Yushchenko will opt for direct presidential rule if he strikes a deal with generals – Taras Chornovil

September09200820:42

Chornovil does not believe the present coalition will survive. The reason Our Ukraine gave (BYUT voting with the Party of Regions) for leaving the coalition cannot hold any water, as Our Ukraine had earlier voted separately from its allies before. Therefore, since Our Ukraine decided to walk out on its coalition partners, it was a deliberate step to break up the coalition.

“Yushchenko is unprepared to back down. He is too ambitious. As far as I know the situation within BYUT, their patience has worn out. Even those lawmakers who are against teaming up with Regions say openly that they cannot work with Yushchenko any longer. Anti-Yushchenko feelings are even much stronger within Our Ukraine than within the Party of Regions,” Taras Chornovil says.

Chornovil believes that Yushchenko had a certain plan about snap elections: “As far as I know, the plan was to dissolve parliament and declare it illegal without calling the early elections. This scenario is absolutely unlawful, as, under the constitution, the disbanded parliament continues before a new one is elected.”

Simultaneously, according to the presidential plan, Yushchenko-leaning members of the Central Election Commission would resign, making CEC operation impossible. All this is aimed to extend the period without an acting parliament as much as possible.

However, Taras Chornovil says these plans are now history: “First, the president has no influence over CEC members to derail its work. Second, the information about the proposed coup and imposition of direct presidential rule has become public knowledge, with stern warnings passed to key figures of the Yushchenko power-grabbing scenario. Third, at Sept. 8 meeting of Yushchenko with the military, the president got very evasive answers, especially regarding the involvement of the interior ministry troops on which the incumbent counted heavily. If the incumbent has a fraction of common sense he had to realize that the troops will never fight against the people and the army won’t be an active player.

Yushchenko’s final gamble with introducing his direct rule is falling apart, Chornovil summed up.

• 02:0111.09.08 UkrToday
• • This would come as no surprise Yushchenko has hinted time and time again that he would take desperate measures to stay in power and in Office, Yushchenko falsely hides behind the slogan of supporting democracy. To the contrary, every policy and action of Ukraine's President has been to undermine Ukraine's democratic development and to prevent Ukraine from completing the transition for a presidential "rule by decree" authoritarian state to a Parliamentary "rule of law" democracy in line with other European states. In 2007 he unconstitutional dismissed Ukraine's previous Parliament and illegally interfered with the independence of Ukraine's Constitutional court to prevent the court from ruling against his decrees. Having failed to secure support in the parliament Yushchenko is once again facing the prospect of losing office and power and the possibility of constitutional reform that would see Ukraine become a Parliamentary democracy. The "key" to his plans lies in Article 157 of Ukraine's constitution
    ...
    '"The Constitution of Ukraine shall not be amended in conditions of martial
    law or a state of emergency"....
    Hopefully Ukraine's military leaders will not support any proposal to destabvleise Ukraine by installing a state of emergency under these circumstances.
    Yulia Tymoshenko and Party of Regions should adopt without delay or intimidation by Ukraine's president plans to amend the constitution and put an end to the destructive, divisive policies and actions of Ukraine's "anti-democratic" presidential rule.