AN EXTRAORDINARY PLENARY MEETING OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE OF THE SIXTH CONVOCATION WAS HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 3 FEBRUARY
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine declared the plenary meeting open. He informed about the initiative of 166 People´s Deputies of Ukraine-members of the Party of Regions Deputy Faction as to the holding of an extraordinary plenary meeting of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to scrutinize the Bill "On Elections of the President of Ukraine" (re Organization of Work of Election Commissions) (Reg. No. 6004) at the Second Reading. The initiative complies with the requirements of Part 2 of Clause 83 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
The Chairman stated that the BYuT and "Our Ukraine-People´s Self-Defence" Factions demanded a recess to hold a sitting of the Conciliative Council.
Representatives of the Party of Regions expressed their discontent, as the members of the said Factions failed to register for the participation in the plenary meeting.
V.Lytvyn announced a recess after the People´s Deputies had repeatedly registered at the session hall (345 People´s Deputies).
During the recess, the representatives of the Party of Regions Faction blocked the presidium and the lectern.
After the recess, the Chairman briefed on the results of the Conciliative Council. Thus, the Faction representatives failed to adopt the Standing Orders of the Verkhovna Rada as a law. "Therefore, every Party takes only its stand into consideration. According to the effective Standing Orders recognized as non-constitutional by the Constitutional Court, five Committees or three Factions can include an extra issue to the agenda of an extraordinary meeting. I suggested adopting the Standing Orders of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, because it will not be passed after 9 February, as the Parliament´s dissolution will be discussed", - he stated.
However, the leaders of the Factions failed to support the idea of V.Lytvyn.
The Chairman announced the scrutiny of the Bill "On Elections of the President of Ukraine" (re Organization of Work of Election Commissions).
V.Lytvyn underscored the following discrepancy: 150 People´s Deputies are authorized to convene an extraordinary session and scrutinize the suggested issues. On the other hand, the readiness of this issue is rather dubious. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariate performed the technical function, having classified the amendments to the Law in a comparison table.
Olha Bodnar, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on State Building and Local Self-Government, stated that the Committee could not hold the meetings, because the People´s Deputies were authorized to submit their amendments till 11 February. "We can not draw a table without these amendments, depriving the People´s Deputies of the right to fulfill their duties", - she stated.
V.Lytvyn explained that the comparison table distributed among the People´s Deputies had been drafted by The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariate, as the documents necessary for the extraordinary meeting should have been prepared.
The People´s Deputies started to scrutinize 232 amendments to the Bill.
In the course of the voting, members of the BYuT and "Our Ukraine-People´s Self-Defence" Factions stressed that the procedure of scrutinizing the amendments was non-constitutional. They drew attention to the fact that the number of MPs present at the session hall was insufficient for the voting.
Neither amendment was adopted, the Bill being passed at the Second Reading and in its entirety by 233 votes.
The Chairman declared the extraordinary plenary meting adjourned.