Party of Regions draws closer to majority without Communists

The Party of Regions, Ukraine’s ruling party, has collected 223 statements from MPs committed to forming the next parliamentary majority, Oleksandr Yefremov, the party’s parliamentary faction chair, said in an interview published on Nov. 27 by the Den newspaper.  This amount comes close to the 226 deputies needed for a majority vote. The same day, Communist Party MP Spiridon Kilinkarov confirmed to the Liga business news wire that his party isn’t negotiating with the Party of Regions in forming the next majority. He reaffirmed the party’s commitment to abstain from an alliance with the Party of Regions.

Zenon Zawada: The formation of the parliamentary majority is proceeding precisely under the ruling party’s scenario and we expect the next convocation’s majority will be formed by the Party of Regions and single-mandate MPs. A 2010 Constitutional Court ruling eliminated the requirement for a coalition government between factions and the Communists will no longer have the influence they enjoyed in the last two years. Yet they will be helpful partners in future legislative initiatives and overall, we expect the Party of Regions will have success in recruiting situational majorities for many legislative initiatives, particularly on behalf of big business.