04 March 2010, 17:12
Mykola Tomenko: It is necessary to restore Competent and Responsible Deputy Corps
On Wednesday, Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, delivered a speech at the opening of the International Conference "European Parliamentary Traditions and Ukrainian Reality" in Kyiv. Thus, he stated: "At present, the key objective for the public, experts and analysts is to assist the Parliament in drafting appropriate election legislation on elections to the local self-government bodies and The Verkhovna Rada".
M.Tomenko singled out two basic arguments. "The objective argument is that Ukraine lacks competent and responsible deputy corps both in the local self-government system and in The Verkhovna Rada. The subjective, equally important argument is the proximity of the elections to the local self-government bodies and high possibility of early parliamentary elections", - the Deputy Chairman stated.
M.Tomenko deems inadmissible to repeat the mistake of the parliamentary elections-2007, when the elections by closed party lists were expected to tackle corruption. "The elections in Ukraine are useful, provided democratic principles underlie them", - he stressed.
After his speech, the Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, informed the experts and representatives of the public associations about the activity of the parliamentary working group set up to enhance election legislation. He also reminded that he had registered the Bill that cuts the regional, municipal, village, settlement and district councils by more than 60 thousand Deputies. M.Tomenko underscored the necessity of cutting the Verkhovna Rada to 300 deputies.
The Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supports the suggestion of holding several cultural events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the modern Ukrainian Parliament this year. On the one hand, it will enhance activity of The Verkhovna Rada and deputy corps, on the other hand it will elucidate the essence and objectives of the parliamentary system.