Yanukovich’s fresh legislation draws ire

KIEV Reuters

The new law which was signed by Ukraine President Yanukovich draws ire from the opposition. REUTERS photo

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich yesterday signed a law enabling constitutional change via referendums instead of via Parliament, in a move the opposition criticized as aimed at ensuring his re-election in 2015.

The new law says a referendum must be held if signatures are gathered from at least 3 million people from different regions of the country and then called by the president or Parliament. It is unclear whether the public would approve a motion to give Parliament the right to pick the president, however.

Prior to the new law, amendments to the Constitution had to be approved via a two-thirds majority in the house, which Yanukovich’s Regions party is unlikely to win.

To boost those chances, opposition leaders say Yanukovich may use the new law to scrap presidential elections and let Parliament pick the head of state via a simple majority vote.