The Conference was organized by The European Commission for Democracy through Law ( The Venice Commission), The OSCE Coordinator in Ukraine, The Election Law Institute, and The Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.
Addressing the Conference Delegates, The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasized that the last Parliamentary Election was conducted to the highest Democratic standards. He referred to the election of 30 September 2007 as ground breaking, since ‘ it has laid a solid foundation for further Democratic changes in Ukrainian society´.
A. Yatseniuk stressed that the outcome of this election, and the current Coalition and Opposition, ‘are a direct reflection of Ukrainian society today´, ‘and this is good, because election should reflect the will of the people, and not the will of and not the will of one or another individual´. ‘At the same time´, continued Yatseniuk, ‘the electoral process has brought forth a huge number of issues to be resolved within a short timescale´.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine characterized the current progress of the Constitutional process in Ukraine, saying that The Constitution of Ukraine ‘cannot and should not be a Law amended to accommodate one or another political force, or one or another situation´.
A. Yatseniuk highly praised the process of setting up The National Constitutional Council, initiated by The President of Ukraine. In his opinion, ‘this is the correct approach to step-by-step and well thought-out amendments to The Constitution of Ukraine´. He warned the political forces against changing the Principal and Basic Law to accommodate the interests of either the Opposition or the Coalition.´ The Constitution should be a National and unified one´, stressed A. Yatseniuk,
In view of the above, The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called for all those involved in the Constitutional process to strive to reach a political consensus, step by step.
A. Yatseniuk called The National Constitutional Council a Forum for achieving the said consensus.
He emphasized that the process of amending The Constitution of Ukraine will be long and such that ‘it should not be aimed at a re-division of power authorities´. The Constitution of Ukraine, and its amendments thereto, must, according to A. Yatseniuk, serve for the further advance of the Ukrainian State and Society.
However, he did not rule out the possibility that a consensus of the political forces will lead to the adoption of a revised text of The Constitution of Ukraine or amendments to its current version.
Touching upon the issues of Electoral Legislation, A. Yatseniuk stressed the necessary Codification of the Electoral Legal base and adoption of the Election and Referendum Code.
Referring to the legal framework for Referendums, The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasized that this, one of the basic forms of the Declaration of The People´s Will, has not yet been clearly regulated in the Legislation. He said that the mechanism for implementation of The People´s Will has not yet received any elaboration.
As regards the electoral legislation, A.Yatseniuk listed several matters requiring an urgent resolution, and among them the necessity of introducing Open Electoral Party Lists.
Characterising the state of affairs regarding elections to Local Government, The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine said, ‘We have found ourselves in a situation whereby Local Authorities and Governments no longer represent citizens´ interests, and property interests in particular´.
A. Yatseniuk spoke of his intention to hold a meeting with Regional Council Chairmen and City Mayors of large cities, ‘to understand what needs to be done at a Local level, which electoral process should take place there, and who best should really represent the interests of each specific community´.
Concerning National Elections, A.Yatseniuk underlined that real political parties should first of all be created, ‘so as not to become swayed by a charismatic leader, but to reflect the interests of the people´.
Touching on the changes to the electoral barriers in Parliamentary elections, A, Yatseniuk said that this issue is subject to discussion. He condemned the practice of ‘ the temporary patching of holes´ which should be abandoned.
Addressing the Conference Delegates, A. Yatseniuk assured them that the Parliament of the 6th Convocation ‘will through all means possible bring Ukrainian Legislation´ into the system´.