First Deputy Chairperson of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk spoke about the peculiarities of the Law "On All-Ukrainian Referendum" signed by the President of Ukraine.
"From today, we will be able to restore the partially lost right to feel the importance of the opinion of the citizen for the state. And that, I think, is extremely valuable. For 30 years we have not had a full-fledged law that would allow the people to feel like a source of power, as guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine. Previously, there was no mechanism that could exercise this right. As of today, this mechanism exists. Today, according to the Constitution, the people of Ukraine can express their opinion, make a decision in a referendum and be responsible for it," said the First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine.
Ruslan Stefanchuk told whether the referendum gives an opportunity to vote for a change of territory and how this norm will work.
"The opportunity to change the territory of Ukraine is given not by law, but by the Constitution of Ukraine. It clearly states that the issue of changing the territory is a matter of referendum. But we noted in the law On all-Ukrainian referendum that only the issue of increasing the territory can be considered. We will in no way allow a legitimate option to reduce the territory," he assured.
The First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine believes that neither the President, nor the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, nor the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will dictate to people what issues to put to a referendum.
"There is a clear and transparent mechanism. If this issue worries people, they can first form an initiative group. This initiative group should collect 3 million signatures. And any issue that meets the requirements of the law can be raised. Importantly, a decision on it will be binding on all authorities. And this is unique, because it is an example of direct democracy, which is proposed in the law," Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
The politician shared what issues he considers necessary to put to a referendum.
"I would like the institution of the referendum to be used for great unification matters, for great internal victories. It seems to me that such issues should be Ukraine's accession to the EU, Ukraine's accession to NATO. Issues that need a real state definition, not domestic issues. Because we must not forget that the referendum is not for every day. This is a very expensive and valuable thing. Because the cost of the referendum is approximately 3 billion hryvnias. That is why it is very important that those who initiated the referendum feel their responsibility," he concluded.
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