WASHINGTON, July 25 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev's decision to dissolve the Communist Party faction from the country's parliament deals a blow to the representative nature of the Ukrainian government, Vice President of the Eurasian Center in Washington told RIA Novosti Friday.
“What their ulterior motives [are], I’m not sure, but eliminating, banning a party because it appears to be part of their opposition, I think takes away from the representative nature of the government,” Earl Rasmussen said in response to the dissolution of the parliamentary faction of the Communist Party of Ukraine on Thursday.
“Banning a party because of their positions or views, I think is wrong,” Rasmussen said in reference to the reports suggesting that the Communist Party's calls for a withdrawal of troops from the east of Ukraine and an immediate stop to the special operations against its own people were the initial ground for dismissal.
Pursuant to new rules enacted by Ukraine’s parliament on July 22, the speaker of the house can dissolve a parliamentary party faction if it falls below the minimum threshold requirement. Since the formation of the new government, ten members of the Communist party dropped out of the parliament, pushing the party's parliamentary faction below the required minimum.
The Communist party came under scrutiny with accusations of supporting independence fighters in Ukraine’s east. Leader of the Communist Party, Petro Symonenko, also publicly criticized the government in Kiev in May for waging a “war against its people,” with the special operations in Donetsk and Luhansk still ongoing.
Rasmussen speculated that there is a great deal of discussion behind closed doors, possibly of disbanding the parliament and calling for early elections.
“I’m sure there’s some internal politics and strategy going on in the background,” the expert concluded.
