“The way a parliamentary immunity exists today leads to nowhere; and election ought to be run through an open-list voting,” – was A.Parubiy’s response to the today’s protesters near the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Talking to the Conciliation Board, the Chairman called on “not to pretend that today is just a routine working day” -- in view of the mass meeting alongside the edifice. According to him, lifting the immunity (i), establishing the anti-corruption court (ii) and the electoral system (iii), which are the key demands of the protesters, are the three things he is definitely in a position to provide the necessary clarifications about.
Immunity
A constitution-amending bill on lifting immunity from MPs and judges had been tabled to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, but it later came in eclipse. As of now, we are having two vying immunity-off draft bills – a presidential one and an MP-drafted one, none of them having a respective committee’s conclusion. The Committee on Legal Policy and Justice is thus to be urgently instructed to leap at the bills for a fast review.
Anti-corruption court
Two court bills had been sent to the Venice Commission for urgent consideration a while ago. Today we possess the Commission’s peer review requesting the draftsmen to call back the bills, and urging the President to undertake the resubmission. Once the leader takes his move, the Parliament sure is to pick it up on.
Electoral system
The Chairman of the Parliament is the author of the Election Code of Ukraine providing for an open-list voting system. Therefore, his stance on the issue has always been clear, precise and straight – the open-list voting is the best election system yet.