Ukrainian parliamentarians decided to scare Kuchma

The first document the Supreme Rada of the new convocation had to consider has turned out to be the bill “About Making Alterations and Additions in Ukrainian Constitution” which proposed to change the Fundamental Law of the county through depriving the President of some of his cognizance. May 14, the bill was presented by Petr Simonenko (the Communist Party’s leader), Alexandr Moroz (the leader of Ukrainian Socialist Party), representatives of Yulia Timoshenko’s block – people’s deputies Anatoly Matvienko, Sergei Golovaty, Konstantin Sytnik, communist Georgy Kryuchkov, and representative of Viktor Yuschenko’s block Our Ukraine, Vladimir Filenko. The bill foresees handing over the Preasident’s right to appoint all members of Ukrainian Cabinet to the parliament, except but appointing prime-minister, as well as the right to appoint and to discharge public prosecutor general and members of the Central Election Committee. The bill also demands from the President to co-ordinate with the parliament his decision about appointing the head of Ukrainian Security Service, of Frontier Guarding State Committee, as well as chairmen of the State Tax Administration and of the State Custom Service. The bill proposes to hand over the President’s cognizance in case of his incapacity to the Supreme Rada speaker, but not to the prime-minister, as the acting Constitution foresees. The deputies also initiate introducing a rule to the Fundamental Law, according to which election of the new parliament causes the government’s resignation. Moreover, the deputies propose to give the right to the forces who got majority in the election, to form majority in the parliament. They initiate a rule, according to which the deputy proposed by a political party should resign from his congizance when his party leaves the parliament faction. The deputies also propose to give a right to regional councils to express distrust to regional state administrations, which could cause these administrations’ resignation. In other words, the bill completely ruins Leonid Kuchma’s feelings, who always complains about lack of power to realize his duties. Of course, such a document hardly could be passed, because to made changes 300 votes of parliamentarians are necessary. Although the document was signed by 4 of 6 factions of the parliament, they hardly will be able to gather so many votes. So, the deputies seem only to have decided to scare Kuchma.

Alexandr Gorobets PRAVDA.Ru Kiev Ukraine

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/05/14/41080.html