Verkhovna Rada calls presidential elections for October 25, 2009

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has scheduled regular presidential elections for October 25, 2009. A total of 401 MPs out of the 442 registered in the parliament's session hall backed a respective bill on Wednesday. They included 174 MPs from the Regions Party, 155 MPs from the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko, 26 MPs from the Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense Bloc, 27 MPs from the Communist Party, and 19 MPs from the Bloc of Lytvyn.

According to the Constitution of Ukraine and the law on the election of the Ukrainian president, the parliament decided to set the presidential elections for Sunday, October 25, 2009. The resolution takes effect on the day of its publication.

Commenting on the parliament's decision, politologist Andriy Yermolayev said that setting of the presidential elections for October 25 provokes the Head of State to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada.

"To my mind, forcing of the date of the presidential elections opens door for setting the date of pre-term parliamentary elections. I do not rule out that the date of snap parliamentary elections will be defined just like the date of presidential elections. It is then quite possible that we will have parliamentary elections even in September. Taking into account the fact that the Verkhovna Rada has today gone into the assault against Viktor Yushchenko, having scheduled the elections not for January 17, 2010, but for October 25, 2009, it is quite possible that Yushchenko will take adequate measures to call early parliamentary elections. Finally, we will have a simultaneous parliamentary-presidential campaign of the present year," Yermolayev noted.

For her part, Presidential Secretariat Deputy Head Maryna Stavniychuk stated that Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said that the parliament's decision to schedule regular presidential elections for October 25, 2009, is unconstitutional.

She said that the head of state is planning to address the Constitutional Court in this connection. Stavniychuk expressed confidence that the Verkhovna Rada had been guided by the political component while taking its decision on a presidential election date.

The head of state believes that these elections should be held on January 17, 2010.

According to the Constitution of Ukraine, presidential elections are set by the Verkhovna Rada. Under the Constitution, the election must take place on the last Sunday of the last month on the fifth year of the incumbent presidency. President Viktor Yushchenko officially took the post on January 23, 2005.

At the same time, President Viktor Yushchenko, being on a working visit to Poltava region, has claimed that the presidential elections will be held in the time required by the Constitution.

Yushchenko said that the Verkhovna Rada's decision to schedule the elections for October 25, 2009 is unconstitutional and politically driven.

"This decision is illegal, unconstitutional, political. Those players, who had initiated it, further continue their game meant not to move the country legally, but to make 47 million people see via a party expedience - how to arrange the country, including the Ukrainian power," the President noted.

The Head of State emphasized that he understands why some politicians are governed by such motivation. He believes that it would be advantageous for some parliamentarians that the elections are taken place as soon as possible. "As a President I want to firmly and clearly state: the elections in Ukraine will be held in the time required by the Ukrainian Constitution," he underscored.

UKRINFORM