07 December 2009, 11:10
Mykola Tomenko: Presidential Elections turned the Parliament into the Meeting of the Authorized Representatives of the Candidates for Presidency
Within the scope of the working visit to Cherkasy region, Mykola Tomenko, Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stated that the Parliament had turned into the place of canvassing at the expense of the budget funds.
M.Tomenko considers the last plenary week as the most inefficient for the whole period of activity of The Verkhovna Rada of the present convocation. Thus, during five days, the Parliament adopted five Bills at the First Reading, and one Bill at the Second Reading. Only three Bills were adopted in entirety. The President´s veto on one Bill was overridden.
"The reporters paid little attention to the content of the Laws or amendments, making speeches in favor of their candidates or criticizing the opponents", M.Tomenko stated.
According to the Vice-Chairman, during the presidential election campaign, the Parliament is not the institute to adopt socially relevant decisions, but a place for party speeches. It is also confirmed by the lowest rate of attendance for the last week. "On Friday, almost a hundred People´s Deputies out of 172 of the Party of Regions Faction failed to register in a written form", - he stated.
M.Tomenko claimed that this situation was predictable. He believes that the Parliament will not work efficiently until the presidential election campaign is over. "It would have been reasonable to suspend plenary meetings during the election campaign. However, my idea was neglected. Thus, there is de jure a parliament that convenes for the plenary meetings, and de facto the meetings with the participation of the authorized representatives of the candidates for presidency held at the expense of budget funds", - the Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine stressed.