Leonid Kuchma will not Demur from Referendum
“The President feels certain that a referendum will take place, despite Verkhovna Rada passing its moratorium bill. No basic changes will be made in the preparations for the referendum; the signatures have been collected and appropriate statements will be submitted to the Central Election Committee. After that the referendum will take place,” the President’s Press Secretary Oleksandr Martynenko declared January 12. He added that Mr. Kuchma was surprised by the legislators who “for some reason decided to discard the referendum idea which came from the people.”
The President believes that by enacting the moratorium law Parliament clearly showed the predominance of corporate interests over its lawmaking duty. It is hard to say how sincere the chief executive was in showing his surprise. Nor does it stand to reason to assume that Bankova Street expected the People’s Deputies to show enthusiasm over the prospect of Parliament’s dissolution and new elections, loss of the parliamentary immunity, and reduction of the Verkhovna Rada membership to 300. In fact, the reaction was easy to predict. It is possible, however, that the President was surprised to see just how unpopular the “people’s” referendum idea is with the people’s choices: 24 votes against the bill is not only a little. It may indicate that his “allies” turned out to be fellow travelers who, on reaching that point, went their own way.
The Press Secretary also stated on January 12 that the Verkhovna Rada decision is legally improper, adding sarcastically that almost every lawmaker admits as much. One of the bill’s initiators, Communist Heorhy Ponomarenko, told Interfax Ukraine that the legislative resolution “does not quite conform to the Constitution.”). Mr. Martynenko admitted, however, that the referendum’s legal framework needs some adjusting, and that there is a certain problem, but only one and not that important: questions listed for the referendum must be approved by the Verkhovna Rada Presidium and the latter has been nonexistent since 1996. But that is all. There are no other legal obstacles to holding the referendum, stressed Mr. Martynenko, adding that “The referendum issue is the sole prerogative of the court until an appropriate law (i.e., one on referendums) is enacted.” When asked whether Leonid Kuchma will agree to the referendum before the court ruling, Oleksandr Martynenko replied, “The will of the people is the main thing for the President.” In other words, the referendum will take place if enough signatures are collected. Moreover, according to the Press Secretary, the President is prepared to support any other people’s initiatives with regard to referendums: “The President’s attitude to all people’s initiatives is the same. If someone wants to hold a referendum, let him start collecting signatures, it’s everybody’s right.”
Thus the President picked up the gauntlet hurled last Wednesday in Parliament. Once again he confirmed that the referendum will take place under all conditions. It looks as though the referendum opponents scored a Pyrrhic victory. The Presidential Administration announced that the moratorium law passed by Verkhovna Rada changes nothing and the referendum will be carried out according to a scenario worked out on the eve of the election. The Kyiv City Court refused a statement of protest filed by a group of fifty People’s Deputies against the registration of citizens’ action groups. The Central Election Committee is already receiving signature- collection progress reports from local councils. At the same time. CEC registered another 84 such groups. The process is underway and the lawmakers’ unprecedented response is not likely to affect it in any tangible way.
