A Banana Republic Forever!?
Members of Parliament of Ukraine are nicknamed the piano players. They push many buttons when voting. The Alliance Maidan starts the civic campaign “Shoot the Piano Player!”
On March 15th 2011 our activist was in parliament and filmed hours of MPs voting for others on video tape recorder. (Note – digital media is not considered to be a proof in Ukrainian court). We also filmed close-ups of “pianists” that you can see here
The same day we have sent request for information to the chief of staff of Parliament requesting to provide the results of personal registration (by signatures) that day.
According to Ukrainian law MPs register their presence in Parliament in two ways
1. By signing up a ledger
2. Putting the key card into an electronic system
According to legislation MPs are present legally only if they followed both steps 1. and 2.
That is why we asked to provide the list of absent MPs according to ledger and also the list of those who were absent legally – being ill or on official leave.
On March 28 we received the information requested. 75 MPs were absent in the morning, 10 ill and 16 on official leave.
Analysis of data provided and its comparison with electronic registration published by the official site of Parliament led us to a shocking discovery. There are MPs that were absent without legal reason, registered electronically and voting. There are MPs on official leave registered electronically and voting. At least 3 of them Borys Tarasyuk, Iryna Berezhna and Maksym Lutsky were in Brussels at the European Parliament yet had voted according to electronic system.
MP Volodymyr Pylypenko was on official leave, not registered electronically and still his vote was counted by the electronic system.
Last week we have documented an episode with an MP, Yury Stets, who was physically present in Parliament and who voted personally, however according to electronic system he was not registered and was not voting. He has filed a fraud complaint to the prosecutor general.
Full analysis of data obtained is yet to be done, however the overall situation is obvious – fraud is being committed in the Ukrainian Parliament.
We prepared a detailed publication in Ukrainian with videos, scans of documents, links to voting and registration in Parliament’s electronic system.
On March 29 Alliance Maidan filed a complaint to attorney general (original text in Ukrainian) claiming that absent MPs’ cards were stolen or used illegally. We have also sent requests for information to the heads of parliamentary commissions demanding to explain how the fraud was made possible.
Voting for absent MPs and forgery of MPs’ voting and registration in electronic system presents a very serious legal problem which is in fact a problem of national security, since the violation of legal procedures of a law’s adoption is the basis for declaring the laws so adopted unconstitutional.
An article 84 of Ukrainian Constitution states that “Voting at the meetings of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is performed by a National Deputy (MP) of Ukraine in person.” (Note – “Verkhovna Rada” is the name of Ukrainian parliament). According to part 1 of article 152 and to the decision of the Constitutional Court adopted on 07.07.1998 all laws and other legal acts including the ratification of international treaties could be recognized as illegal.
The Alliance Maidan had asked the citizens of Ukraine to join the civic campaign we started and named “Shoot the Piano Player!”. We ask them to follow the legal procedure that we drafted; to send requests for information on the procedure of any laws adopted last year; to file complaints with the prosecutor general; and ask the MPs that vote personally to bring up the issue of the legality of all legislation adopted fraudulently to the Constitutional Court.
And we ask an international community – do we need international observers for Ukrainian Parliament?
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Reference
The Alliance Maidan is an informal association (registered by Ministry of Justice in 2006 without forming the legal body) of individuals and civic organizations who are seeking to coordinate their efforts on fully developing civic society in Ukraine, as well as a state structure based on law and answerable to the public. The main tasks of the Alliance are: monitoring, defending, affirming and broadening of constitutional rights and freedoms in Ukraine.
For details contact Natalka Zubar at pani@maidan.org.ua