Ukraine Today - An Independent Political Review

The Political divide in Ukraine is a hotly debated topic with Ukraine's President engaged in a battle for power. In the lead up to the final ballot in Ukraine's 2004 Presidential elections Viktor Yushchenko and his Our Ukraine Party agreed with all the other main political parties to Ukraine's transition from a Presidential dictatorship to a system of Parliamentary democracy. The March 2006 Parliament elections were considered by all independent election observers to have been open, transparent and fair. The President's Party "Our Ukraine" only received 13% of the vote. Yulia Tymoshenko 22% Party of Regions 33%, The Socialist Party 6% and Communists 4%. 22% of voters who voted of other minor parties that received less then 3% of the overall vote were effectively disenfranchised, denied any say in who will represent them. ( This could be fixed if Ukraine adopts a preferential voting system ) At first it looked like the President's Party would be able to joi...

PACE: Ukraine's greatest challenge today is not its integration with the West, but the integration of Ukraine The status of political reform still remains questionable, as PACE’s monitoring co-rapporteurs Hanne Severinsen and Renate Wohlwend note in their report following their fact-finding visit to Ukraine (9-12 October 2006. “Although no political force in today's context challenges the conversion from the presidential-parliamentary system to a more parliamentary system in principle – provided they get a fair share of the ruling power –, the limits and irreversibility of the reform are still a constant source of conflict and confusion. In fact, since the constitutional reform entered into force before all necessary legal norms were harmonised or even adapted, the political and legal collision has been inevitable. Also, from the very beginning, the central issue at stake in this reform has not been the "balance of power" but the "control of power". Now that...

Borys Tarasyuk, Ukraine's ill fated Foreign Affairs Minister has finally offered his resignation after discussing the current situation with the President. Source: ITAR-TASS media He is reported as stating " Being a politician, a diplomat and a citizen, I think there must be no more delays, because the situation is harmful for the state and diplomatic service. " What took him so long. Borys Tarasyuk's ill considered and inappropriate statements made in the lead-up to Ukraine's Prime Minsters diplomatic visit to the United States resulted in the Parliament passing a vote of no-confidence in the Foreign Affairs Minister. The vote was passed by over 2/3rds majority of the parliament . Borys Tarasyuk's acted unprofessionally and in doing so undermined Ukraine's international standing, bringing Ukraine, it's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President into disrepute. Victor Yushchenko during his meeting with the ill-fated Foreign ...

Ukraine is again facing a battle for power and rule of law between Ukraine's Parliament and Ukraine's Office of the President. Over 2/3rds statutory majority of the elected Parliament voted in favour the proposed Law on Cabinet ad Ministers of Ukraine. This law seeks to codify the rules and procedures related to the conduct and procedures of governance. The English version has some errors in translation and there are some aspects of the law that really is not necessary or desirable but overall the law has not major flaws and seeks to strengthen and clarify Ukraine's Parliamentary democracy. The Officer of the President and his party "Our Ukraine being in the minority have opposed the passing of this legislation which is currently waiting promulgation and publication. The proposed law is similar to legislation and conventions that exist in other Western democracies. The President has vetoed this law and is currently embroiled in a constitutional disputation as to the ri...