Ihor Yeremeyev took the place of Oleh Lyashko in the coalition

Ihor Yeremeyev stretched out his hand to coalition

Photo: UNIAN

Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada distributed parliamentary committees among the deputies. The deputies failed to appoint heads of three committees due to the dispute between the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and Oleh Lyashko on the budget committee. As a result, in the process of voting Ihor Yeremey unofficially took the place of Lyashko in the coalition.

Disputes over the budget

VR deputies planned to distribute the committees on Tuesday, but the protracted process of confirming the government obstructed these plans. Moreover, there was no agreement among participants of the coalition on a number of committees. Talks continued yesterday for almost the entire day and deputies only began their work in the session hall in the evening. Initially, they elected the vice speakers: people’s deputy Andriy Parubiy (People’s Front) took the post of First Vice Speaker and people’s deputy Oksana Syroed (Samopomich) was elected Vice Speaker.

A source of Capital in the PF said there was a long-winded dispute over the post of the first vice speaker with Samopomich. “For this reason, they decided to introduce amendments to the parliamentary procedures in order that the two forces have absolutely equal rights,” the source said. Besides that, initially the faction promised to elect a representative of the volunteer battalion for the post of first vice premier. “But Parubiy had personal ambitions and some deputies were against Andriy Teteruk for the post. As a result, Teteruk was given the post of first deputy of our faction,” the source said.

In this way, the coalition decided to not share seats in the presidium of the Verkhovna Rada with members of the minority. The opposition ended up in a similar position in the distribution of committees. “Closed meetings of the coalition are ongoing for three days and we have not been allowed to attend them. All the powers are divided between them. They are proposing to the opposition only regulations committee,” head of the deputy group Economic Development Vitaliy Khomutynnik said. A source of Capital in the Opposition Bloc said the faction demanded from the coalition leading posts in two committees – on human rights and freedom of speech. In the event of the coalition’s refusal, the Opposition Bloc threatened to pull out of the process of distribution of committees.

However, even more unyielding disputes were held inside the coalition itself, mostly over the budget committee. “The party of Lyashko is convinced that only it can head the budget committee,” people’s deputy Tatyana Chornovil told Capital.

According to information that Capital possesses, leader of the faction of the Radical Party of Lyashko personally contended for the position of the head of the budget committee. “We are convinced that the budget committee should be headed by a person close to the president,” people’s deputy Mykola Tomenko (PPB) told the publication.

Members of the presidential faction also reminded Lyashko that they agreed to elect member of the RP faction Valeriy Voishchevskiy as vice premier. A source of Capital in the PPB said Lyashko was proposed two committees on issues of urban planning and housing utilities, as well as finance and banking activities. But Lyashko turned down the swap.

As a result, the RP faction did not vote together with the coalition for the formation of 27 parliamentary committees that will work in the new VR. There were even talks in the corridors of parliament that Lyashko would leave the coalition. “I will not speak about committees,” Lyashko told Capital. Later he specified that the president “personally promised me the budget committee”.

Yeremeyev to the aid

VR deputies confirmed the personnel of all committees, though they did not elect the heads of three of them – the committees on urban planning and housing utilities, finance and banking activities and on parliamentary procedures. 249 deputies voted in favor of this decision. Instead of the RP, the Volya Naroda (People’s Will) group headed by Ihor Yeremeyev supported the resolution. 15 members of the group voted in favor of all the resolutions.

As a result, people’s deputy Andriy Pavelko (PPB), who earlier headed the election headquarters of Petro Poroshenko in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, was given the post of chair of the budget committee. Assistant head of the People’s Will group Andriy Derkach, who has close relations with the president, was named Pavelko’s deputy.

Noteworthy is that the support of People’s Will of the voting on committees was not in vain. Besides Derkach, representatives of the group were given the posts of first assistant in the agrarian committee (Serhiy Labzyuk) and on economic policy issues (Volodymyr Katsuba). In addition, another four members of People’s Will were given posts as deputies to the heads of influential committees. For comparison, the Economic Development group received only one first deputy in the committee on financial issues and banking activity.