Deputes move to increase their term in office

On Tuesday the Verkhovna Rada sent a draft law with changes to the Constitution envisaging a five-year term of powers for electoral bodies of power to the Constitutional Court for its consideration.

It also recalled documents which it sent to the CCU on 1 October immediately after the decision revoking the 2004 Constitutional changes were made. The new documents set the date for the next parliamentary elections for October 2012 and presidential for March 2015.

The opposition say that the coalition is violating its own initiative to return to the 1996 Constitution. According to that, the term of office is 4 years

On the same time, the Central Election Commission also approached the CCU since according to the Constitution, it must hold parliamentary elections in spring 2011.

Interfax-Ukraine quotes member of the Venice Commission, Maryna Stavniychuk as saying that we need to move forward in a constitutional manner. She believes the issue of determining the date of the elections needs to be decided in the body of the Constitution and not be KCU judgments.

From reports at Interfax-Ukraine, BBC Ukrainian Service and Kommersant