Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that the country's parliament should be a real representative authority for the Ukrainian people.
"With this in mind, the 2012 elections to the Verkhovna Rada take on special importance. They should be the starting point in returning the status of a public authority to the parliament, which should directly represent interests of citizens," the president said in the opening remarks of his annual address to the Verkhovna Rada.
"The parliament should cease to function as an elite members club," the head of state added.
