Parliamentary struggles continue over election of leadership (05/26/02)

Parliamentary struggles continue over election of leadership

by Maryna Makhnonos
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - The election of Ukraine's parliament chairman and two vice-chairs continued to be the subject of harsh debates and tense political consultations in the corridors of the Verkhovna Rada for the past two weeks.

Soon after the Verkhovna Rada's swearing-in ceremony on May 14, lawmakers launched debates on electing their leadership. The 450-seat Parliament was expected to make its latest effort to elect a speaker and other top officials on May 21, but the six leading factions were immersed in negotiations through the night and into the next two days.

Following endless variants of the three positions, the main competitors came from the three largest parliamentary groups, the pro-presidential United Ukraine, the Our Ukraine bloc of ex-Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko and the Communists.

Minor groups of Social Democrats (United), the Socialists and the opposition bloc led by Yulia Tymoshenko, the country's ex-vice prime minister, have cast their support to different coalitions as they have been formed and canceled.

"There's a soccer game ... the ball is being kicked from one goal to another," National Deputy and Ukraine's former President Leonid Kravchuk told the Novyi Kanal TV channel on May 22.

In an address to the Parliament on May 22, Mr. Yushchenko argued that United Ukraine already has government positions and should not demand the Rada chairmanship, too. Furthermore, he said that the Communists' bids for the position contradicted the results of the March 31 elections, in which reformist parties won.

Ex-presidential chief of staff and leader of the United Ukraine bloc Volodymyr Lytvyn said his group was ready to "recognize all candidates," but his colleague, former Transport Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko, insisted that the faction would not support any proposal that doesn't contain Mr. Lytvyn as chairman.

Communist representatives blamed both the Yushchenko and Lytvyn factions for blocking the Verkhovna Rada's work.

"There's just a fight over whose faction wins," Communist lawmaker Heorhii Kriuchkov told the 1 + 1 TV channel on May 22. By the middle of this week Mr. Yushchenko's position had changed from that of a moderate negotiator with the pro-presidential bloc to its definite foe.

After indicating a compromise under which Our Ukraine might support Mr. Lytvyn as chairman if its nominees were named Rada vice-chairman and prime minister, Mr. Yushchenko said later on May 22 that Mr. Lytvyn's candidacy is unacceptable.

Being afraid of an unstable accord with United Ukraine concerning the prime minister's appointment, Mr. Yushchenko said his faction would join the opposition camp if Mr. Lytvyn becomes Rada chairman.

Earlier in the week, lawmakers of the Our Ukraine bloc said they would break ties with all political forces whose allies in government pressure them, claiming that its members have been instructed in government offices to vote for specific candidates for Parliament chairman. "This shows that Ukraine is turning into a totalitarian state," the bloc said in a statement on May 20.

Opposition factions led by Ms. Tymoshenko and Socialist leader Oleksander Moroz did not propose any candidate choosing to coordinate their efforts with Mr. Yushchenko's faction. However, they urged fellow deputies not to trust the pro-presidential forces.

"One cannot believe President Leonid Kuchma and his personal circle," opposition lawmaker Oleksander Turchynov said, according to Interfax.

Over Wednesday night, the "group of four," including Our Ukraine, Ms. Tymoshenko's and Mr. Moroz' s blocs and the Communists, agreed to propose two packages of candidates, but neither was approved as of Thursday afternoon.

The latest proposal of candidates included the names of Our Ukraine's Roman Bezsmertnyi, Communist Adam Martyniuk, and Socialist Stanislav Nikolaienko. Another variant also proposed Mrs. Tymoshenko as vice-chair.

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