Batkivschyna ready to form coalition with Svoboda, UDAR in new parliament
The Batkivschyna Party, at the third stage of the 11th congress, which was held on Monday, has decided to form a coalition of democratic forces in a new parliament and adopted a respective draft agreement.
"Taking into account the real danger posed by the current regime of [President Viktor] Yanukovych to the independence and democratic development of Ukraine... the congress has decided to prioritize the formation in the Verkhovna Rada of the seventh convocation of a coalition of democratic forces, the main purpose of which is to bring Ukraine to a democratic and European path of development, and remove President Viktor Yanukovych from power," reads the decision posted on the party's Web site on Monday.
The document welcomes the decision of the Svoboda Party's congress to support Batkivschyna's agreement on the creation of a coalition of democratic forces in the new parliament. In addition, Batkivschyna again addressed Vitali Klitschko's UDAR Party regarding the signing of this agreement.
The draft agreement on the formation of the coalition in the new parliament says: "Given that the Yanukovych regime creates a real threat to the existence of an independent and democratic Ukraine, Svoboda, the Batkivschyna United Opposition and Vitali Klitschko's UDAR Party have agreed to return Ukraine to a democratic and European path of development and remove President Yanukovych from power, in order to form after the parliamentary elections on October 28, 2012 a coalition of democratic forces in the Verkhovna Rada of the seventh convocation."
According to the document, the primary tasks of the coalition are to prevent the introduction of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine regarding the election of the president in parliament, adopt a law on the procedure for the president's impeachment and the beginning of the procedure of impeachment, take measures to release former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, adopt a law on the recall of people's deputies, and criminalize voting for other MPs, and cancel immunity for the president, MPs and judges.