Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – January 26, 2021 – Local News
On April 26, 2018, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared the 2012 Law of Ukraine “On the All-Ukrainian Referendum” unconstitutional. For more than two years, Ukrainians have not been able to exercise their inalienable constitutional right to make individual decisions in a referendum.
The Draft Law on Democracy through an All-Ukrainian Referendum № 3612 is the first draft law in the field of democracy prepared by an inclusive parliamentary working group involving independent experts and civil society representatives. The bill also went through extensive discussions, with more than 500 participants.
The instrument of the all-Ukrainian referendum is not just an important element of direct democracy, but one of the mechanisms of Ukrainian state formation. It was in 1991 that the All-Ukrainian referendum confirmed the Act of Independence of Ukraine, which began a new page of Ukrainian statehood, built on the values of democracy and freedom.
According to the Constitution of Ukraine, an all-Ukrainian referendum is appointed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or the President of Ukraine in accordance with their powers and is also proclaimed by the Head of State on the people’s initiative. An All-Ukrainian referendum is not allowed on bills on taxes, budget, and amnesty.
Bill № 3612 stipulates that two types of issues may be put to an all-Ukrainian referendum on the people’s initiative:
of national importance – an issue whose solution affects the fate of the entire Ukrainian people and has a public interest (the so-called “consultative referendum”);
on the repeal of the law of Ukraine or its separate provisions
The RPR Coalition calls on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the draft Law “On Democracy through an All-Ukrainian Referendum” in the second reading and as a whole (replacing the title with the Bill “On the All-Ukrainian Referendum”) and thus move from declaring the importance of direct democracy to legislative implementation holding a referendum.
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