Constitutional Court of Ukraine rules that Kuchma can run in 2004 (01/04/04)

Constitutional Court of Ukraine rules that Kuchma can run in 2004

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukraine's Constitutional Court ruled on December 30 that President Leonid Kuchma can run for a third term in office even though the country's Constitution limits a state leader to two terms.

The 18 members of Ukraine's highest constitutional authority decided that Mr. Kuchma, who was first elected in 1994, has the exclusive right to an additional term because he was elected prior to approval of the Constitution in 1996.

The decision in part reads: "One must understand that the provision applies only to people who are elected to the post of president of Ukraine after the 1996 Constitution came into force."

After reading the decision, Justice Vasyl Nimchenko explained that the court ruled only after extensive consultation with legal scholars at the country's leading law schools. He said that with the enactment of the Constitution in 1996 President Kuchma became an acting president fulfilling his authority as state leader under the terms of the old Constitution. Therefore the time period between 1996-1999 cannot be considered a full term in office under the new Constitution. The Constitutional Court grounded their reasoning in Part 3 Article 103 of the 1996 Constitution, which states that the new Basic Law could not be applied retroactively.

The reaction of Ukraine's political opposition to a ruling they long warned about was muted inasmuch as the court's decision came as the country, including its politicians, were well into the holiday spirit.

However, National Deputy Ihor Ostash, a member of the Our Ukraine political bloc whose leader, Viktor Yushchenko, is a likely presidential candidate, called the court's decision proof that the 18 judges were merely the president's stooges.

"This is more proof of the level of democracy [in the court] and the level of democracy in Ukraine in general," said Mr. Ostash according to Interfax-Ukraine.

The lawmaker added that the court had "delivered a serious blow to Ukraine's authority." Mr. Ostash explained that while Mr. Kuchma and the pro-presidential forces could be satisfied that the court had recently decided in their favor on three important issues - the election of a president by the parliament already in 2004; the matter of criminal immunity of the president and the difficult standard for impeachment; and now his right to another term in office - the rulings would hurt relations with the Council of Europe and its Venetian Council, which reviews major court rulings in Europe.

One noted political analyst, who some critics call a presidential mouthpiece, said the court's decision should not be construed to mean that Mr. Kuchma has changed his mind after several times announcing he would not consider running for office again.

Mykhailo Pohrebynsky, director of the Kyiv Center for Political Research and Conflict Studies, said it was unlikely that President Kuchma would run in 2004.

"With regard to the political consequences of this decision, Kuchma has clearly stated that he is not going to take part in the presidential elections in 2004. I cannot see a scenario in which Kuchma organizes a campaign. There are no such scenarios," explained Mr. Pohrebynsky.

The court's ruling came in response to petitions filed separately by both the opposition and pro-presidential forces in Ukraine's Parliament.

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