundations right and the rest should follow.  Get it wrong and the state will fall. If the democratic coalition fails to come up with a united position then democracy in Ukraine will be a lost cause. The coalition does not have to agree to support each other in government but it must be united in its position for democratic constitutional reform.  IT MUST ADVOCATE FROM A POSITION OF UNITY 

In attempt to attract media attention supporters of Yulia Tymoshenko went on a hunger strike. The hunger strike, of course, was just a publicity stunt and no one expected it would last let along have any impact or influence world opinion. Yanukovych's team have won one over Tymoshenko.   In what can only be seen as a brilliant tactic on their behalf the Ukrainian authorities organised a food and agriculture display to be held on the site that Tymoshenko supporters had chosen to stage their hunger strike. The strike lasted no more then seven days before Yulia called it off.

There is growing concern being expressed in the corridors of power in Europe with representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  discovering that Yanukovych has misunderstood the recommendations and directions that Europe wants to see Ukraine take. The changes that saw Ukraine revert back to the provisions of the 1996 version of its Constitution following the determination of Ukraine's Constitutional court has set off alarm bells that Ukraine is taking a backward step. PACE whilst critical of certain provisions of the 2004 Constitutional Amendments were not opposed to them in fact they were supportive.  Their main criticism of the 2004 amendments were the Imperative Mandate provisions and the apparent unworkable divisions of power between the Office of the President and the Parliament, divisions that often brought the two into conflict and at odds to each other, divisions that made government in Ukraine unworkable.  PACE was not opposed to the tr

I would not hold out much hope coming out of PACE.  They have in the past seriously compromised their position and in doing so have contributed to much of the instability and situation facing Ukraine today. (Most notably was their silence on the abuse and violation of Ukraine's Constitutional order in 2007 when Yushchenko illegally interfered with the independence of the Courts to prevent them from overturning his attack on Ukrainian democracy and the dismissal of Ukraine previous parliament) Much of what PACE has stated is worthy of serious consideration BUT will PACE follow through with these issues or will they like last time turn a blind eye top the misuse and abuse of authority. Other issues they need to serious consider but not mentioned is the need for the EU to free up visa restrictions imposed on Ukraine (A closer and integrated association with the EU is long overdue, Freeing up the Visa requirements is fundamental to building a closer relationship between the

Report1 Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) Co-rapporteurs: Mrs Renate WOHLWEND, Liechtenstein, Group of the European People's Party, and MrsMailis REPS, Estonia, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Summary The Monitoring Committee welcomes the increase in legislative activity in Ukraine in the wake of the 2010 Presidential election, and especially the priority given by the new authorities to honouring Ukraine’s remaining accession commitments. However, the committee is concerned that the current relative stability is fragile, as the underlying systemic causes of the instability that has plagued the country in recent years have not been addressed. Moreover, it is concerned that the hasty manner in which the authorities are implementing the reforms could negatively affect respect for proper democratic principles and, ultimately, the quality of the reforms themselves. In support

Yulia Tymoshenko has joined what has become a chorus of voices calling for spill of all positions and the holding of fresh Parliamentary and Presidential elections in the wake of the Constitutional Court's October 1 ruling.  She joins the Rukh Party and the Socialist party of Ukraine in calling for a renewal  both  tiers of government. The Constitutional Courts ruling has left many questions unanswered, the most important being how do you reconcile the mandate given to the Parliament an the President  given that both bodies of power were elected under a different system of government and a different Constitutional authority.  Ukrainian's voted them into office on the understanding that the divisions of power were different than what they are today. This leaves Ukraine with only two valid options . 1. Reinstate the 2004 amendments nn pursue reform though proper process o consultation an reviie or 2. Declare a spill in the Office of the president and members of Parliame

The People's Movement of Ukraine party has called for holding new parliamentary and presidential elections simultaneously in March 2007.   Interfax-Ukraine  Source: Kyiv Post The People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) in the wake of the Constitutional Court ruling on political reform, has called for snap parliamentary and presidential elections, as well as the mobilization of the Ukrainian people. "The only way out of this situation is to 'reboot' the authorities, and this means holding snap parliamentary and presidential elections. The voters who went to elections in 2007 and 2010 gave a mandate for an entirely different set of powers to the representatives of the authorities," reads a statement by Rukh that was posted on the Web site of the party. In addition, the party said that all members of the Constitutional Court who voted for this "contract ruling" should be dismissed. The

