The Ukrainian Parliament's Committee on Organizing State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning has recommended that the parliament consider President Volodymyr Zelensky's motion on the termination of powers of all members of the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The initiative was backed by 16 members of the committee who are MPs from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, an UNIAN correspondent said.
What is more, two members of the committee voted against, seven abstained.
Zelensky's envoy in parliament and first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk said that the president's motion is well grounded.
Responding to allegations by MP Ihor Guz that the initiative was "purely politicized" and demonstrates the desire to "take control of another government agency" by political supporters of the Servant of the People Party, Stefanchuk emphasized that it had nothing to do with usurping power.
Under Ukraine's legislation, a decision to terminate the powers of the entire CEC should score 300 votes of the MPs, therefore it is the parliament that should take a decision on this issue, he said.
CEC head Tetiana Slipachuk, who was present at a respective committee meeting, said that the commission was independent and "equidistant from all political forces."
She emphasized that the international community had highly evaluated the level at which recent elections were held in Ukraine. She mentioned challenges in relation to the election laws and discrepancies in court rulings. In particular, she said, there were about 20 decisions of various courts on the same issue, namely the voting process at the 198th district, that contradicted each other.
She noted that she was aware there might be "certain political decisions" of the parliament, and such decisions might call into question the legitimacy of the electoral processes in Ukraine.
Slipachuk said: "It is untrue that we are politically biased." According to her, the CEC members have university degrees and are specialists who are "equidistant from all political forces that participated in the election campaign."
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada on September 10 received a motion from President Zelensky, seeking a reshuffle at the Central Election Commission.
Member of Parliament from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction Alina Zagoruyko does not rule out that the parliament might consider the issue on September 12.
