Verkhovna Rada acts quickly on changes to election law suggested by president (10/19/97)

Verkhovna Rada acts quickly on changes to election law suggested by president

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukraine's Parliament moved quickly to smooth any further roadblocks to a new law on elections on October 14 when it acted in one day to incorporate most changes requested by the president.

After waiting the 15 days he is allowed under the Constitution to accept or reject a bill received from the Verkhovna Rada, President Leonid Kuchma surprised many here by returning the election bill to the legislature on October 13, along with a letter listing 15 changes he felt were necessary and without which he would be forced to veto the bill.

It was an unexpected move because just days before the Parliament passed a new election law on September 24, which gives Ukraine a mix of a proportional party system and a straight majority one, President Kuchma told lawmakers he was ready to sign a law on a mixed election system.

Stating that certain provisions of the election law "contravene the Constitution of Ukraine," the president in his letter of October 13 said the Verkhovna Rada should re-examine the bill and act on the 15 recommendations "failing which, I will have to use the right of veto in keeping with Article 94 of the Constitution of Ukraine."

But the Verkhovna Rada speedily made room on its agenda of October 14 and in one session passed 13 of the proposals and rejected two, most notably a recommendation that a 50 percent turnout in electoral districts remain a requirement for a valid election. The original version the lawmakers kept requires no minimum turnout, which effectively kills any threat of second-round voting, except in cases of a tie. In the 1994 elections consistently poor voter turnout in certain districts resulted in some Verkhovna Rada seats remaining empty for the entire four year term of Ukraine's second Parliament.

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz, trying to assuage the fears of national deputies who thought that rejecting the presidential guideline for a minimum required voter turnout would lead to a veto, told the legislative body before the vote: "The president told me yesterday that this clause is not crucial."

However, a presidential proposal that all candidates speak Ukrainian, a stipulation that many national democrats had considered a victory, was removed after a close vote. President Kuchma had said such a requirement could prove unconstitutional because it had the ability to limit the number of candidates in certain regions of Ukraine.

Another point on which the Verkhovna Rada, on second thought, decided it agreed with the president is that all electoral districts should have equal numbers of voters with a deviation of up to 10 percent, not the 5 percent that originally had been approved.

Ivan Yemets, chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, said on Ukrainian Television News, the official government news broadcast, he was particularly pleased about that because he did not see how a 5 percent limit could have practically been assured given the unequal populations of Ukraine's oblasts. He explained that, had that change not occurred, he could have foreseen many candidates challenging the constitutionality of results in certain districts.

The Verkhovna Rada, which has taken so much pride in challenging and obstructing moves by the president, was willing to accommodate him on the election law issue because there is a growing apprehension that elections may not take place without a law in place. There exists a general consensus among political experts that the old law, which is basically a remnant of the Soviet system, does not meet requirements written into the Constitution. If the elections were held and then deemed unconstitutional, the old Parliament would be reseated until new ones could be organized.

Even the Communist faction, which today holds a plurality but not a voting majority in the Verkhovna Rada, supported the mixed election law because its leaders believe that its better organizational structure will allow it to finally capture control of the legislature in the vote for parties, where individual personalities matter less.

Even with the acceptance of most of President Kuchma's recommendations, some doubt still remains about whether the law is constitutional. Mr. Yemets of the CEC said he believes that even the provision in the new law that reduces the number of electoral districts from the current 450 to 225 is open to constitutional interpretation.

Former President Leonid Kravchuk, who is a national deputy in the Verkhovna Rada, speaking at a press conference on the memorandum of understanding signed by 12 centrist political parties and organizations, could not say for sure that the bill he had voted for was constitutional. "It is most probably constitutional," said Mr. Kravchuk. "Now it is up to the president to sign the bill. He may not. He could say that it needs to be turned over to the Constitutional Court for a decision."

Pundits and experts have commented in Ukraine's press that the president is working in a subtle manner to keep the elections from occurring. Because he has no party structure to support him in the Verkhovna Rada, he can rely only on his regional leaders to organize candidates for office. A modified majority system would have better suited his ability to develop a bloc in the next Verkhovna Rada that would support his agenda.

This is why he suggested in early summer that the elections be postponed for a year, using the reasoning that the beginning of the election season would bring to a complete halt any ability to implement reforms.

Many believe the president came out in support of a mixed electoral system because it was better than a straight proportional one, where all seats go to political parties.

As the former president, Mr. Kravchuk, implied, President Kuchma could stall elections yet by referring the bill to the Constitutional Court. "Then as they ponder the issue, there may be a need, the president could say, to move the elections back," explained Mr. Kravchuk.

"Then a very interesting scenario could develop," he continued. "The Constitution states that elections must occur in March. To put them off, we would need to change the Constitution. This would present a very truly interesting situation."

Whether or not the bill is sent to the Constitutional Court to validate its legality remains to be seen, but the Presidential Administration has taken the position that it sees no further barriers to the president signing the bill. "The adoption of most of the president's recommendations clears the way for the law's adoption," said the president's Chief of Staff Yevhen Kushniarov on October 15.

So, as the bill stands now, Ukraine's voters will vote for 225 deputies directly, one from each of 225 single-mandate electoral districts that are to be set up within 120 days of the vote, which the Constitution designates must occur in March 1998 (the current scheduled date is March 29).

They will also vote for a party of their choice. Parties gathering at least 3 percent of the vote will divvy up the other 225 seats proportionally.

In party voting, political parties must submit a list of their candidates no later than 120 days before the day of elections. In single-mandate voting, political organizations or parties must present their candidates no later than 60 days before the elections.

To qualify to run in the Verkhovna Rada elections, a party must present petitions of 200,000 voters' signatures, including 10,000 signatures from each of 14 various oblasts of Ukraine.

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