MPs from opposition factions and some representatives of the Servant of the People party blocked the parliamentary rostrum. They are demanding that the draft law banning religious organisations associated with Russia (UOC-MP) be included in the agenda. The broadcast was hosted by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko.
The blocking of the rostrum began during the announced break, Honcharenko added. The blocking was attended by the servants of Yevheniya Kravchuk and Nikita Poturayev, who heads the relevant committee.
‘They lie that this law is beneficial to certain factions and politicians. This is a complete lie. Every amendment considered by the committee had the signatures of all MPs, factions and groups, except for OPFL. This law is truly a joint result of the work of the entire Ukrainian parliament, truly pro-Ukrainian factions and groups,’ Poturayev said.
He added that the MPs who had blocked the rostrum would be allowed to vote on military issues, but not on other issues, as they had to consider the bill banning the UOC-MP first.
After 14:30, the meeting with the Verkhovna Rada leadership ended. The ban on the UOC-MP will be considered in August - it will be the first issue to be considered. According to MP Yuliya Klymenko, the servants of the people expressed a desire to revise the text of the bill once again, so the document will not be voted on this week. And, since the rostrum will be blocked until the bill is considered, they will not be able to vote on anything else.
Banning the UOC-MP
A bill banning religious organisations associated with the aggressor country was passed in the first reading back in October.
It was hoped to pass the document in the second reading on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, but it failed.
In May, after the rostrum was blocked, MPs agreed that in June they would consider the bill banning the UOC-MP in the second reading. However, the MPs were not sure that there would be enough votes in the hall, so they decided to collect signatures in support of the ban before putting it on the agenda. The conciliation board agreed not to create a single list for collecting signatures for the bill. At first, the factions collected signatures separately, and then they were to be combined into one list to see if there were enough votes in the parliament.
As of 26 June, more than 140 MPs had not signed in support of the ban on the UOC-MP. Representatives of the European Solidarity and Voice factions signed the bill ‘On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Activities of Religious Organisations in Ukraine’ (No. 8371) in full.
LB.ua received a list of those who refused to sign. Among those who did not support the bill, about 90 MPs are from the Servant of the People party. Two from Batkivshchyna did not support the bill. Only one MP from the Platform for Life and Peace (formerly OPFL) supported the signature.
As of 21 July, according to LB.ua's sources, more than 60 MPs from the Servant of the People party have not yet signed in support of the bill banning the UOC-MP and do not intend to support it in the second reading. More than 30 other servants are still hesitant to support the ban on the UOC-MP.