02 October 2014, 16:50
Each citizen should bear responsibility for the purge of authority by voting during parliamentary elections. Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov stressed this in the interview to “LihaBiznesInform” news agency, released on Thursday.
Responding to the question whether Chairperson of the Parliament sees any threat in the fact that those being a party to the Yanukovych regime still are not punished, and whether this could be the reason of a short cadence of the next parliament, Oleksandr Turchynov noted that “this is the question to each person that casts a ballot.”
“Lustration, we've being talking about, should be exercised by every citizen in particular. And each of us should bear responsibility for the purge of authority. There is no lustration enshrined in the law that would pertain to those receiving a mandate during elections. Restriction of the right to participate in elections is violation of civil rights which contradicts the Constitution.”
Oleksandr Turchynov mentioned that quite often behaviour of certain deputies, who, for example, voted in favor of anti-national laws by sharing political responsibility with the previous regime, do not fall within the scope of the Criminal Code. “In this case, there is only one way out – they should be lustrated by voters themselves. Voters should decide whether this is acceptable for them or not. Is it okay if your interests are represented for example by a traitor, a party-switcher, or a political “party-hopper” whatever flag he/she uses during elections? The right to decide belongs to the Ukrainian people,” he stressed.
***