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Court Rejects October Presidential Election
19 May 2009
Published in
Inform
issue #111
See the full issue here.
Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has declared the Verkhovna Rada (parliament’s) decision to bring forward the date of the presidential election to 25 October as unlawful. Announced last Wednesday, the court’s decision means that the date for the presidential election is most likely to revert to January 2010.
On 1 April, the Verkhovna Rada voted overwhelmingly in favour of bringing forward the presidential election to 25 October. Most observers interpreted this as a defensive move to stop the president from dissolving the 450-seat parliament and calling a snap election. Under Ukrainian law the president has no authority to dismiss parliament in the last six months before the election.
President Viktor Yushchenko then announced that he would accept the 25 October date, provided simultaneous parliamentary elections were held. But when parliamentary elections looked unlikely, the president, on 8 April, referred the legality of the autumn presidential poll to the Constitutional Court.
The eventual court ruling did not come as a great surprise as according to the revised Constitution of 2006, the election of the head of state should be held “on the last Sunday of the last month of the fifth year of the president being in office.” This means that the most probable date for the next presidential election is 17 January 2010.
See the full issue here.
Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has declared the Verkhovna Rada (parliament’s) decision to bring forward the date of the presidential election to 25 October as unlawful. Announced last Wednesday, the court’s decision means that the date for the presidential election is most likely to revert to January 2010.
On 1 April, the Verkhovna Rada voted overwhelmingly in favour of bringing forward the presidential election to 25 October. Most observers interpreted this as a defensive move to stop the president from dissolving the 450-seat parliament and calling a snap election. Under Ukrainian law the president has no authority to dismiss parliament in the last six months before the election.
President Viktor Yushchenko then announced that he would accept the 25 October date, provided simultaneous parliamentary elections were held. But when parliamentary elections looked unlikely, the president, on 8 April, referred the legality of the autumn presidential poll to the Constitutional Court.
The eventual court ruling did not come as a great surprise as according to the revised Constitution of 2006, the election of the head of state should be held “on the last Sunday of the last month of the fifth year of the president being in office.” This means that the most probable date for the next presidential election is 17 January 2010.
The parliamentarians had pinned their hopes for an
October election on the contention that as the
current head of state took office in 2005 – which
was prior to the amendments to the Constitution
taking effect – the old regulations applied.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko greeted the court’s decision saying, “The president has managed to haggle a few more months from the Constitutional Court.”
Political commentators do not believe that the extra time bought by the president will enable him to claw back the votes he would need to get into a second round run-off.
Viktor Nebozhenko of the Barometer think tank was quoted in the Kyiv Post as saying, "Yanukovych will probably win the first round but lose the run-off as she (Ms Tymoshenko) is more skilled at elections.”
“Yushchenko won’t be saved by several more months. If I were him, I wouldn’t cling to his seat so much,” said Hanna Herman, deputy leader of the Party of Regions.
It is expected that parliamentary lawmakers will abide by the decision of the Constitutional Court and not seek to hasten the presidential election. Oleh Zarubinsky of the Lytvyn bloc told a ZIK correspondent, “I don’t think the lawmakers will bend the Constitution.”
The opposition Party of Regions has effectively dropped its call for an early parliamentary election. It halted its two-day blockade of parliament (a protest calling for the dismissal of the Minister for the Interior, Yuriy Lutsenko), which robbed President Yushchenko of the opportunity to dismiss Parliament on Monday, 18 May, when it would have been out of session for the 30 days since 17 April.
“An autumn/winter campaign is now on the cards,” said a BYuT spokesperson.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko greeted the court’s decision saying, “The president has managed to haggle a few more months from the Constitutional Court.”
Political commentators do not believe that the extra time bought by the president will enable him to claw back the votes he would need to get into a second round run-off.
Viktor Nebozhenko of the Barometer think tank was quoted in the Kyiv Post as saying, "Yanukovych will probably win the first round but lose the run-off as she (Ms Tymoshenko) is more skilled at elections.”
“Yushchenko won’t be saved by several more months. If I were him, I wouldn’t cling to his seat so much,” said Hanna Herman, deputy leader of the Party of Regions.
It is expected that parliamentary lawmakers will abide by the decision of the Constitutional Court and not seek to hasten the presidential election. Oleh Zarubinsky of the Lytvyn bloc told a ZIK correspondent, “I don’t think the lawmakers will bend the Constitution.”
The opposition Party of Regions has effectively dropped its call for an early parliamentary election. It halted its two-day blockade of parliament (a protest calling for the dismissal of the Minister for the Interior, Yuriy Lutsenko), which robbed President Yushchenko of the opportunity to dismiss Parliament on Monday, 18 May, when it would have been out of session for the 30 days since 17 April.
“An autumn/winter campaign is now on the cards,” said a BYuT spokesperson.