Ukraine: November 2007 Archives
It took longer than some expected, but the formal document creating a democratic coalition between President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc finally received enough signatures on Thursday, November 29.
On Wednesday, Yushchenko held talks with Our Ukraine members that previously refused to sign the document. As a result of those meetings, the document now contains 227 signatures, one more than needed to form a parliamentary majority. It should be noted that the coalition blocs received enough votes in the September parliamentary election to gain a combined 228 seats - one member of Our Ukraine still did not sign the agreement.
Parliament has 30 days from today to create a new government. The next major decision should be the selection of the new Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. No agreement has been reached, but Our Ukraine supports current Foreign Minister, Aresniy Yatsenyuk.
After the selection of a speaker, the next move will probably be the nomination of a new Prime Minister. Yulia Tymoshenko looks to be the favorite, but don’t be surprised by more disagreements and days of discussions.
The next scheduled session of Parliament is Tuesday, December 4.
On November 23, 2007, Ukraine’s new Parliament was sworn in while Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych tendered his resignation.
Even though Parliament met, the promised coalition between the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) and Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc failed to materialize. Eight deputies from President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine Bloc failed to appear and sign the coalition agreement. Without their signatures, the coalition cannot be legally formed, and without the coalition, a new Prime Minister cannot be selected and a new government cannot be formed.
Meanwhile, Yanukovych surrendered his power, opening the door for the creation of a new government. He maintains hope that his Party of Regions (PoR) will be included in the new government. Yushchenko, recognizing that in the September 2007 election, PoR received the most votes of any single party, supports their inclusion. Yulia Tymoshenko, the most likely choice to become the new Prime Minister, is not in favor of such a move.
In a sign of continued tensions between PoR and BYuT, representatives of both parties argued and failed to agree on the date of Parliament’s next session. Lawmakers have 30 days to agree on a Parliamentary majority (completing the coalition agreement), and another 30 days to form a new government.
All parties winning parliamentary seats in Ukraine’s September 30 election have accepted a compromise that will allow the first session of the sixth convocation of the Verkhovna Rada to be held on November 23.
After days of disagreements in a preparatory working group for the new Parliament, all participating political groups have accepted senior Party of Regions member Raisa Bohatyriova as the interim chairperson. This breakthrough came after consensus could not be reached on two previous nominations for members of the Communist Party.
The first Parliamentary session is required to be held by November 26, so the scheduled November 23 session allays fears of a Constitutional crisis.
During the first session, it is expected that the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc will sign documents formally creating their slim majority democratic “Orange” coalition. This will lead to a vote approving a new speaker of Parliament and the ultimate formation of the new Ukrainian government. The Party of Regions has stated that it will seek to create its own coalition.
It is nice to see that all the political groups can come to an acceptable compromise. It is too early to tell, but perhaps we are seeing a real change in Ukrainian politics.
On November 12, 2007, the city court in Slavutych, Ukraine reinstated Igor Gramotkin as the general director of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station.
The court found that Ukraine’s Ministry of Emergency Measures fired Gramotkin illegally on October 8, after a television report revealed that a news crew was able to sneak a fake explosive device through Exclusion Zone checkpoints, and close to the Chernobyl plant.
Gramotkin will receive wages retroactive to the firing, and the Ministry of Emergency Measures will also have to compensate him for all legal fees.
A working group special meeting that will pave the way for the first session of Ukraine’s new Parliament was held on Tuesday, November 6. The meeting was attended by members of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Our Ukraine People’s Self-Defense Bloc, and the Lytvyn Bloc. Missing from the meeting were lawmakers from the Party of Regions (PoR) and the Communist Party of Ukraine.
Ukrainian law requires such a meeting within 10 days after the official election results have been published, which made it necessary to hold the meeting on Tuesday.
As of Monday, November 5, 2007, Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered a total of 223 members of parliament (MPs). Total registrations by party/bloc are (total seats won in the September election are in parentheses):
- Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc - 151 (156)
- Our Ukraine People’s Self-Defense Bloc - 64 (72)
- Communist Party of Ukraine - 8 (27)
The CEC has reportedly received registration documents from the Lytvyn Bloc, and are prepared to register their MPs today. The Lytvyn Bloc won 27 seats in the election.
Conspicuously absent from any registrations is the Party of Regions, which won 175 seats in the election. Andriy Mahera, head deputy of the CEC, expects registration documents from the Party of Regions either later this week or next week. The CEC must receive MP registration documents no later than November 16.
