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Serhiy Lyovochkin: Legitimacy of the constitutional process is obligatory
16.01.2008, 11:51
Since 2004 Ukraine has lived in continuous political campaigns. The country actually became hostage of the pre-election techniques competitions, social populism and administrative gambles.
In such environment the process of development of the political system has lost its constituent meaning. All efforts of political players are directed toward adjusting the political system to the winners' interests after each of the elections. Making amendments to the Constitution grew into a competition of the authority bodies for pulling over a blanket of powers.
As a result, the whole system of state administration has found itself in a state of paralysis. The power can not effectively solve economic challenges, launch crucial reforms for development of the national economy and society. Consequently, an issue of updating the Main Law and stabilizing the system of state authorities should be settled for a long period of time.
Today we should step aside from the instrumental understanding of the constitutional changes. The task of the Constitution updating consists not only of the mechanical redistribution of plenary powers between different branches and institutes of the power. Above all things, we must change the character of relations between a citizen and the state, between the central authorities and local government in a qualitative sense.
At the same time it is impossible to assume that the Constitution turned into a legal act which fortifies the political victory of one social and political force, or occasional "majority" over "minority". It is necessary to guarantee the rights of all social, ethnic groups, all layers and strata of the Ukrainian society without any exception. Otherwise along with adoption of a renewed Main Law we will get a new type of the political regime which will be a long way from democracy by all signs.
For this reason absolute legal and public political legitimacy of the constitutional process must become the basic criterion of capability and democratiness of the new Main Law.
Taking this into account, the attempts of the President and the coalition representatives to usurp the Verkhovna Rada's right as the only legislative body to develop and introduce constitutional changes raise serious anxiety.
Certainly, nobody denies the President's right to create deliberative or expert bodies like constitutional meetings. The public Constitutional assembly should also make its presence felt, the creation of which is being initiated by public organizations.
A discussion of constitutional changes should at most be transparent and public. The Party of Regions supports any initiatives which will allow to engage in this process other institutes of power, public organizations, to hear opinion of the experts.
But this situation requires rigorous adherence to the norms of the current Constitution of Ukraine in the process of making alterations and additions to the Main Law. Any other way is unacceptable.
The Constitution of Ukraine unambiguously specifies that the Verkhovna Rada as the highest body of the representative power is the core of constitutional process. No other establishments or organizations can not and must not try to substitute the nation-wide elected parliament.
Taking this into consideration, it is necessary to begin without delay consultations among factions of political parties concerning creation of the Verkhovna Rada Constitutional commission. The Constitutional commission of the Verkhovna Rada should indeed work out these proposals and reach the conciliated bill on the new possible amendments to Constitution. And only in this case the prosecution of the bill on amendments to Constitution of Ukraine will obtain a legal course.
Serhiy Lyovochkin, People's Deputy of Ukraine | |
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