As the opposition blocks the parliament demanding to set the date for Kyiv city elections, the pro-presidential majority of 244 voted to start a parliament session in an alternative location.
The opposition blocked the parliament on April 2 after a failed attempt to set the date for the Kyiv mayoral election, which was only supported by 209 deputies out of 445. Kyiv has been without an elected mayor since June 2012, when the previous mayor resigned. Currently Oleksandr Popov, an appointee of President Viktor Yanukovych, runs the city.
The majority, comprised of the Party of Regions, Communist party and a number of non-aligned deputies, gathered in a parliamentary committee building on Bankova Street. Speaker Volodymyr Rybak said the rules of procedure allow parliament members to start a session anywhere, as long as the majority of parliament supports the move.
He called a vote on the issue by a show of hands, and opened the session after receiving 244 votes.
But the opposition claims that the vote is illegal. Viktor Chumak, a deputy from Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform, said that according to a July 2012 Constitutional Court decision, a parliament session can be held in an alternative location only once it’s approved by a vote in the regular session hall.
“First they should pass the decision in the parliament building, about gathering anywhwere else. And then they can gather anywhere else,” says Chumak.
Several members of the three oppositional factions have attempted to enter the building where the majority’s session is being conducted, but the building is blocked by the state guard, according to Oleksandr Bryhynets, a Batkivshchyna member. The rest of the opposition started an alternative session in the parliament’s session hall, which is broadcast live on www.intv.ua.
In the meantime, the majority has voted to amend the law on personal information, and started debating the package of laws required for Ukraine to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union this November. Their live debates are broadcast by the parliament’s official Rada channel.
Arseniy Yatseniuk, one of the leaders of the opposition who heads the Batkivshchyna faction, has called the new gathering “a coup” and called on the general prosecutor to start an investigation.
“Any attempts to make decisions this way is an attempt to seize power and is a violation of the Ukrainian constitution,” said Yatseniuk.
Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
