UKRAINE: RADA LOSES QUORUM, BUT HURDLES MAY REMAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 001469

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: RADA LOSES QUORUM, BUT HURDLES MAY REMAIN

REF: KYIV 001458

KYIV 00001469 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Sheila Gwaltney for reasons 1.4(
a,b,d).


1. (C) Summary. After weeks of stalling by the coalition,
and especially by Speaker Moroz, Deputy Speaker Martynyuk on
June 15 read aloud from the Rada rostrum the final group of
names of opposition deputies who have resigned from their
Rada factions, reaching the total of 156 and formally
depriving the Rada of a quorum. However, comments from Prime
Minister Yanukovych and members of Party of Regions indicated
that movement towards new elections will continue at a slow
crawl. The PM acknowledged the resignations to the press,
but raised the issue that the CEC has not yet annulled Our
Ukraine and BYuT's party lists, leaving the Rada's status in
question. The PM and Regions MPs have been attacking the CEC
in the press all week for not taking up this issue, and
Regions MP Vecherko told us privately that the Rada faction
is still largely opposed to new elections. Deputy Speaker
Martynyuk announced that the Rada will be back in plenary
session on Tuesday, June 19.


2. (C) Comment. Getting the 156 resignations announced was a
milestone in fulfilling the conditions of the May 27
agreement between Yanukovych, President Yushchenko, and
Speaker Moroz, but the PM did not issue the subsequent
statement that Regions considered the Rada closed, as he and
faction leader Bohatyreva had told us he would (reftel). The
CEC did tell us that there were still legal hurdles to
dissolving the OU list and the Kyiv appellate court has not
yet ruled on this question, but comments by members of all
three coalition factions indicate that there is still a lot
of grumbling about early elections from within the Rada.
Yushchenko cannot formally call elections until July 29 (to
meet the 60-day clock set by the constitution),so there is
time for politicians to slowroll this without derailing the
campaign. However, as both CEC Chairman Shapoval and
opposition leader Tymoshenko told Ambassador--it may take an
act of political will, especially on the part of the Prime
Minister, to move definitively into the campaign process.
End summary and comment.

Rada Ending With a Whimper
--------------


3. (C) The announcement of another 51 opposition resignations
was not without some drama. Socialist MP Mordovets told us
that at a coalition meeting on June 14, Regions had announced
that June 15 would be the last day of plenary session, but
the Socialists had spoken out against the plan. The June 15
morning Rada session started with BYuT and OU MPs milling
around the parliament lobby and crowding into the offices of
Moroz and of Rada Secretariat Head Zaichuk in an effort to
force the readings of the rest of the opposition MPs who
resigned. BYuT MP Andriy Shevchenko told us that Tymoshenko
had called him back from his vacation in Turkey so that he
could be present to confirm that he had submitted a
resignation letter. Several MPs told us that Moroz held a
meeting earlier that morning at which he said that the
letters would be read, but that he personally would not do
it. Moroz then tried to open the plenary session with normal
business on a draft law, prompting a press conference in the
hall by Tymoshenko ally Oleksandr Turchynov condemning the
stalling tactics. After some vague comments about opposition
MPs begging him not to read their letters, Moroz walked out
of the session. Martynyuk then began reading letters, 51 in
all, for a total of 156 resignations. (Note. 151 are needed
to deprive the Rada of a quorum. End note.)

Is the Rada Closed for Business?
--------------


4. (C) Somewhat clouding the issue of whether this was really
the Rada's last day, after reading the resignations,
Martynyuk announced that the Rada would hold its next plenary
session on Tuesday June 19. Mordovets told us he thought the
Rada would continue working, despite Regions statements that
they would stop attending. Regions MP Vecherko told us that
the faction was not yet agreed that new elections were the
right thing and that he thought the Rada would keep working.
He also said that Regions financier Akhmetov may tell the
Ambassador one thing about early elections, but he had
promised the faction that they would not happen.

CEC: Under Siege
--------------


5. (C) Later on June 15 Yanukovych told the press that
although the 151 MPs had resigned, the CEC had not dissolved
the OU and BYuT party lists, so the Rada's status remained

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unclear. His was the latest in a series of attacks in the
press this week by Regions members charging that the CEC was
politicized and shirking its work. The Socialists and
Communists have bluntly stated that they believe the CEC
should be moving people from the OU list into the Rada.
Regions members have been more circumspect in the criticism
of the CEC, but they seem to be implying the same thing, in
contradiction to what Yanukovych, Bohatyreva, and
Miroshnychenko told us about wanting to move forward with
elections. Regions deputy faction leader Chechetov also
accused the SBU of staking out the CEC building and
electronically eavesdropping on coalition-appointed CEC
members.


6. (C) Comment. With only roughly 90 MPs showing up for the
Rada session today--as opposed to the 270 officially
registered--it seems that many MPs have de facto decided the
Rada is closing up shop. The newly-constituted CEC managed
to get a quorum to hold its first meeting June 15. discussing
with the State Border Guards the plan to update the voters
registry. However, for the most part, the CEC has remained
mum on the issue of the OU's voter list. Also on a rather
unhelpful note, Regions MP Kiselyov suggested to journalists
that now that Tymoshenko had lost her deputy's immunity, she
should be investigated for unspecified crimes. He said he
would appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office in the near
future.


7. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Taylor