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Nation    

Parties fail to agree on restarting Rada
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, Feb. 20 – Ukraine’s political crisis appeared set to deepen after opposition parties and pro-government groups failed to agree on ways of unblocking Parliament.

The deadlock in Parliament delays economic legislation drafted by the government and may have negative impact on an upcoming summit between Ukraine and the European Union on February 25.

The work of Parliament has been suspended since February 5, when opposition groups began blocking the podium to push their demand that pro-government lawmakers be forbidden from casting absentee vote.

The further delay may trigger political complications as President Viktor Yanukovych may acquire the right to dismiss Parliament if the legislature fails to officially open for a session within 30 days.

The opposition parties and the Regions Party, following days of talks have reached a preliminary agreement late Tuesday, but the deal had collapsed on Wednesday.

The deal included approval of regulation that punishes lawmakers for making votes on behalf of their absent colleagues, as well as approval of resolution backing Ukraine’s European integration.

“As of 17:00 the Regions Party group has refused to sign the deal,” Arseniy Yatseniuk, the leader of the opposite Batkivshchyna party, said. “We are not going to retreat from our positions. There is going to be a system of personal vote.”

The opposition groups are angry that the Regions Party often relies on lawmakers making votes for their absent colleagues. This practice directly violates the constitution.

The Regions Party does not have control over majority of seats in the 450-seat Parliament, and the opposition parties believe that enforcing the personal vote would quickly expose the ruling party of not being able to approve legislation.

“They do not have enough votes, they do not have the majority, they don’t have bills to approve,” Yatseniuk said, adding that the refusal to back the preliminary agreed deal shows they wants to blame opposition for the government’s foreign and economic policies’ failures.

“The Regions Party does not wan to unblock [Parliament] as they want to put the blame on the opposition,” he said.

The opposition parties earlier this month asked Yanukovych to veto all legislation approved by Parliament over the past two months when lawmakers had resorted to multiple voting.

This includes approval of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and other key appointments in the government. (tl/ez)




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