Ukraine president proposes expanding use of referenda

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych submitted his annual report to parliament on June 6, which is prepared by the help of a government think tank. Among the proposals is for the National Bank to abandon a peg to the U.S. dollar and adopt a basket of currencies in its place. The president identified gas purchases from Europe as the most realistic means of diversifying gas supplies. The most examined topic was expanding the use of popular referenda and amending the current law, which was approved last year. The document recommends introducing a rule that laws approved by national referendum can be amended by parliament not earlier than five years after their approval or through a constitutional majority in the next convocation. It also proposes referenda to cancel laws already approved by parliament, though it’s not clear if they could be held on international agreements.

Zenon Zawada: Western institutions and Western-financed experts are concerned about the Ukrainian government’s intention to use referenda, let alone expand their scope. Recent elections proved that the government’s ability to hold fair and free elections has deteriorated. In such conditions, referenda can be manipulated to produce the very results that the government is seeking. The Yanukovych administration appears to want to avoid dealing with the parliamentary opposition rather than trying to find compromise, which is a troubling trend that can result in worse quagmires, such as referenda.