Taras Kuzio’s Blog

Yushchenko’s plans are ill conceived and a desperate attempt to prolong his term of office beyond five years.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have warned of a second and third wave of flue infections during Spring (April to June). Will Yushchenko again seek to prolong his term of office beyond five years?

Ukraine was meant to have held the Presidential poll back on October 25. But Yushchenko forced a delay. What come May Yushchenko will once again continue to force another delay and prolong his term of office beyond five years.

The Presidential election is organised by the parliament not the President. It is wrong for Yushchenko to interfere with the election. He can only do so in the serious and real need for a declaration of a state of emergency.
Yushchenko has less then 4% support. If the election is delayed beyond January then it is incumbent of the parliament to remove Yushchenko from office and if need be have the parliament elect the president as is the case in Moldova, Greece and the EU.

If need be Yushchenko must be impeached and Lytvn take over the office of the President as caretaker President.

By UkrToday on Nov 7, 2009

This has what to do with the topic at hand?

By Wolodymir on Nov 8, 2009

Its a reference to the artcile by Taras also on Ukr Pravada

My last blog on president Yushchenko’s national address on the flu epidemic has been placed in Taras Kuzio’s ‘Ukrainska Pravda’ Blog – There’s has been quite a number of comments, some mentioning the impracticality of the president possibly cancelling last Wednesday’s European Champion’s League soccer game in Kyiv, even though the WHO had warned the epidemic was quickly spreading to the Kyiv area.

All I can say is that in response to a flu epidemic in Mexico City, which has about 20 million inhabitants, important soccer games and baseball games were played in empty stadiums, or in parts of the country less affected by flu last April, at great cost to the clubs and their owners.

It is not my intention to down-play the effects of the current flu epidemic in Ukraine – several friends of mine and their families have been seriously affected.

Many people will suffer from swine flu even in those countries were large sums of money have been spent to provide adequate supplies of antiviral drugs, vaccines, intensive care facilities, and laboratories to quickly identify new strains of flu virus in patients. In Ukraine, where there are serious shortages in all of these, swine flu is inevitably going to hit hard. And sadly, there is no reason to expect the medical profession in the country to be any less corrupt or uphold ethical standards better than other members of Ukrainian society.

But Ukraine’s leading politicians and parties should not use the epidemic for scoring cheap political points against their rivals. Most of the electorate know that no-one would have performed any better that their rivals in this situation.

By UkrToday on Nov 12, 2009

Re open lists I do not think they votes against the idea of open lists just the proposed option that were presented.

One of then recommendations put forward is the reintroduction of the hybrid MMP system. MMP mixed mandate systems fail. They create two classes of mandates. If you beleive there should be local and national interests then you would be better off adopting a bicameral system (Not recommended) where one house is based on local representation and the senate on national interests.

One lists models can be achieved without throwing out the baby with the water.

Ukraine should consider establishing 40 or 50 local electorates with each electorate retuning nine members of parliament elected on a 10 percent quota using what is referred to as a Single Transferable Vote-Proportional Representation voting system and the Meek method of counting the votes. Such a model would provide for effective democratic representation. Voters would have a direct say in who is elected. Each electorate must return the same number of representatives and ideally have the same number of constituents. +/- 5%. I have done some modeling on the possible outcomes and if implemented it would provide for a more accountable and representative parliament without the need to impose a imperative mandate rule. Under such a model up to 97.5% of voters will be represented by someone of their choosing.

The creation of local electorates enables more open and direct campaigning with an overall reduction in campaign costs.

By UkrToday on Nov 24, 2009