Focus on Ukraine, November 9-15, 2009

November 16, 2009
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Overview of political events of the week
 
November 9
 

Today was the deadline for the submission of documents to the Central Election Commission for the registration of candidates for president of Ukraine. At the same time, the CEC will review registration documents submitted by the candidates by November 9. The CEC must approve the decision on registration in five days by November 13.

 

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Petro Poroshenko informed that 16 countries have rendered Ukraine humanitarian aid to fight the flu epidemic. Russia stated its intention of supplying medicine to Ukraine.

 
November 10
 

President Viktor Yushchenko announced that Election Day in Ukraine will not be carried over due to the flu epidemic. The elections will be held as planned on January 17.

Presidential Chief-of-Staff Ihor Popov stated at the end of last week that the elections may be postponed to May due to the flu epidemic.

 

The Social Security Party headed by Andriy Vitrenko joined the “Za Ukrainu!” (For Ukraine!) civil movement headed by Vyacheslav Kyrylenko.

Vitrenko said the party’s main objective is “to unite all political forces to put Ukraine on the right path of development”.

Another member of the For Ukraine movement Yaroslav Kendzior stated this party will support Viktor Yuschenko in the next presidential elections.

 

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Valeriy Dzhyhun informed that the OSCE mission of observers of the presidential elections will begin its work in Ukraine on November 23.

Dzhyhun aid the mission will be headed by OSCE Presidential Assembly President Joao Soares, who visited Kyiv at the beginning of November.

There will be two groups of OSCE observers. 56 long-term observers will work from November 23 to the end of the elections and 600 short-term observers will participate in the mission on election day.

 

18 political parties have the green light to participate in the presidential election in Ukraine. The Ministry of Justice certified copies of statutes and registration certificates of 18 parties that announced they will put forth a candidate in the presidential election.

Among them are the Spravedlyvist Party, the Communist Party of Ukraine, the Social-Democratic Party of Ukraine, the Union of Leftist Forces, the National Party, the Batkivshchyna Party, the Party of Regions, the all-Ukrainian union Svoboda, the Ukrainian National Party, the Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Youth Party of Ukraine, the Slovyanska Party, the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Nationa-Democratic Party, the Patriotic Party of Ukraine, the Peasant’s Party of Ukraine, the Liberal Party of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Labor Party.

 
November 11
 

The government will not pay out wages to employees on the budget payroll raised as of November 1 until the Constitutional Court passes down its decision.

Premier Yulia Tymoshenko stated at a meeting with foreign ambassadors that the CC is currently ascertaining whether the law on raising social standards adopted by the VR and signed by the president is appropriate. The premier stated there is no money in the budget to finance increases in minimum wages and pensions.     

Furthermore, the government’s refusal to pay more money to employees on the budget payroll will facilitate renewal of cooperation with the IMF, which had slated the issuance of the last tranche of its loan to Ukraine of US $4 billion.

 

A decision was approved at a plenary session of the UN General Assembly to admit Ukraine as a member of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

Ukraine will become a full-fledged member of UNCITRAL in 2010. Its membership will expire in 2014. The mission of UNCITRAL is to foster the expansion of opportunities of international commercial activity.

 
November 12
 

President Viktor Yushchenko instructed the Prosecutor General’s Office to check whether the fulfillment of the 2009 National Budget complies with national legislation in terms of foreign loans granted to Ukraine.

The head of state noted the critical volume of foreign loans and reminded that the country’s foreign debt in 2009 is higher than expenditures in the defense, education and healthcare sectors thanks to the government.

 

The Verkhovna Rada set May 30, 2010 as the date for the next elections of local bodies of government. Most politicians and experts assume that May 30 could also be set as the date for holding snap elections to the parliament.

 

The press service of the international rating agency Fitch Ratings informed that the agency lowered the long-term ratings of Ukraine’s default in foreign and national currency from “B” to “B-” and gave a forecast of “Negative”.

 

The transit of natural gas through Ukraine and onto European countries and the CIS fell in January-October 209 by 25% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 74.5 bn cu. m.

 
November 13
 

18 candidates will run for the presidential office. Today was the deadline for the registration of candidates for president. This week two more candidates were issued the corresponding registration documents: Uzhhorod Mayor Serhiy Ratushnyak and leader of the National-Democratic Party Lyudmyla Suprun.

The CEC made public the list of registered candidates. Among them are Yulia Tymoshenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Viktor Yushchenko, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Serhiy Tihipko, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Petro Symonenko, Oleksandr Moroz, Anatoliy Hrytsenko, Inna Bohoslovska, Vasyl Protyvsikh, Lyudmyla Suprun, Serhiy Ratushnyak, Mykhailo Brodskiy, Yuriy Kostenko, Oleh Tyahnybok, Oleksandr Pabat, Oleh Ryabokon.

 

The CEC rejected the registration of leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine Natalia Vitrenko, former major of the State Security Service Mykola Melnychenko and a number of other candidates that submitted their documents at the end of last week.

Neither of these candidates paid the required deposit of UAH 2.5 mn. Some of these candidates plan to appeal the rejection. 65 candidates in all submitted their documents to the CEC.

 

The Ministry of Healthcare informed that as of November 13 at total of 265 people have died in Ukraine from the flu and acute respiratory illness.

Since October 29, a total of 1,253,558 individuals contracted the flu and acute respiratory illness, 65,615 of which were hospitalized.

 

The number of countries that have agreed to render humanitarian aid to Ukraine to battle the flu epidemic has increased to 20.

Among the countries that agreed to render assistance on the state level are Austria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Israel, Estonia, China, Korea, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Poland, Hungary, France and the Czech Republic. Slovakia, the U.S. and Croatia agreed to render assistance on the departmental level.

 
      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

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