Oleh Bereziuk, the leader of the Samopomich parliamentary faction at the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, believes Ukraine is sliding into a parliamentary crisis.
“There is every sign of a parliamentary crisis. All members of the coalition understand that this needs to be solved quickly amid war. And there is a chance to solve this,” Bereziuk told Interfax-Ukraine.
A conflict during the preliminary voting on amendments to the Ukrainian constitution at the Rada broke out because the coalition agreements had been disregarded and the opinion of three factions of the parliamentary majority that opposed the amendments was ignored, Bereziuk said.
At the same time, Bereziuk said, “We decided today [to stay within the coalition] proceeding from two positions: we should be part of the coalition because war is under way in Ukraine and a coalition is a democratic governance instrument in the country. And second, responsibility for the country’s development rests with us as a governing element. War and responsibility keep us within the coalition.”
In addition, Samopomich believes the Rada should reconsider the constitutional amendments regarding the decentralization of power in a preliminary mode, i.e. at the first reading, he said.
“We propose, together with other coalition members, that 150 votes be consolidated to return a consideration for the first reading. And redo everything from the start in the right way,” he said.
Oleh Liashko, the leader of the Radical Party and its parliamentary faction, said on September 1 that his faction was withdrawing from the coalition and would oppose the ruling administration. “On behalf of the Radical Party’s faction, I announce our decision to withdraw from the coalition.”
Parliamentarian Roman Semenukha said the Samopomich faction remains part of the coalition for the time being.
