On October 17 the likelihood of passing the restated elections bill, returned to parliament by the president, remained low. It was only after the leaders of ten factions and group met with Leonid Kuchma that its enactment became a reality.
October 18, the lawmakers agreed to the presidential proposal to set the election campaign’s term at ninety days. Simultaneously, collecting signatures in support of parties and candidates was canceled, replaced by a cash collateral. UAH 225,000 (15,000 “untaxed citizen’s minimum incomes” in legalese) in lieu of 1,500,000 signatures was explained by the impossibility to collect the required number of signatures within the period allocated under the new law. In reality, it is an actual step toward a normal civilized democracy. Organizations and individuals that had turned the signature-collecting campaign into a business now have to change their specialty. At the same time, the relatively small amount of the cash collateral (UAH 1,020 for a majority candidate) will make the campaign accessible to practically every serious- minded politician.
The district election committee controversy was also solved. Originally, political parties representing parliamentary fractions and groups were entitled to submit nominees. Shortly afterward, the PSPU proposed to add to the list parties that had surmounted the 4% barrier in the last elections. The rest of the parties will have to depend on the lottery.
The law was amended with a clause to the effect that conventions of the campaigning parties and blocs could take place anytime prior to the date starting the election campaign.
The 234 ayes passing the restated elections bill indicated a new trend in Verkhovna Rada performance. The turnout was actually determined by those same forces making up last year’s parliamentary majority, except Batkivshchyna. When asked by The Day whether the majority should be regarded as situational or maybe a revival of the former majority, Verkhovna Rada presidential representative Roman Bezsmertny replied that he would very much hope the latter were true. He added that it would be possible to reach an agreement among ten factions before the current parliament’s expiry if the coming elections are regarded by these factions as precisely a parliamentary campaign rather than the first lap of the presidential marathon. At the same time, Mr. Bezsmertny did not deny his role as Labor Ukraine consultant in reaching an understanding among his former partners.
PS
President Leonid Kuchma is likely to sign into law the new version of the election bill passed by Verkhovna Rada on October 18. “I have no grounds for saying that I will not sign the law, I am most likely to do so,” Mr. Kuchma said during a press conference in Mykolayiv. The president repeated that he had previously met leaders of some parliamentary factions to discuss amendments to the election law. “We have practically come to terms on the key points and reached a consensus,” he announced.
