Ukraine parliament considers electoral changes

Ukraine’s parliament will meet in emergency session on Tuesday to consider changes to the country’s electoral laws before the December 26 presidential run-off election.

The surprise announcement, which was made in a statement by the parliament’s co-ordinating committee, comes two days after parliament adjourned having failed to resolve an impasse over the electoral and constitutional reforms.

Opposition MPs are pushing for changes to election law that they say will ensure a fair vote. Pro-government MPs, meanwhile, want to link the legislation with constitutional changes that would weaken the power of the presidency.

The election law changes the opposition is seeking include amendments to ban voting by absentee ballots and voting in people’s homes.

Parliament passed similar legislation on the eve of the November 21 election, but outgoing President Leonid Kuchma refused to sign it into law.

The opposition has also proposed stamping a person’s identification documents after they vote, in a bid to prevent multiple voting, and they are pushing for changes to the make-up of regional and local election commissions to ensure that opposition supporters are represented.

The opposition wants a shake-up of the discredited 15-member Central Election Commission.

Pro-government MPs have combined with socialists and communists to push for constitutional changes that would weaken the presidency – and they are seeking to get these measures approved before the Supreme Court-ordered repeat vote.

Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko agreed to endorse the changes in a bid to win the backing of Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz ahead of the second round. Moroz’s support was considered crucial to helping Yushchenko win votes in eastern Ukraine and in urban areas.

But after Yushchenko’s backers baulked at their part of the deal, parliament decided to adjourn for 10 days.

The changes are widely seen as an effort by Kuchma and his supporters to hold onto power in the case of Yushchenko wining the December 26 vote, where he faces Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said today he was confident of winning the December 26 re-run.

He told his supporters that he had picked up a new campaign chief and would reshuffle his regional campaign headquarters. “We are confident of our victory,” he said.

Yanukovych has remained out of the public eye in recent days, leaving some of his allies to suggest that he may withdraw from the race.

Yanukovych, who is backed by the Kremlin and outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, also accused opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko of being manipulated from abroad.

“This is not a revolution, but political technologies with involvement of special services,” he said.

He didn’t name any countries, but his backers have accused the West of helping Yushchenko.

Later it was announced that Ukraine’s opposition and pro-government factions had reached agreement on passing electoral changes.