Legitimacy is based on the Constitution: MP explains the essence of the resolution that was not voted for in the Verkhovna Rada. Video

The failure of the Verkhovna Rada to vote on Resolution 13039 "On Supporting Democracy in Ukraine in the Context of Russian Aggression" is not a critical issue, says Oleksandr Merezhko, a parliamentarian and author of the document. The resolution did not have enough votes, which indicates an "internal political struggle between factions."

The international lawyer and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation expressed this opinion in a commentary to OBOZ.UA. "Nothing absolutely critical happened," the politician emphasized.

In his opinion, it was necessary to make not two, but one document, that is, to combine resolutions 13038 and 13039.

The second one deals with the support of democracy in our country in general. It also refers to the Venice Commission's report and the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the illegitimacy of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin.

"This is a document that states certain things that already exist. That is, it states the legal facts regarding the illegitimacy of the Kremlin dictator and the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government," the MP explained.

The document also emphasized that it would be possible to organize elections only when there is no martial law and when there are conditions for holding a real, democratic, transparent vote.

"And holding elections during the war is contrary to our legislation, there are no opportunities for this, even technical ones, because it is unrealistic in the conditions of war. Even the issue of security – the security of voters, how will they vote if there is anxiety, if the enemy can, you know, hit them? The Russians, they are capable of any crime, they have proven it repeatedly," Merezhko said.

He drew attention to the fact that the opposition refused to vote. However, this parliamentary resolution is only a political call for peace, and it does not affect the legitimacy of the parliament itself.

"That is, it is a fact, it is an obvious thing that both the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and the president are absolutely legitimate. This follows from the Constitution and legislation. And the failure to adopt this statement, this appeal, has absolutely no impact on anything," Merezhko said.

He added that this will not have a negative effect politically either. "Because politically, there is an agreement between the factions (signed by the opposition as well) that elections will be held within about six months after the lifting of martial law. So this is a political fact, a political agreement... These are rather, you know, internal political issues. But what is important is that even the opposition, which did not vote – well, some part of it, not the whole opposition, but the part that did not vote for this document – they still recognize the legitimacy of both the Verkhovna Rada and the president... That is, even from a political point of view, there are no problems here," the MP assured.

He added that this document was discussed earlier. And representatives of the opposition warned that they might not support the vote.

"But it is rather an internal political struggle between factions. This is a normal phenomenon. It just emphasizes that we are a truly democratic state. You see, we have a normal political struggle... And this is how it should be. This is politics. So there is no need to be surprised. The opposition supports some documents, does not support some, and offers some of its own options. And this is a normal phenomenon. That is, nothing terrible happened here," Merezhko summarized.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported:

– Voting for resolutions 13038 and 13039 took place at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada on February 24, 2025. The first one was supported by 244 MPs.

– The second resolution received 218 votes (146 from the "Servant of the People" faction, 0 from "European Solidarity," 15 from "Fatherland," 9 non-factional, 13 from the "Platform for Life and Peace" parliamentary group, 7 from "Dovira," 8 from "Restoring Ukraine," 6 from "For the Future," and 14 from the "Holos" faction).

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