Turning the pages back... July 1, 1996 (06/29/97)

Turning the pages back...

July 1, 1996

The week following the adoption of the new Constitution of Ukraine on June 28, 1996, was marked by both euphoria and the realization that much work lay ahead. In addition, there was some Monday-morning quarterbacking by those involved in the process.

Speaking at a press conference on July 1, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz assured journalists that the Constitution had been adopted because of the lawmakers' deep sense of responsibility regarding Ukraine's destiny, and not, as some political observers had claimed, because deputies feared for their own fate.

This last statement was fueled by rumors that the president would dissolve the Verkhovna Rada if it did not adopt the Constitution. "Nobody in the Parliament did anything out of fear," responded Mr. Moroz.

Marta Kolomayets, our Kyiv correspondent at that time, reported: "Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that President Leonid Kuchma's June 26 decree to hold a national referendum on the Constitution - whether it was a calculated political ploy to get the Parliament moving, or simply an attempt to stimulate the stalled constitutional process - had jolted the deputies into immediate action. Challenged by President Kuchma's move - which implied that the legislative branch would be bypassed in adopting the Constitution and thus its importance negated - Mr. Moroz rose to the call."

Mr. Moroz related: "There were quite a few dramatic moments as the Verkhovna Rada worked intensely throughout the night, and searched for compromise on key issues, in order to pass the Constitution." He told reporters he believed that Parliament would have adopted the Constitution in full by the beginning of the summer recess, and he calculated that the legislature could have voted for the fundamental law on July 16, the sixth anniversary of Ukraine's Declaration on State Sovereignty.

Our Kyiv Press Bureau also reported the following:

But, once the impetus was provided, Mr. Moroz, backed by a majority of deputies who were displeased with President Kuchma's intimidation tactics, saw that the lawmakers could indeed pass the Constitution by the morning of June 28.

Chairman Moroz described the dramatic events, noting that he was concerned when the Parliament was short of a constitutional quorum because the Rukh faction and some of the Derzhavnist deputies had refused to register on June 27. But by evening, the requisite number of deputies had registered in the Parliament and the constitutional process began.

Giving almost a play-by-play of his strategy, Mr. Moroz said that another dramatic moment in the Parliament came at around 11 p.m. on June 27, when he saw that deputies were dozing off. But, as the debates got heated, many of the lawmakers began relying on adrenaline and coffee to get through the night.

At 2:10 a.m. there was an attempt to disrupt the session, but the deputies did not leave the hall as they had done on many previous occasions. Mr. Moroz said it was at that point in time that he knew by morning Ukraine would have a new Constitution. With numerous ad hoc committees working through the night on compromise documents, the Parliament was indeed able to unite and pass the Constitution on Friday morning, June 28, by a vote of 315-36.

"This was a great victory for the Ukrainian model of democracy, and the process was 100 percent legitimate," said Justice Minister and Deputy Serhii Holovatyi, one of the principal authors of the fundamental law. He called the Constitution a document that "should make all Ukrainians proud."

"The Constitution was not adopted in one night," Mr. Holovatyi explained. "It was a process that began on the day we declared Ukrainian sovereignty on July 16, 1990, continued with the Declaration of Independence on August 24, 1991, was reinvigorated in 1994 with the formation of a new Constitutional Committee, and so on," he explained.

"The constitutional process was not a one-night marathon session," concurred Dmytro Tabachnyk, President Kuchma's chief of staff, who added that the adoption of a new Constitution was a top priority for President Kuchma from the day he had assumed office in July 1994.

"Although we have a new Constitution, the bulk of the work is ahead of us," said National Deputy Vyacheslav Chornovil, leader of Rukh. "Our battles are not yet over, but at least we no longer have to ask the question: 'where are we going?' ... We have a legitimate, independent, sovereign, unitarian Ukrainian state."

Source: "New Constitution changes political landscape" by Marta Kolomayets, The Ukrainian Weekly, July 7, 1996 (Vol. LXIV, No. 27).

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