Dear Editor,

The Verkhovna Rada has now adopted amendments to parliament’s rules of procedure, allowing creation of a coalition not only by parliamentary factions, but also by individual members of the parliament.

This is in contradiction with the Constitution of Ukraine’s provision requiring that the coalition be formed by parliamentary factions and a 2008 Constitutional Court interpretation of this provision.

It will make ineffective the current system of proportional representation of political forces in the parliament based on the election results. People who voted at the 2007 parliamentary elections may now see the result of their choice destroyed.

These changes come just weeks after the law on the parliament’s rules of procedure was adopted. It was in line with a longstanding recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that rules of procedure should be adopted to guard against snap adjustments to suit current political interests.

Ukraine needs more than ever to stick to fair rules.

I am afraid that this will encourage corrupt deals in the Verkhovna Rada, resulting in individual membership in the coalition. It may bring back the practice of ex-President Leonid Kuchma’s times when parliamentary majorities were formed not on the basis of political platforms, but rather pecuniary and other illegal incentives. Adoption of the law will be a step back in the honoring Ukraine’s obligations to the Council of Europe.

I am also very concerned by the annulment of local elections. This is a serious threat to local democracy, contrary to the promises of all political forces. I can’t understand why Western media – in the name of “fairness to the winner” – ignores such a de facto coup d’etat.


Hanne Severinsen is a former Danish member of the European Parliament and former Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe rapporteur for Ukraine.