UKRAINE: PM VOTE SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 18

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 003066

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: PM VOTE SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 18

REF: KYIV 3048 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Counselor Kent Logsdon for reasons 1.4(a,b,d).


1. (C) Summary. The Rada approved an agenda for the December
18 session that will include a vote on the PM, the
Government, deputy speakers, and the distribution of
committee chairmanships. In spite of their best efforts,
Rada Speaker Yatsenyuk and the orange coalition were
unsuccessful December 12-14 in bringing another vote to the
floor on Yuliya Tymoshenko's candidacy to be PM. Since the
December 11 voting debacle (reftel) and the President's
December 12 renomination of Tymoshenko to be PM, the
coalition has been unable to get Regions' agreement to move
ahead with a vote, battling it out behind closed doors over
committee chairmanships, deputy speaker nominations and rules
of procedure. Regions allowed the December 13 session to go
forward, but again blocked the Speaker's chair and the dais
throughout the day on December 14. Meanwhile, the press is
reporting that Yushchenko will head for Switzerland on
December 18 for medical treatment; however, Rada deputies
have agreed that Yushchenko can do the next introduction of
Tymoshenko by letter and that he does not need to be in the
chamber for another round of PM voting.


2. (C) Comment. Although most Rada deputies, both
coalition and opposition, agree that Tymoshenko will
eventually be elected as PM, the coalition's failure to bring
a vote for Tymoshenko back to the floor is leading to
increased speculation about the ability of the coalition to
establish a government that will last. In addition to the
coalition's public disputes with Regions, the OU-PSD faction
is having its own internal squabble about its nominees for
the new government, with deputies angry about several of the
Presidential Secretariat's choices -- especially the nominees
for Education and Justice, but with some concerns expressed
about Defense and Agriculture as well. Young BYuT and OU-PSD
deputies are frustrated with the long delay in getting to
government, leading some to propose that the coalition simply
ignore Regions' demands and hold a vote. However, thus far,
Yatsenyuk is playing the game and after two days of
negotiations, seems to have succeeded in getting approval for
the PM vote to take place December 18. End Summary and
Comment.

No Action at the Rada
--------------

3. (SBU) After the failed December 11 PM vote, the
coalition wasted no time in positioning Tymoshenko for
another vote, moving quickly to resubmit her nomination to
the President, who submitted the name to the Rada for
consideration the morning of December 12. However, Regions
blockading of the Speaker's dais and the rostrum paralyzed
the parliament for the day, while negotiations among Rada
leaders continued. On December 13, Regions took their seats
to allow testimony on the functioning of the Rada computer
voting system from the SBU, Prosecutor General's Office, and
Rada IT staff. The general consensus was that no problem had
been found, technical or intentional manipulation, and they
blamed human error on the part of new MPs that had led to
improper voting. However, they also could not conclusively
rule out that there had not been outside interference in the
computers, leaving both Regions and BYuT dissatisfied with
the investigation. Ironically, later that day the computer
voting unit of a Regions MP short-circuited, emitting smoke
into the Rada chamber.


4. (SBU) December 14 saw Regions once again blocking the
rostrum and barricading all possible paths to the Speaker's
dais. When Yatsenyuk finally addressed the chamber, he did
it from the floor. He apologized for the delays and said the
negotiations were ongoing. He announced Regions' proposal
that votes on the PM, Cabinet, and Rada leadership take place
Tuesday December 18, but said that the agreement was not
finalized. The Rada then went back into recess while
Yatsenyuk and the faction leaders continued their talks. At
about 2:15, the Rada approved Regions' proposal to hold all
the votes December 18, with 274 votes in favor (although
ironically it appears that most of Regions' factions did not
vote for their own proposal). In addition, with 253 in favor
(BYuT, OU-PSD, Communists),the Rada changed the voting
procedure for electing the PM. The Speaker will now read the
names of all MPs in alphabetical order in roll call fashion.
When an MP's name is called, he will have to announced his
decision, and if he is for, he should also raise his hands.
Then the Rada adjourned for the weekend.


5. (C) MPs with whom we spoke in the Rada corridors were
frustrated with the lack of progress this week, especially
young deputies new to parliament, some of whom said that they
would change procedures when they obtained leadership
positions. A number of coalition MPs confirmed that debate
continues between OU-PSD and the President over Cabinet
nominees, especially for the Education and Justice
Ministries. Regions MP Miroshnychenko told us that there was
a debate within his own faction about the utility of
continuing to block the rostrum, but said that a number of
the older faction leaders were pushing intransigence as a way
to look strong it front of its electorate. Both
Miroshnychenko and fellow faction member Shufrych told us
that the blockade would continue until the coalition
apologized for accusing Regions of manipulating the Rada
computer system on December 11, but other MPs told us they
believed Regions was stalling in hopes of deepening rifts
within the coalition.


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