Tymoshenko advises Zelensky to ignore adverse court ruling on elections

Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the pro-EU Fatherland
party, said she met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 12 to
discuss “how not to allow the Constitutional Court to ruin the entire elections
process.” Zelensky shouldn’t cancel his May 21 decree dismissing parliament and
setting early parliamentary elections for July 21, even if the Constitutional
Court rules it was illegal, Tymoshenko told the 112 Ukraine television network
that day. “Even if the court reaches an absolutely illegal decision, then the
president doesn’t have to cancel his decree dismissing parliament. Yet he
should demand its fulfillment,” she said she told the president. She called
upon the Central Election Commission to fulfill Zelensky’s decree, even if the
Constitutional Court rules against it.

The Constitutional Court should consider the will of the
people when reaching its decision on whether Zelensky dismissed parliament in
line with the Constitution, said on June 12 Ruslan Stefanchuk, the president’s
representative to parliament, in a June 12 interview with the rbc.ua news site.
“As a lawyer, I understand very well the imperfections of Ukrainian legislation
allow for doing most anything,” he said. “But in the country, there is a
mega-demand for change and resetting the political system. One can hide behind
legal norms, one can evade the essence of the matter, one can hide behind
judicial robes. But what needs to be understood is that the rule of law – that
is, the will of the people – should be at the foundation of any decision.”

The early parliamentary vote can’t be held if the
Constitutional Court rules Zelensky’s decree violated the Constitution on its
two major points, which are dismissing parliament and setting elections for
July 21, said on June 12 Olha Kotsiuruba, a lawyer for the Western-sponsored
Opora elections monitoring organization. “There is a basis for determining the
decree to be unconstitutional. So such a decision is entirely possible,”
she  told Ukrainian radio, adding that the Central Election Commission
should not be able to make any elections preparations after such a ruling.

Zenon Zawada: Stefanchuk
clearly didn’t study law in the West, otherwise he would know that the rule of
law, which is a republic, is meant to apply the law in order to restrict the
public’s will on any particular matter. This is aimed at providing stability
and predictability in society, rather than getting swayed by the vicissitudes
of society. That said, an adverse Constitutional Court ruling will be among
Zelensky’s first major tests. He would be demonstrating whether he truly
respects the rule of law, no matter how detrimental the court rulings are, or
whether he will ignore an influential court to pursue his political agenda.

The Zelensky administration is correct in saying that
the public wants early elections, which polls have shown has been the case for
more than a year. And if it goes forward with organizing these elections
(following Tymoshenko’s advice in ignoring an adverse ruling), there will be
little protest, even from those who are most opposed, namely former President
Poroshenko and his political allies. Yet ignoring the Constitutional Court,
using the argument that it’s what the public wants, sets a dangerous precedent
that could easily backfire on Zelensky should he no longer enjoy such strong
support from the very same public, which is inevitable.

Our view of early parliamentary elections is that
they are positive for Ukraine’s investment climate since they will remove
political uncertainty by more than three months sooner. By law, the elections
were scheduled to be held on Oct. 27.