You're reading: Experts: Regions Party won’t have constitutional majority

Experts have agreed that the Regions Party will not be able to create a constitutional majority in a new parliament.

“I don’t think that the current authorities will have a
constitutional majority of 300 [seats] in Ukraine after the elections.
But I think the authorities will have 240-250 seats,” Chairman of the
Committee of Voters Ukraine Oleksandr Chernenko said at a press
conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Head of the Penta Center of Political Analysis Volodymyr Fesenko agreed with his colleague.

“I agree that the Regions Party can have the majority, but at the expense of self-nominated deputies,” he said.

“It’s clear that there won’t be a constitutional majority now. It
will be formed after the question of introducing amendments to the
Constitution of Ukraine is raised,” the analyst said.

He noted that during the creation of a constitutional majority in
future, the final word will be for the owners of deputy packages – the
oligarchs.

Fesenko said that opposition parties could receive 160-170 seats in
parliament. He noted that the opposition must do everything possible to
“have at least 150 or preferably 170 seats in parliament.”

Director of the Kyiv Center for Political and Conflict Studies
Mykhailo Pohrebynsky said that “the Regions Party has a chance of
individually getting 226 [seats].”

He also noted that the question of 300 votes could arise fairly soon.

“The question of 300 votes could arise very soon. The closer the year
2014 is, not 2015 [the next presidential elections in Ukraine will be
held in 2015], the less the chances [the Regions Party will have] of
retaining a majority,” Pohrebynsky said.

According to Ukrainian law, a constitutional majority of 300 votes is
required for the introduction of amendments to the constitution.