Anatoliy Rahanskyi: Speaker will be never elected

Author: Serhiy Doiko

"I can just repeat again. There is the resolution of the PACE as of April 17, 2007. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe warned that the situation would lead to total ruin of the parliamentarianism. And nothing can be done. You see that the Verkhovna Rada can't work, being in such state," Anatoliy Rahanskyi former MP and honorable member of PACE stated in an interview with the IMC.

- Why our parliament can't work normally?

- Members of PACE spoke about this. They spoke about the law on elections of people's deputies and deputies of local levels. According to PACE deputies, this law is not the same as it had to be. By such law people's deputies are elected in none of countries of Europe and the world. There is a proportional system of elections. But proportional system with open lists and without first five members of party! This means that people elect people's deputies of all levels and at the same time vote for a definite party. Voters look which party represents this or that candidate, look at program of a party.

- Is this the main problem?

- You know, in a way as factions are formed today, they will never work. Look how people get there: brother, godfather, father, son and etc.

- How will you comment on today's "speakeriad"? Now (and this is in the best case) the speaker will be elected only on December 2...

- They will never elect him! As it is impossible to elect him today. There is such arrangement in the parliament which is unfavourable to all forces  

Today proportional system is necessary, with the help of which a man must represent a party from election district. Such system works in the USA, France, Great Britain, and Poland. But present Ukrainian party leaders don't want such system.

- Why?

- They are afraid to go to election district. As nobody will elect them there.

- And whom will they elect then?

- They will elect a man whom voters know, whom they believe that this MP will not hide from people and will serve party, which he represents

- Will this lead to the fact that in the parliament a majority of absolutely new people - unknown in the center will appear, but known and popular in districts?

- I will give you an example. You heard for sure that in Saky a week ago deputy of district council was shot. And now just think, he was shot and now everywhere it is written that he had a trail of serious criminal, and he is bad and so on. And why did it happen so?

- Because this is he, but not the list's number, who wasn't not elected...

- Because this deputy was in the list of the party, but nobody saw him in this list. For example, if there are 10-15 parties, then each party represents 250-300 candidacies, and how can a voter sort out such lists? That's why they vote for a party, but not for deputies. They are not deputies of people, they are deputies of parties, deputies of closed joint-stock party societies

- Do you know what is said in Crimea about event sin Kyiv?

- You know, I will tell you fairly, people start to pay less and less attention to this. Here is my example: "I, former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, took a resident of Eupatoria to Institute of Amosov for cure. I just asked him, why they don't address deputies? And he answered: "And who is a deputy?" We don't have a deputy! And the party also says, like, it's not our business...

- Did you ask MPs, why PACE resolution is not fulfilled in Ukraine?

- Of course, I did. And some of them answered: why must we fulfill PACE resolution? This is a recommendation resolution and we can either fulfill it or not... But how can we not fulfill it? If people want good for us and warn where problems can occur, then why shouldn't we take this into account? I don't say that today ideal election system exists. But now the system about which I spoke earlier doesn't justify itself.