Qurultay’s Decision on Election of Members of Ukrainian Parliament and Tasks of Bodies of National Self-Governance of Crimean Tatar People

21 July 2012

On October 28, 2012 the elections of the MPs of Ukraine will be held in Ukraine and new composition of the Parliament – the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will be formed.

Unlike the previous convocation the new composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will be elected in compliance with the mixed (proportional-majoritarian) system, providing for the election of 225 MPs in the national multi-mandate election district in compliance with the voting lists of the candidates to the MPs from the political parties and 225 MPs in compliance with the majoritarian system of the comparative majority in the single-mandate election districts.

At this one should note that despite the often changing election law, Ukraine unlike many other democratic countries does not take the international experience of guaranteed representation of the indigenous peoples and national minorities in the Parliament of the country.

Thus, the current law doesn’t provide the opportunity for the guaranteed representation of the indigenous people of Crimea in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, elected directly by Crimean Tatars and makes us enter the partner relations with the national-democratic forces of Ukraine, declaring the ideological values that are close to the goals, tasks, expectations and aspirations of the Crimean Tatar people.

More over, the single-mandate election districts in Crimea do not allow any Crimean Tatar candidate to count on the election due to the dispersed settlement of Crimean Tatar electorate.

Meanwhile, the negotiations and consultations of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people with the democratic forces of Ukraine about the coming election of the MPs of Ukraine testify to the different approaches to the representation of Crimean Tatars in the Parliament of Ukraine. Respectively, before the beginning of the election process a range of consultations have to be held that will result in the adoption of the consolidated position of Crimean Tatars on the election on October 28, 2012.

In this situation Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people decides to:

1.      Approve the information on the course of the negotiations and consultations with the democratic forces of Ukraine concerning the coming election of the MPs of Ukraine.

2.      Order Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people to:

            2.1. Continue the negotiations and consultations with the democratic forces of Ukraine concerning the coming election of the MPs of Ukraine in order to put Crimean Tatar representatives into the guaranteed part of the voting list and obligatory agreement of the candidates, nominated in the single-mandate election districts in Crimea;

            2.2. Adopt the decision on the consolidated position of Crimean Tatars in the election on October 28, 2012 and ensure its execution by all the bodies of the national self-governance of Crimean Tatars.

Deadline: August 12, 2012

3. Obligate the bodies of the national self-governance of Crimean Tatars, delegates of Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people to make every effort to execute completely this order and decisions of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

Adopted at the 4^th session of

Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people of the 5^th convocation

Simferopol, July 22, 2012

The Presidium of the 4^th session of the 5^th Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people:

Mustafa Jemilev, Refat Chubarov, Remzi Ilyasov, Akhtem Chiygoz

Head of the Secretariat of the 4^th session of the 5^th Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people:

Zair Smedlyaev