CEC confirms revocation of Vlasenko’s deputy mandate

Ukraine’s Central Election Commission has confirmed that the ruling by the High Administrative Court is enough to strip opposition MP Serhiy Vlasenko of his mandate, with no further decision from the Verkhovna Rada being needed.

Andriy Mahera, CEC Deputy Head told Dzerkalo Tyzhnya:

“If a ruling (on terminating a deputy’s mandate early) is based on Article 81 § 4 of the Constitution by a court, in this case the High Administrative Court, then the MP’s powers are considered to have been terminated early by the court ruling itself, with no extra decision by the Verkhovna Rada being required.”

Mr Mahera added that the issue of a replacement from the Batkivshchyna party for Mr Vlasenko would be considered after they receive the text of the High Administrative Court ruling.  This he said was a decision to be taken by the entire CEC, not one member.

Article 81 § 4 states that if an MP fails to fulfil the requirements regarding incompatibility of the deputy mandate with other forms of activity, then the MP’s powers are terminated early on the basis of the law upon the court ruling.

The High Administrative Court passed its extremely controversial ruling on 6 March, ignoring statements of concern from the EU.  It was met with dismay by European and US representatives and is yet another factor making it highly unlikely that the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement will be signed.

As with most manifestations of selective justice over the last three years, the point is in the extremely selective use of a norm which is extremely widely ignored.