Parliament reconvenes, but 60 deputies still have not taken the oath of allegiance (09/15/96)

Parliament reconvenes, but 60 deputies still have not taken the oath of allegiance

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The September 3 deadline for deputies to pledge allegiance to the new Constitution of Ukraine came and went, but by September 12, 60 lawmakers had still not taken the oath to protect the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and to obey the Constitution and laws of their country.

Although many lawmakers assume that those deputies who have not yet taken the pledge are from the left-wing forces, their names have not been revealed, and the Parliament's Secretariat has refused to give out this information.

Members of the Secretariat insist they will give deputies a few more weeks to pledge allegiance to the Constitution, stating that at the beginning of the month the number of "unpledged" deputies had been 83 and has now fallen to 60.

Kyiv Oblast deputies issue statement

But deputies from Kyiv Oblast issued a statement on September 10 criticizing this move, calling the action to keep secret the names of the deputies who did not swear to uphold the Constitution "amoral." In their six-paragraph statement the 15 deputies once again pledged to support the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, and distanced themselves from those who did not take the oath of allegiance.

They also urged deputies from other regions to follow suit, making public their intentions to loyally serve Ukraine.

The 15 Kyiv Oblast deputies also made it known that every deputy from the region - except for Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz - signed the September 10 appeal.

Factions threaten protests

On the opening day of this sixth session of the Parliament on September 3 there were also threats by members of the Rukh and Derzhavnist (Statehood) factions to protest the presence of Communists who had refused to pledge allegiance to the Constitution. That move received little support, however.

Some left-wing forces in Parliament argue that it is illegal to force deputies to swear on a Constitution which was adopted after they were elected to the Parliament and that this oath can be administered only to newly elected deputies.

"If we are to swear on the Constitution today, it means that we can serve an entire four-year term" (through the year 2000), argued Volodymyr Alekseyev, a deputy from the Inter-regional faction in Parliament.

Oleksander Lavrynovych of the Rukh faction called this move illogical and said that until a Constitutional Court is formed many issues outlined in the Constitution cannot be resolved.

Although the Communists like to point out that without 60 deputies taking the oath the Parliament may wind up ineffective and perhaps even without a quorum, Mr. Lavrynovych said he is not worried.

"Even without these 60 deputies we are not in a dangerous situation," he noted. "We'll be at about the same number we had when this Parliament convened in May 1994," he added.

There are now 417 deputies in Parliament (several gave up their mandates and decided to work in the government); without the 60 who have not taken the pledge, there will be 357 deputies.

Chairman outlines priorities

Parliament Chairman Moroz has outlined the top priorities for the Parliament in the remaining months of 1996. Among them, he included: creating new state institutions as prescribed by the Constitution, such as the Constitutional Court; drafting laws as required by the new Constitution (at least 60 new laws are needed, according to Mr. Moroz); approving a resolution to expel deputies who are still otherwise employed; and nominating candidates for the post of deputy chairman vacated by Oleh Dyomin, who is now the president's representative in Kharkiv, and candidates for the Constitutional Court (as envisioned by the Constitution, the Parliament nominates six of the 18 judges).

The Parliament has voted to postpone until the winter the restructuring of its permanent committees, downsizing from 23 to between 12 and 15 standing committees. Another issue that has been put off is the adoption of new parliamentary rules of procedures.