President Viktor Yanukovych’s ruling coalition is eagerly looking to hold a referendum on Oct. 31, asking citizens to give their leader more powers by returning Ukraine to presidential rule.
Recent statements by leading coalition members and the head of the presidential administration indicate that they want to overturn changes rushed through during the Orange Revolution. Doing so would turn Ukraine again to a presidential-parliamentary system of government from a parliamentary-presidential one.
Many experts and politicians agree that the current system, which fails to clearly break down authority between various branches of government, needs changing to bring stability and prevent the political infighting that has scarred the last five years.
“[Political and economic] reforms could happen more effectively and faster if he [the president] had more authority.”
– Serhiy Lyovochkin, Viktor Yanukovych’s chief of staff.
But the initiative sparked fears that Ukraine is shifting toward more authoritarian rule, putting democratic gains maide since the Orange Revolution in jeopardy. Some critics see it as part of a wider trend mirroring the way in which Russia’s current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gradually monopolized power starting in 2000, when he became president.
Serhiy Lyovochkin, Yanukovych’s chief of staff, said on July 7 that “it would be a logical step,” to hold a referendum on the matter on Oct. 31, coinciding with local elections. As the logic goes, holding two votes simultaneously would be less expensive.
While insisting that it was up to citizens to decide and cautioning that a decision had not yet been made on whether to hold such a referendum, Lyovochkin and his deputy Hanna Herman explained that they personally supported such an initiative. “[Political and economic] reforms could happen more effectively and faster if he [the president] had more authority,” Lyovochkin said.
Lyovochkin’s comments follow warnings by election watchdogs that see growing signs of plans to hold such a referendum in the midst of election preparations. In another sign that Yanukovych’s administration was serious about boosting his presidential powers, parliament was fast-tracking a referendum law that, if adopted, would give the public a clear mandate to make such proposed constitutional changes.
The measure came days after Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych, a Yanukovych ally, openly called for the constitutional amendments – strongly advocated by Yanukovych in 2004 to muzzle presidential authority of his rival Viktor Yushchenko – to be cancelled.
Lavrynovych described the current parliamentary-presidential system as “ruinous,” “imbalanced” and urged for “more presidential powers.”
“The model put forth [in the 2004 constitutional reform] is a model that destroys the nation, it ruins the public administration system.”
– Oleksandr Lavrynovych, Justice Minister.
Should the referendum be held, voters could be asked to choose either a presidential-parliamentary or parliamentary-presidential system as early as Oct. 31, the justice minister said.
“The model put forth [in the 2004 constitutional reform] is a model that destroys the nation, it ruins the public administration system,” said Lavrynovych in an interview with respected weekly Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.
“We have to go back to the starting point. And then we could move forward,” he added referring to the original 1996 constitution that established Ukraine as a presidential-parliamentary republic, in which the president holds executive authority, appoints the prime minister as well as other key cabinet and government positions including 24 regional governors and 490 district heads along with the head of the Crimea.
In his Constitution Day speech on June 28, Yanukovych made a specific reference to the 2004 constitutional reforms that transferred key presidential powers to parliament and the prime minister. “Several of [the constitution’s] norms, in particular, those hastily passed at the end of 2004, have become the source of imbalance and [caused] a serious crisis in government, then it became an object of justified criticism within the country as well as on the part of international partnership.”
Lyovochkin said on July 7 that the president, whose coalition has fully consolidated control over all branches of government four months into his presidency, could use more power to do his job.
“[Political and economic] reforms could happen more effectively and faster if he [the president] had more authority,” he said.
The statements appear to be a clear attempt by Yanukovych allies to test the waters, seeing where public opinion and international partners stand over the issue.
“It appears they [President Viktor Yanukovych’s team] want to fully consolidate power in the country, and a national referendum is one of the options being considered.”
Oleksiy Haran, a political science professor at Kyiv Mohyla Academy.
“It is a dangerous trend,” said Oleksiy Haran, a political science professor at Kyiv Mohyla Academy. “It appears they [President Viktor Yanukovych’s team] want to fully consolidate power in the country, and a national referendum is one of the options being considered.”
But a source closely affiliated with one of Ukraine’s billionaires said the country’s all-powerful business titans, including those who backed Yanukovych in the 2010 presidential election do not like the idea of a Putin-style “controlled democracy” being introduced in Ukraine. The source said many oligarchs would try to block such a concentration of power, supporting opposition forces if necessary, to prevent any single individual or group from monopolizing power in a way that would cut their strong influence in the country.
“It’s essential to create a counterbalance to Yanukovych and if they can’t find common ground with [opposition leader Yulia] Tymoshenko, they will work with somebody else,” the source added.
Haran put it more succinctly: “No [oligarch] wants to become another Mikhail Khodorkovsky,” referring to the jailed Russian oil magnate.
Moreover, it remains unclear whether the public would vote for providing the incumbent president with extra powers.
Iryna Bekeshkina, acting director of the Kyiv-based Democratic Initiatives policy center, said recent polling showed that 40 percent of respondents do not understand the basic differences between a presidential and parliamentary system of government. But polls also found that citizens were split over which system – presidential or parliamentary – is best.
Kyiv Post staff writers Olesia Oleshko and Mark Rachkevych can be reached oleshko@kyivpost.com and rachkevych@kyivpost.com.
