Head of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk claims that now there are not enough votes in parliament to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP).
In an interview with Radio Liberty, he assured that as soon as the necessary votes are collected, the corresponding the bill will be submitted for consideration.
When asked why bills providing for a ban on the activities of the UOC-MP are not submitted to parliament, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada answered that, according to the rules of procedure of the parliament, he, as the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, does not influence the agenda, which is formed exclusively by the conciliation council.
Now they are watching.
— Parliament — it is a mechanism that makes decisions collectively. And it seems to me that while there are not 226 votes around such an important legislative act, bringing it to the floor and failing it in order to simply please the Russian Federation, then it is simply pointless, both legally and politically irresponsible, — Stefanchuk emphasized.
He expressed hope that the required number of votes (226) to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate will be collected.
The speaker noted that within the parties there is a discussion on this issue.
What is known about the ban on the UOC-MP in Ukraine
On December 1, 2022, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine instructed the government to submit to the Rada a bill on the impossibility of religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in the Russian Federation from operating in Ukraine. We are talking about the UOC-MP.
On January 19, 2023, a government draft law 8371 was registered in parliament, which provides for the prevention of the activities in Ukraine of religious organizations whose leadership center (management) is located outside of Ukraine in a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine.
Today this ban has not been adopted by parliament, but at the level of regional councils they are voting for such a decision.
At the same time, as evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) during May 26 — June 5, 2023, 66% of Ukrainians believe that the activities of UPU MP should be banned.
