Parliament elects deputy chairman, a lawyer popular among his peers (10/13/96)

Parliament elects deputy chairman, a lawyer popular among his peers

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada overwhelmingly elected National Deputy Viktor Musiyaka to the post of deputy chairman on October 3 by a vote of 277-55, after failing to vote in two previous nominees.

He replaces Oleksander Diomin, who opted to remain Kharkiv Oblast chairman and leave the Ukrainian Parliament. The Ukrainian Constitution does not allow for individuals to hold more than one post in government.

Mr. Musiyaka, 50, who hails from Mykolaiv Oblast, received support from a large part of the political spectrum in Ukraine's legislature, from rightists to Communists. He is respected as a lawyer and legal expert. More importantly, in June, during the fight between President Leonid Kuchma and the Parliament over the proposed Constitution, he resigned his position as the president's representative in Parliament over the issue of the legality of a referendum on the Constitution - a move that endeared him to many of his colleagues. He called Mr. Kuchma's threat to go to the people for approval of the Constitution "unconstitutional."

Since passage of the Constitution, the presidential administration and the Parliament have been at loggerheads over who will control the reigns of power that are not explicitly delineated in the new Constitution.

Deputies from UNA-UNSO through to the Communists agreed that the man from Mykolaiv is right for the job. Deputy Oleh Vitovych, of the far right political organization the Ukrainian National Assembly, said Mr. Musiyaka was the best electable choice. "He may not be a good politician, but he is a good and honest person, and that is probably most important today. Even we agree that he is the best choice."

From the far left, Anatoliy Levchenko of the Communist Party said he voted for Mr. Musiyaka. "He is the right person to bring order to the Parliament."

Former President Leonid Kravchuk, currently a deputy, also gave a nod of approval. "He is a lawyer, a professor, a legal expert, and he abides by the law. He is tolerant. He isn't the type that is going to cause conflict but will resolve it," said Mr. Kravchuk. "He is the type that could unite the Parliament and even bring some cooperation between the legislature and the executive."

Mr. Kravchuk also said it is high time that a legal expert sit on the Presidium of the Parliament. "Both Moroz and Tkachenko are agronomists," he explained.

Some members of Parliament also believe that because Mr. Musiyaka is not beholden to Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz and First Deputy Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko and their dictatorial style of parliamentary procedure, he could be a unifying force.

Natalia Vitrychenko, a member of the Socialist Reform Party, said, "He is not going to switch off microphones, nor will he block the release of bills to the floor of Parliament, like Moroz, and especially Tkachenko, does."

Even with what seems like a widespread base of support, the fact remains that Mr. Musiyaka was only Parliament's third choice for the post of deputy chairman.

Valentyn Symonenko, a deputy from the Odessa region, had received the highest tally in a ratings vote that was taken by Parliament to determine the favorites for the post. He withdrew his candidacy on September 18, after being nominated by Chairman Moroz. The ex-mayor of Odesa explained that concern for the city's problems (at that time a hurricane had devastated a portion of the coastal area) would not allow him to effectively carry out his duties as deputy chairman of Parliament.

A second nominee presented by Mr. Moroz, Anatoliy Tatarynov of the Inter-Regional Bloc, was handily defeated on October 1 by a Parliament vote of 185-104.

After Mr. Musiyaka's nomination, the Parliament chairman implored his colleagues to "give up political strategy and elect Mr. Musiyaka, a very skilled person and good organizer."

In his speech to the assembly after his election, Mr. Musiyaka said his goal is to "establish normal relations and mutual understanding between the Parliament and the other branches of power." He is viewed as a staunch supporter of the Constitution and constitutional processes.

Mr. Musiyaka hails from the village of Bezvodne in the Mykolaiv Oblast. He completed legal studies and a doctorate in civil law in 1976 at Kharkiv Law School. In 1994, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada from Mykolaiv.

Mr. Musiyaka celebrated his 50th birthday on June 26, two days before the Verkhovna Rada ratified Ukraine's Constitution.