Volodymyr Lytvyn: Ukraine will appreciate the Assistance of the European Parliament Members in the Improvement of the Election Legislation
On Monday, Volodymyr Lytvyn,
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met Gunnar
Hökmark, Vice-President of the European People´s
Party Group in the European Parliament.
The Parties discussed the specificity of the local elections held in Ukraine on October 31, 2010.
V.Lytvyn stressed that he appreciated and was interested in the opinion of the European institutions about the events in Ukraine.
The Head of the Parliament admitted that after the elections, the Ukrainian politicians "had to set the goals in the law-making and implementation of legislative provisions." He considers assistance of the European law-makers to be useful in this respect.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine singled out one specific feature of the local elections, "By their content, these elections were a continuation of the presidential ones, which impeded the progress of elections." He regrets about the failure to hold a serious discussion about the local authority organization "we have talked about the President, Russia, the EU, but not about life itself." He deems necessary to contemplate "the ways to make the authorities transparent and efficient."
V.Lytvyn admitted the drawbacks in the election legislation, which should be overcome. He drew attention to the abuse of administrative power. To raise the level of general political culture, V.Lytvyn deems necessary to develop civic society in the country.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stated, "Further reforms in Ukraine will fail, unless the elections meet the public moods." A strong and efficient opposition is another prerequisite for the implementation of reforms. "When the public proposals are taken into account, the society will reach balance," he declared.
Among the key issues of the political life, the Head of the Parliament singled out the determination of the system for the coming parliamentary elections, and elimination of the drawbacks in the party system. He reminded that 185 parties had been registered in Ukraine, although most of them had been set up on the eve of elections with the financial support of the oligarchs. "The result was rather predictable," he admitted.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
of Ukraine calls for
adopting the Electoral Code. "This Law should be adopted with the conclusions
of the Venice Commission, and protected from the interference of the
politicians," he stressed.
Gunnar Hökmark declared that the Electoral Code "shall fix the transparent and fair rules supported by all the political forces to prevent any conflicts." "There should be equal conditions for all the political groups, which is a touchstone for you," he stated. "It depends on the rule of law and eradication of corruption. Our duty is to bring Ukraine closer to our family, the European Union. However, every family has its rules."
Gunnar Hökmark stressed that Ukraine is Europe, and the European Parliament is interested to bring Ukraine closer to the European Union. However, he admitted, "The closer we become, the more requirements are set." "We support efficient management and administration, but not at the expense of democracy. This is the stance of the whole European Parliament, not merely the European People´s Party," he stressed. "The forthcoming parliamentary elections will become a touchstone for democracy in Ukraine."
The Vice-President of the European People´s Party Group in the European Parliament believes that consolidation of democracy will foster cooperation of Ukraine with the European countries, give incentive to common trade, establish collaboration in the energy sector, and alleviate visa regime.