CC ruling provokes snap parliamentary and presidential elections CC ruling repealing 2004 constitutional amendments should be followed by snap parliamentary and presidential elections, honorary leader of the Socialist party Olexandr Moroz says, his press service reported Oct. 3. Source: ZIK The big question now is which way Ukraine will take, Moroz said. “This depends on how democratic our new president is and on VR lawmakers who will have to find the way out of the resulting legal stalemate, Moroz continued. If the CC ruling is considered legal, there is need to hold snap parliamentary and presidential elections. However, the constitution does not envisage such procedure, and therefore, there will be manipulation of constitutional provisions, Moroz went on. Viktor Yanukovych was elected to office under the 2004 Constitution which detailed his authority. Verkhovna Rada was also elected in 2007 for 5 years and is supposed to have the authority

Ukraine, following the recent ruling of Ukraine's Constitutional Court which struck down the 2004 amendments to Ukraine's Constitution, is now facing a major Constitutional Crisis with the country in a state of limbo and uncertainty.  Ukraine's Constitution and laws are not worth the paper they are printed on. Rule of Law no longer exists. Public confidence in the democratic process completely destroyed.  Yet Ukraine will survive.  It is a country that has learnt to exist without government or democratic rule of law, It is business as usual. Its political leaders having failed to restore civility and rational governance. I'ts loss of confidence stated soon after the election of Victor Yushchenko and the failure of Yushchenko to support the formation of a governing coalition follwoing the 2006 Parliamentary election.  having lost sup;port and power yushchenko systematically undermined Ukraine's Parliamentary government destabilising the system of governance and wit

The West to a large extent also shares responsibility for the railing if the Ukrainian government. They stood by and watch democracy in Ukraine being rapped and said nothing..    In April 2007 Yushchenko unconstitutionally and illegally interfered with the independence of Ukraine;s Constitutional Court in order to prevent the court from ruling against his decision to dismiss Ukraine's democratically elected Parliament. Yanukovych at the time was prime minister, his term of office was cut short by a President who showed no respect for rule of law or democracy.    The "West", and the Venice Commission in particular, stood by and remained silent was democracy and rule of law was being violated. They have no credibility or moral right to speak out against the violations have been complicit it its abuse and misuse previously. Yes they should speak out but they should have also spoken out back in 2007.  If they stood up now  and said they got it wrong back in

"Ukraine's 1996 constitution was hailed around the world at the time as 'the most democratic' in the former Soviet Union" A presidential system by its design autocratic not democratic. Latvia and Estonia have much more democratic constitutions then Ukraine's. Ukraine's biggest mistake was not adopting a European Parliamentary model from day one. The struggle to democratise Ukraine has been debated for decades. Proposals to change the system back in 2003 failed by five votes thanks to Yushchenko who has consistently opposed democracy in Ukraine. The only reason the 2004 amendments failed was due to Yushchenko and his ongoing misuse and abuse of office. His actions in 2007 dismissing Ukraine's Parliament had undermined political stability and confidence in the political process. Yanukovych's consolidation of power has only brought his office into disrepute as previously Yanukovych, when he as prime-minister advocated the parliamentary syste

Ukraine has just taken a backward step.  A step away from democratic rule of law  and a return of presidential autocracy.  A step that Viktor Yushchenko advocated and by his actions preordained Today the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled invalid the amendments to Ukraine's Constitution  that were agreed to as part of a peace deal in settlement of the "Orange Revolution" stand off in December 2004. The amendments agreed to in haste followed years of negotiation and efforts for Ukraine to make the transition away from a Soviet Presidential system and towards a European style democratic Parliamentary system . Ukraine previous President Viktor Yushchenko has consistently undermined the stability and success of Ukraine's Parliamentary system.  A system that saw Yanukovych elected Prime-minister in 2006 following Yushchenko failure to support the formation of a orange governing coalition. Yanukovych was at the time a supporter of the Constitutional provision tha

Constitution of Ukraine Pre 2005 - Current  (re-activated by ruling of the Constitutional Court published on 1 October 2010) Source: http://President.gov.ua Chapter I General Principles Article 1. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social, law-based state. Article 2. The sovereignty of Ukraine extends throughout its entire territory. Ukraine is a unitary state. The territory of Ukraine within its present border is indivisible and inviolable.