“ It recognises the achievements of the orange revolution that have allowed key democratic freedoms to take root in Ukraine: the country now enjoys freedom of speech and of the media, freedom of assembly, freedom of political competition and parliamentary opposition, and a vibrant civil society. Moreover, a year ago the country proved its ability to conduct free and fair legislative elections. What Ukraine lacks today, however, are guarantees built into its democratic institutions that would consolidate those newly acquired freedoms. ”

“ Although Ukraine understandably has its own historic reasons to avoid the accumulation of power into the hands of one political force, it should nevertheless consider in the course of future constitutional amendments whether it would not be better for the country to switch to a full parliamentary system with proper checks and balances and guarantees of parliamentary opposition and competition. ”

“ The President's Decree indicates quite clearly that he expects the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada to stop executing their legislative powers; he has therefore adopted the approach neither to sign nor to veto laws adopted by the Rada after the Decree was issued. At the same time the Government continues to implement decisions of the parliament. In the current political deadlock, the President has no power to coerce the coalition to comply with his Decree. Such annihilation of the institution of presidency in Ukraine and practice of legal nihilism by the government and lawmakers is unacceptable. ”

“ As co-rapporteurs of the Assembly's Monitoring Committee, we are deeply concerned about the political and legal implications of President Yushchenko's decision and the constitutional, institutional and political crisis that has unfolded thereafter. Even more worrying is the fact that the crisis has paralysed many already seriously ailing institutions which should be guaranteeing democracy, rule of law and human rights. ”

“ In fact, regardless of the teething phase of the current political reform in Ukraine, the parliamentary–presidential system opted for by the Ukrainian lawmakers in 2004 has an in-built structural problem: it can work smoothly only if the presidential and parliamentary powers represent the same political vision. Cohabitation works in the case of highly mature democracies, which is not the case in Ukraine. Largely because of this structural cohabitation dilemma, all established European democracies apart from France have opted for the fully parliamentary form of governance. ”

“ The possibility of violence cannot be ruled out although it remains very unlikely. The Ukrainian people have demonstrated before that they can, through non-violent protests and non-violent means, resolve political differences in their political system. We very much hope that the country's political leaders will show their wisdom and capacity to resolve this crisis in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution and its laws and in a peaceful manner. ”

“ The Assembly recognises that both regular and pre-term elections constitute a legitimate democratic instrument for the people to choose and control the authorities that act in their name. Early elections are a normal practice in all democratic countries of the Council of Europe, and as such could be accepted as a key building block of political compromise. However, the Assembly underlines that for any elections to be considered democratic, they should be conducted according to a legitimate procedure that allows fair campaigning and free choice for voters. ”

“ Rather than playing on the basis of the rules, they prefer playing with the rules. It is also linked to the mentality of the elites and the broader population, which favour leaders and not law. Following the Orange Revolution, Ukraine tried to move away from a powerful executive and to build a true parliamentary system. However, it has so far failed to understand that in a parliamentary democracy decision-making and policy-setting are based on parliamentary leadership and not on the leadership of one single person. ”

“ The continuing flagrant neglect of the principle of rule of law, manipulation of courts and political pressure on the Constitutional Court and other independent institutions render the further development of events surrounding the current crisis very unpredictable. ”

“ The Assembly deplores the fact that the judicial system of Ukraine has been systematically misused by other branches of power and that top officials do not execute the courts’ decisions, which is a sign of erosion of this crucial democratic institution. An independent and impartial judiciary is a precondition for the existence of a democratic society governed by the rule of law. ”

“ The Assembly also urges the Ukrainian authorities and the country’s political forces to address as soon as possible the problem of the parliamentary election system, which may represent one of the causes of the weakness of the political system. A fully proportional system with closed party lists and with all of Ukraine being treated as one single constituency, as endorsed by the constitutional amendments of 2004, does not guarantee the election of a parliament representing Ukrainian society in all its diversity. ”

“ The Assembly is confident that the political leaders of Ukraine are fully capable of resolving their internal conflict in a quick, democratic and legitimate manner. All the same, it stands ready to offer its many-sided assistance to help Ukraine overcome its problems. ”

