Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

Ukraine is once again about to embark on a series of debates and potentially futile exercise of seeking further Constitutional reform. There is almost unanimous opinion that Ukraine's Constitution is in need of serious review but the problems lies in the detail and the policy of reform. Ukraine has made considerable steps towards democratic reform. Its decision to move towards a Parliamentary democracy as opposed to the previous system of governance by presidential decree was a step in the right direction. It has brought Ukraine more in line with other Western/European democracies along with the adoption of Parliamentary democracy is a significant improvement in the number and extent of checks and balances that were not previously available under the old Presidential dictatorship model . The problem Ukraine now faces is that there is wide disagreement within the Presidential and Parliament camps about the extent and direction of the political reform. Ukraine's political divide....

Office of the President under review. Ukraine's Communist Party propose to abolition of the post of President. Whilst the communist party, which represent less then 5% of Ukraine, proposal is unlikely to receive the necessary support and the statutory majority required to abolish the President's position the issue surrounding the role and function of the office of president will continue to be under review. Ukraine is now a parliamentary democracy. Government is no longer by presidential decree but the responsibility of the elected parliamentary representatives. This is a positive step in Ukraine's democratic evolution. Whilst supporters of the currently president would like to see the president have absolute power. I am sure supporters of the president would be the first to call for reform if someone else other then their nominee held the post of president. Presidents come and presidents go. Constitutional reform should be based on particular outcomes. Any changes to the ...

Ukrainian Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, shafts Ukraine President's NATO ambitions. "NATO Membership is not Ukraine's main stategic priority". Opinion polls show that most Ukrainian's oppose NATO membership with support hovering between 12% to 25%. Viktor Yanukovych told senior officials that his coalition government would continue reforms meant to bring it closer to the rest of Europe. Ukraine Says NATO Membership on Hold By CONSTANT BRAND, Associated Press Writer 9:51 AM PDT, September 14, 2006 Source: LATimes.com BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych told NATO on Thursday that he was putting moves toward membership in the alliance on hold, but he said the former Soviet republic still wanted to join the European Union. "Joining NATO is a matter of time. Currently, there is still no support for this issue in the Ukrainian society," Yanukovych said after talks at NATO headquarters. "The support has decreased over the pa...