Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairman Ihor Kaletnik has said he does not rule out that several more MPs will quit opposition factions soon.
"The date for elections [in Kyiv] is still unknown, and the opposition cannot decide on the single candidate. Conflicts in the party have already become public. Thus, looking at these conflicts, some deputies from Batkivschyna made such a decision [to withdraw from the faction]. This showed the true essence of not even the opposition, but Batkivschyna in particular," Kaletnik's press office quoted him as saying on Saturday.
"These people are not the last deputies who will quit the opposition faction. Several more people will leave the faction soon," he said.
He also noted that the withdrawal of four MPs from the Batkivschyna faction confirms the fact that the lists of this political party for participation in the parliamentary elections of 2012 were not formed "transparently and ideologically."
As reported, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Rybak said on April 4 that four MPs - Oleh Kanivets, Vitaliy Nemilostivy, Roman Stadniychuk and Ihor Skosar – had quit the Batkivschyna faction.
On April 5, the Batkivschyna faction confirmed the powers of faction leader Arseniy Yatseniuk.
