15/04/2009 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 15.04.2009 – “We welcome the work undertaken in the fields of legal and electoral reform in Ukraine, but it is now time that the different concept papers and draft laws are harmonised, adopted and implemented,” said the two co-rapporteurs on Ukraine of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD) and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany, ALDE), speaking at the end of their visit to Kiev from 5 to 8 April 2009.
The co-rapporteurs welcomed that the opinion of the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s group of independent legal experts, is regularly sought during the preparation of these laws, but stressed that its recommendations should then be reflected in the draft laws that are debated and ultimately adopted by Parliament.
In relation to electoral reform, the co-rapporteurs said they were heartened to see the constructive and consensual discussions in the Special Working Group of the Verkhovna Rada for the drafting of a Unified Election Code, in which all political parties are represented. “We call upon the leaders of all political forces to follow the example of, and give their full backing to, their members in this working group in order to ensure that a consensus on the election system and the legal framework for elections can now be achieved without further delay,” the co-rapporteurs said.
They underscored that, in the view of the Assembly, such an election system for Ukraine should be based on open electoral lists and regional constituencies, a view that was shared by all members of the working group. “The voters should be able to influence who ultimately represents them in Parliament, which is not possible under the current system of closed party lists in a single national constituency,” they said.
Moreover, in the view of the co-rapporteurs, it would also be necessary to ensure that the voters have a full understanding of what the different political parties and elected representatives stand for. They therefore called for quick implementation of the Law of Financing of Political Parties, which would reduce the dependency of political parties on economic interests and ensure full transparency of their financing to the public.
The co-rapporteurs stressed that an agreement on the electoral system and the implementation of a core set of electoral reforms was especially urgent in the light of the forthcoming presidential election, which is now called for 25 October 2009, as well as suggestions that parliamentary and presidential elections could take place on the same day. “Under the current legal framework, the organisation of presidential and parliamentary elections on one and the same day would be potentially disastrous, if not outright impossible,” they said.
Furthermore, the changes made to the Law on Elections of the President of Ukraine after the controversial second round of the presidential election in 2004 have in the meanwhile expired, and the shortcomings identified during the first two rounds of those elections continue to exist. The co-rapporteurs therefore stressed that the changes made for the third round of the 2004 elections should also be valid for the forthcoming presidential election. Without these changes, the legal framework would be of serious concern and could also create confusion among the voters.
During their visit the co-rapporteurs were informed by the President of Ukraine about the contents of his proposal for a new Constitution for Ukraine. While the co-rapporteurs did not have the time to study his proposals in detail, they noted that many interlocutors felt that this proposal could be seen as a good starting point to reach consensus between all political forces on a new constitution. While realising that the constitutional reform would be affected by the scheduled elections, the co-rapporteurs urged all actors to continue searching for an agreement on the main principles of the new Constitution, especially with regard to a clear separation of powers, and independence of the judiciary, as the current ambiguity with regard to this is negatively affecting the democratic consolidation and political stability of Ukraine.
In addition, the two co-rapporteurs recommended that the authorities, in line with suggestions from the Venice Commission, explore the possibility of amending the current Constitution, instead of adopting a completely new one, as this would also solve the political controversy over how a totally new Constitution should be adopted.
With regard to judicial reform and reform of the judiciary, the rapporteurs were informed about the progress with regard to the implementation of the several concept papers and state of preparation of several required laws and legal instruments. While welcoming the progress made, the rapporteurs stressed that it was now time to complete these reforms in line with Council of Europe standards and principles.
In that respect they noted that, while the opinion of the Venice Commission is sought during the preparation of the law, their recommendations are not always reflected in the final text, and proposed amendments either do not take into account, or even contradict these recommendations. “We call upon the Verkhovna Rada to ensure the rapid adoption of the laws that are required to finalise the legal reform demanded by the Council of Europe,” they said. Moreover, to ensure that they conform to European standards, the Venice Commission should be asked to provide an opinion on the amended versions that will be proposed for adoption in third reading in Parliament.