“ None of the successive post-revolution governments has carried out the necessary reforms. They have failed to work on the basis of public policy standards or to institute a democratic system of decision making that would allow the opposition and civil society to have an input into state policy. ”

“ To this end, all parties to the political disagreements should refrain from any violent actions or provocations to violence of the other side so that democracy in Ukraine can continue to develop and the hard-fought gains of the Ukrainian people two years ago are not put aside by the political manipulations and short-term vested interests of the country's politicians. ”

“ Recently a situation has emerged when the majority in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was ignoring the constitutional requirements with regard to the formation of the coalition of deputy factions. To replace isolated instances of inclusion of some people's deputies into composition of the deputy factions' coalition, which had taken place during the formation of the Anti-crisis Coalition in July 2006, a new practice of massive enlargement of the coalition on the basis of individual or group membership has appeared. ”

“ On the other hand, should the Constitutional Court overrule the Presidential Decree, it would stop its effect but would not solve the political deadlock. It therefore appears inevitable that a political solution is needed on top of the legal one. It is obvious that for reasons of deep-rooted mistrust between the different political forces, the current parties and factions represented in the Verkhovna Rada today will find it difficult to work together effectively. Holding early elections therefore seems to be part of a possible political compromise. ”

“ The institutional reform process will not be able to succeed unless the status, independence and functioning of the court system is dramatically changed. We therefore urge the political forces to carry out the reform of the judiciary on the basis of the Judicial Reform Concept adopted by the President of Ukraine in May 2006 and in line with the recent opinion of the Venice Commission.
80. We also urge the Ukrainian authorities not to lose track of their other obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe while engaged in seeking political solutions. ”

“ Maidan", "paid democracy", "street business democracy" are unacceptable in a true democratic society. It should be absolutely clear to all political forces that involving under-aged schoolchildren in political struggle and campaigning is in direct violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. ”

“ Secon, more than two years from the Orange Revolution, the foundations for truly democratic institutions have not been built. The state machinery can still be used for administrative leverage in political struggles, the Constitutional Court has proved ineffective, the judiciary is not carrying out its functions, the rights of the opposition are not enshrined in law, the organisation of political parties remains far from democratic standards, and the levers of political influence available to civil society exist only on paper4. ”

“ We therefore deem it necessary that the election system be changed, either by introducing "open" party lists whereby voters could indicate their preferences as to particular candidates included in the election lists proposed by political parties or blocs, or through returning to a mixed system whereby a certain number of mandates could be elected from single-mandate constituencies. ”

“ The Assembly confirms its readiness to help Ukraine overcome its current deadlock either through its assistance mechanisms or other specific arrangements. Nevertheless, it is up to the Ukrainian political leaders to work out the most appropriate solution for its internal problems. The Assembly believes that not all domestic avenues for a quick, efficient and legitimate political compromise have been exhausted as yet. ”

“ Sixth, the lack of democratic traditions and understanding of parliamentary pluralism are probably the overarching grounds of all the above reasons that have lead to the political impasse of today. 15 years following the demise of the Soviet Union, it is difficult to bring the leading Ukrainian politicians into a situation where they obey the rules of the game. ”

“ Paralysis of the Central Election Committee 60. The Central Election Committee (CEC) is another body that has refused to go along with the Presidential Decree. Between 3 and 6 April, four members of the Commission (representing Communist and Socialist parties) fell suddenly ill and took sick leave for an unidentified period. Their absence contributes to the absence of quorum in the Central Election Commission, which can be provided by 10 members out of 13. It is evident that the coalition supporters who are on sick-lists will not come back to work before the Constitutional Court verdict. ”

“ Also the Assembly has repeatedly rung the alarm bell over the incompatibilities with the principle of democracy and the political imbalances which the irresponsible adoption of the political reform introduced3.
11. In fact, since the constitutional reform entered into force on 1 January 2006 before all necessary legal norms were harmonised or even adopted, the political and legal collision has been unavoidable. ”

“ Pressure on courts 65.Another major sign of the erosion of democratic institutions is the fact that courts of all levels are used by politicians and highest authorities as an instrument in political games. ”

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