UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT Viktor Yanukovich has won greatly expanded powers, fuelling opposition criticisms that he is displaying authoritarian tendencies.
Kiev’s constitutional court yesterday cancelled a constitution adopted in 2004 that shifted many powers from the president to the parliament, and reinstated the previous 1996 version built around strong presidential authority.
The change came as Mr Yanukovich tried to counter international concerns he was tilting Ukraine back towards Moscow after a series of economic rapprochements with Russia since he won presidential elections in February.
Speaking at a high-level conference in Yalta, Crimea, he insisted Ukraine remained committed to closer integration with the EU, including moving towards a free-trade agreement. “The European choice is an unchanged priority for the Ukrainian government,” Mr Yanukovich said.
The constitutional court ruling, sought by Mr Yanukovich’s coalition, gives the president powers to appoint government members, with only his choice of prime minister needing parliamentary approval. He also has the right to dismiss the government without parliamentary approval and can cancel any government resolution.
Politicians from many parties and foreign investors have criticised the 2004 constitution – which Mr Yanukovich supported – for creating a dysfunctional system. It is blamed for fuelling the political infighting and chaotic government that followed the 2004 Orange Revolution.
But critics said it was wrong to return to the 1996 constitution, rather than carry out constitutional changes in consultation with parliament and civil society.
Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister and Orange Revolution leader beaten in February’s election, said the change had “killed democracy” and marked establishment of “dictatorship”.
Mr Yanukovich told reporters at the Yalta European Strategy conference he was bound by the constitutional court’s ruling. “Ukraine must follow the rule of law,” he said. “This is the main principle of democracy.” – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010)