Pro-presidential members of Rada form majority with help of several defectors from opposition (10/13/02)

Pro-presidential members of Rada form majority with help of several defectors from opposition

by Maryna Makhnonos
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Following months of parliamentary struggle, pro-presidential lawmakers on October 8 announced the formation of a majority after several opposition lawmakers unexpectedly joined their group, prompting Viktor Yushchenko, - one of Ukraine's most powerful politicians - to support a nationwide protest against President Leonid Kuchma this weekend.

A total of 231 lawmakers signed the majority pact in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada after months of political confrontation and anti-Kuchma protests in September in which tens of thousands of people took to the streets.

Three members of the political bloc led by former Vice Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko - President Kuchma's fiercest opponent - defied their leader, as did two Communist Party members who entered the majority and gave it five seats above the necessary minimum.

"Here, I think, pressure, money and exhaustion from membership in a faction that constantly struggles, took place," said Andriy Shkil, a lawmaker from the Tymoshenko bloc.

Mr. Shkil said that everyone who could leave the bloc had already done so and that opposition in general won't lose anymore votes if ex-Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, leader of the Our Ukraine bloc, wisely shields his comrades.

Most opposition lawmakers expressed skepticism over the majority's stability, arguing that the newly formed coalition had failed to even approve the daily agenda for Parliament on October 8.

"We saw the majority's 'capability' in the Parliament today," said Petro Poroshenko, a top ally of Mr. Yushchenko. "This majority will have a very complicated voting process."

The presidential representative in the Rada, Oleksander Zadorozhnyi, also expressed doubts about the stability of the majority.

"I have no confidence because lots of factors are at work here," Mr. Zadorozhnyi said. "This [majority's stability] will depend upon how we manage to agree with each other."

Mr. Shkil said that accounting for day-today absences and various differences, the majority needs at least 250 members to be able work normally.

The four major opposition groups - the Tymoshenko bloc, Our Ukraine, and the Socialist and Communist parties - began a boycott of parliamentary voting in late September after President Kuchma refused to meet their demands to resign and call early elections, or at least come to a roundtable for discussions on how to resolve the crisis.

Mr. Kuchma blamed the opposition for obstructing the Verkhovna Rada's work as the legislature could not muster sufficient votes to pass any bills. Speaking at a news conference after opening a press center at his administration office, Mr. Kuchma welcomed the creation of the majority.

"I'm glad that this majority was created ... If all powers, including those who call themselves the opposition, wanted constructive cooperation, this majority could have been created five months ago," he told reporters. "What it should do now is to prove itself by the example of passing bills."

Earlier in August, the president had expressed a readiness to share more power with the Parliament and urged lawmakers to form a solid majority to enact reforms. Some experts believed his address was the result of opposition pressure, while others said Mr. Kuchma's long-term goal was to overstep opposition bids to take power and negate their protests.

On the wave of mass dissatisfaction over poor living standards and distrust in government, opposition forces ranging from communists to ultra-rightists accused Mr. Kuchma of election fraud, corruption and abuse of power.

Political collisions increased especially after the March 31 parliamentary elections in which Mr. Yushchenko's bloc won most of the popular vote but lost control in the Parliament to pro-Kuchma politicians.

Despite Mr. Yushchenko's pledge to support the second nationwide anti-Kuchma protest on October 12, Interfax reported that he told the Polish newspaper Tribune on October 9 that there is "no alternative in finding a way out of the crisis" other than dialogue with the authorities.

Tensions around Mr. Kuchma were also fueled by U.S. accusations that he personally approved the sale of a Kolchuha radar system to Iraq in violation of United Nations' sanctions. The scandal gave the opposition yet another argument to demand the president's ouster. However, Mr. Kuchma strongly denied any such order and invited U.S. experts to study the case in Ukraine. The experts are expected to arrive in Kyiv on Sunday, October 13.

"Today, looking into the cameras, I can say that under no circumstances would I give the order to supply arms to Iraq," Mr. Kuchma said at a news conference in his office on October 9. "Even if I wanted to, or God wanted to do it, it's impossible."

In its first practical test, the newly created majority failed to include on the agenda the issue of creating an ad hoc parliamentary commission to investigate allegations that Ukraine may have illegally sold radar systems to Iraq. The motion was supported by 225 deputies in the first vote and by 213 in the second (226 votes were necessary to approve the motion). The caucuses that boycotted the votes - Our Ukraine, the Communist Party, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Socialist Party - reacted to the results with applause, reported RFE/RL Newsline.

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