“A law on the opposition ought to ensure equal rights for the parliamentary minority,” -- Olena Kondratiuk, Vice Speaker
The Verkhovna Rada is currently in the process of drafting a bill on the opposition, which is due out in this September. This was announced by the Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk in her recent interview to Radio Svoboda.
According to her, to keep abreast of concerns of our time, VRU’s rules of procedure need continuous improvement, which was repeatedly emphasized in respective recommendations of the European Parliament’s Needs Assessment Mission led by Pat Cox.
The politician then noted the good and constructive communication rendered by the First Vice Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, as well as between the majority and the minority, all factions and representatives of civil society involved in the preparation of the law in question.
"I am also a member of this working group. It seems to me that good communication is prevailing over there. At least, there is a lot of discussion now about structuring this law. But it’s my firm belief, there must be a law on the opposition, which, to my deep regret, was, in fact, axed out of the rules in 2010 as a legal norm. As they earnestly say in the European Parliament – ‘majority and minority must have equal rights’,” the Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk underlined.