The end of last week marked a noticeable buildup of the domestic political situation focused on the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers.” The president, who had previously said that he would argue his stand at the Constitutional Court, decided to stake his all. The president’s lawyers found reasons for Viktor Yushchenko to once again veto the law on the cabinet, although the constitution does not provide for a repeated veto.
Immediately before Viktor Yushchenko announced the second veto on the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers,” he had a private meeting with the prime minister. It lasted an hour and although no details were made public knowledge, later Yushchenko and Yanukovych hinted at it being focused on the cabinet bill. Subsequent events showed that they had failed to achieve a compromise. “The newly enacted law systemically violates the constitution. It is a blind valley, a road that leads nowhere. The ratification of this law runs counter to the clearly formulated arrangements made by the prime minister, speaker, president, and laid down in the Declaration [of National Unity]; it is a move aimed at undermining the political situation and stability in Ukraine,” the president declared. Viktor Yushchenko went on to stress that “it is aimed at destabilizing bodies state authority.”
“I wish to make my stand in the matter clear. I received the text of the law enacted on Jan. 12 and [discovered that] it differs from the previous wording of the Law ‘On the Cabinet of Ministers’ adopted by parliament on Dec. 21, 2006, and signed by Oleksandr Moroz. In other words, this law contains considerable changes that were not envisaged by the president’s proposals,” stated Viktor Yushchenko. The guarantor of the constitution explained the reasons for the repeated veto as follows: “Under the constitution and in accordance with a ruling of the Constitutional Court, of July 7, 1998, it is determined that, in case any changes are made to a law while deliberating the president’s proposals, and in case these changes differ from those envisaged by the said proposals, the president will act in keeping with Section 2, Article 94 of the Constitution of Ukraine. It means that the president is entitled to return the Law ‘On the Cabinet of Ministers’ to the Verkhovna Rada for a repeated deliberation. By doing so I am exercising my constitutional right and carrying out my constitutional obligation.”
The cabinet responded to the president’s move with a degree of irritation. Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych angrily said: “I can assume that the office of the Verkhovna Rada did something wrong that resulted in a typo. Yet this has nothing to do with parliament! Our parliament’s vote made no changes!” Ukraine’s number one lawyer regards Viktor Yushchenko’s decision as an unlawful one: “In this case the president has abused his office and his decision is not a legitimate one.” The minister of justice added that the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers” can take effect after Speaker Oleksandr Moroz signs it.
Viktor Yushchenko, meanwhile, pointed out that he “respects the will of the majority of parliamentarians who voted for this bill” and so proposed to alter only those clauses of the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers,” adopted on Jan. 12, 2007, that run counter to the constitution. “Today I suggest that the Verkhovna Rada, cabinet of ministers, and the president’s secretariat revise the submitted proposals and take them into account when finally adopting the Law ‘On the Cabinet of Ministers.’ I hope and believe that the Verkhovna Rada will adopt the president’s proposals to serve the interests of the state.”
The aggressive stand taken by the cabinet’s rank-and-file bureaucrats is somewhat different from that of the prime minister. Viktor Yanukovych promised to see to it that the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers” is in full conformity with the constitution. “Don’t worry, everything will be OK,” he told journalists with a smile, adding, “We’ll see to it. Don’t let’s jump to conclusions. This law will be brought to conformity with the constitution. In the case of this law what matters is responsibility, not [any previous] arrangements.”
How will Speaker Moroz act under the circumstances? Previously he said he would do his best to convince the president to sign the cabinet law (incidentally, on Friday, after the president’s veto, the speaker wrote to the president, asking him to sign the law). If the president persists in refusing to sign it, the speaker said he would sign the bill.
It is also possible that the speaker and the anticrisis coalition’s take a different stand — and nor does the prime minister rule out the possibility. Even though he has nothing about being prepared to adopt a new law on the cabinet, he has hinted at being prepared to meet the president halfway: “We don’t need additional powers.”
In view of recent events, with the ruling parliamentary majority’s leader Raisa Bohatyriova saying that the coalition may vote down the opposition bill in the second reading, and Speaker Moroz saying that there is no need to pass the bill, the coalition factions’ chances in voting on the cabinet bill again are reduced to nil. After all, the BYuT’s 121 votes in overriding the president’s veto on the cabinet bill are the result of a big legislative barter deal made between the coalition and opposition. Another possibility is that the BYuT, after being hinted at the opposition bill’s fiasco in the second reading, will stop supporting the ruling majority. Perhaps this what Viktor Yushchenko and his lawyers are banking on?
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On Dec. 12, the Verkhovna Rada overrode the president’s veto on the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” with 366 votes compared to the required 300 ones. This was accomplished owing to the BYuT faction’s 121 votes. The MPs supported none of the president’s 42 proposals.
The propresidential Our Ukraine regarded this as “an unconstitutional coup and usurpation of power by the anticrisis coalition and government.”
To the president’s secretariat, the overriding of the veto on the cabinet bill was an act aimed at destabilizing the political system; they declared that Viktor Yushchenko would not sign the document. The president said he would contest the Law “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” at the Constitutional Court, yet the case has not been submitted.
On Dec. 21, 2006, the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. A total of 588 amendments were submitted to the bill in the second reading (#2325). Each was deliberated and voted upon. Most of Viktor Yushchenko’s amendments were rejected and the head of state vetoed the bill.
Previously parliament passed the bill seven times and every time it was vetoed by the president, first by Kuchma and this time by Yushchenko.
