Will Ukraine Become a Parliamentary Republic?

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has publicly voiced her desire to change Ukraine from a semi-presidential republic to a parliamentary republic, which is the dominant form of government amongst European Union states. It appears that Tymoshenko not only has support from her own Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT), but also from the opposition Party of Regions (PRU).

This change requires a change to the country's Constitution and would be in the opposite direction hoped for by President Viktor Yushchenko. Having been handcuffed by constitutional reforms enacted from 2004-2006, Yushchenko has hoped to undo those changes and increase his power. He planned on support from Tymoshenko and the ability to bypass parliamentary approval through a popular referendum. Yushchenko even set up a National Constitutional Council to draft amendments that would reverse the previous reforms.

This Council included representatives from all major political parties, but PRU withdrew in early 2008 and BYuT members have done little more than observe the proceedings. PRU and BYuT have since agreed to draft a separate set of amendments, which appear to support a parliamentary republic.

On April 18, Yushchenko suffered a huge defeat when Ukraine's Constitutional Court declared that the Constitution could not be changed through a referendum. Chief Judge Andry Srtyzhak said the President could submit draft amendments to Parliament, which could then request the Court to determine their legality.

BYuT cheered the ruling and Tymoshenko now believes the Constitution can be amended according to her design and early Parliamentary elections could be held by the end of 2008. Together, PRU and BYuT can easily get their Constitutional changes through Parliament. If this occurs, the character and importance of the next Presidential election could be completely changed.

Now we know why Tymoshenko has refused to acknowledge questions about her potential candidacy in the next Presidential election. Tymoshenko wants power, not to be a representative figurehead. She must have had this planned all along - make concessions with Yushchenko to be assured of becoming Prime Minister, and then take the necessary steps to change the government to a parliamentary republic, stripping the presidential office of its remaining power.

Yushchenko must be devastated by the way in which he was deceived and manipulated by someone he thought was an ally. Ukraine may indeed be better off as a parliamentary republic, but this seems like a sneaky, underhanded way of getting there.