Parliament rejects Pustovoitenko's nomination as PM (12/19/99)

Parliament rejects Pustovoitenko's nomination as PM

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on December 14 failed to approve Valerii Pustovoitenko as prime minister of Ukraine. RFE/RL Newsline reported that of the 281 deputies present, 206 backed Mr. Pustovoitenko, 44 voted against him, 21 abstained, and 10 did not cast ballots.

Under Ukraine's legislation, 226 deputies must approve a candidate for the prime minister's post, and the president may submit a candidate only once. According to Parliament Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko, President Kuchma was to propose another candidate within two days and another vote would then take place in the Parliament next week.

Mr. Tkachenko commented, "besides the left factions, a number of right factions voted against Pustovoitenko," adding, "out of 15 Rada factions, only four factions officially refuted Pustovoitenko, while the results of the voting reveal that not all factions were sincere in their announcements in support of his candidacy."

Eastern Economist reported that Mr. Tkachenko said the president may recommend the current chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, Leonid Derkach, for the top government post.

A leader of the Hromada faction, Oleksander Yeliashkevych, commented that Mr. Kuchma plans to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada if the latter does not approve a new prime minister in the course of 60 days. He added that pro-presidential factions Revival of the Regions, the Social Democratic Party (United) and the Labor Party voted against Mr. Pustovoitenko, which justifies the plan for dismissal of the Verkhovna Rada for its inability to make decisions.

A leading member of the Social Party and the parliamentary faction Livyi Tsentr (Left Center), Yosyp Vinskyi, suggested that Mr. Kuchma will submit the name of National Bank of Ukraine Chairman Viktor Yuschenko as the next candidate for the position of the prime minister.

He added that, according to his faction's sources, the International Monetary Fund insisted on Mr. Yuschenko's candidacy for the prime minister's position during President Kuchma's recent trip to Washington.

Meanwhile, the chair of the parliamentary Budget Committee, Yulia Tymoshenko, said the candidacy of acting Vice Prime Minister for the Economy Serhii Tyhypko would not be supported because after several years of working as the main reformer in the country he has accomplished nothing.

Parliamentary factions of the Communist Party, Labor Party and Progressive Socialist Party also did not voice support for Mr. Pustovoitenko.

The leader of the Communist Party, Petro Symonenko, said, "we will not support Pustovoitenko's candidacy since we consider the actions of the Cabinet, which he heads, as destructive and wrongful, which led to the state of catastrophe of Ukraine's economy."

The Progressive Socialist Party did not support the acting prime minister due to his inability to introduce reasonable social policy and his support of policies that make Ukraine dependent on the IMF, said one of the leaders of the faction, Volodymyr Marchenko. He added that the faction would not support any other candidate for prime minister.

Eastern Economist reported that President Kuchma has not yet decided whose candidacy he will next submit to the Verkhovna Rada for approval, and that he intends to discuss that issue with heads of parliamentary factions.

On December 15, Interfax reported that President Kuchma met with right-wing and center parliamentary caucuses and groups and heard their proposal that he nominate NBU Chairman Yuschenko for prime minister.

According to the Constitution, the prime minister must be approved no later than 60 days after the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers, which, in accordance with the law, took place on the day of the presidential inauguration, November 30.

In a related development reported by RFE/RL Newsline, following the Parliament's rejection of Mr. Pustovoitenko, President Kuchma stressed his election campaign pledge to seek a referendum on the "redistribution of powers" in Ukraine. "If there is a constructive majority, let [the Parliament] work until 2002. If there is no such majority, the country does not need this Parliament," Mr. Kuchma stated.

According to the president, the referendum should decide whether to give the president the right to dissolve the Parliament if it fails to form a majority. It would also decide the issues of abolishing deputies' immunity, introducing a bicameral national legislature, and making changes in the Constitution of Ukraine only by means of a referendum.

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