Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, supposes that the Rights of the Parliamentary Opposition are not Restricted
V.Lytvyn made this statement in the interview to Kyivskyi Telehraf newspaper.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine reminded that 14 out of 25 parliamentary committees are currently headed by the opposition representatives. However, V.Lytvyn stated that the opposition referred to clause 81 of the Standing Orders, demanding transfer of some other committees. "Still, its representatives neglect an obvious fact: the clause reads that the committees shall be distributed between the factions in proportion to their membership by formation of the Verkhovna Rada Committees, i.e. when organizational matters are settled the leaders of the Parliament are elected, the parliamentary units, their members and leaders are determined, he stated. The opposition is authorized to choose the committees within the scope of their quota, for example, two-five units."
V.Lytvyn stressed that when the Parliament is acting, "it is not the point to suspend the activity and launch the process anew." "I made a suggestion: if there is an opening for a committee, you should start negotiations. The Party of Regions Faction is willing to transfer the Committee on Freedom of Speech to the opposition. However, as a substitute they ask to refuse from the leadership of one of the parliamentary units. The opposition disagrees. Passions are rising", he stated.
The Head of the Parliament stressed that he failed to receive any resignation appeal of the heads of the parliamentary committees representing the opposition, notwithstanding the intentions to refuse from the committee leadership.
V.Lytvyn also reminded that during the plenary week, the opposition is authorized to form the agenda, while on Fridays they can put questions to any member of the Government.