| Kuchma will not run for a third term because “Ukraine is not Russia” Leonid Kuchma, who is currently serving his second term as head of state, again stated that he does not intend to participate in the presidential elections (they will be held on October 31 or December). At the same time, the 65-year-old leader emphasized that the decision of the constitutional court allows him to nominate his candidacy. “However, the last word remains with me,” he said. The president is prepared for the fact that “some of the politicians” will not believe him: “They convinced themselves that Kuchma will be a candidate, and they are fighting with ghosts.” “Perhaps someone is waiting for me to announce the heir to the throne. But Ukraine is not Russia. We never had kings. There were hetmans. And they were elected. So, guys, compete!” - Kuchma said yesterday on Ukrainian television.
At the end of December, the Constitutional Court indeed announced that Leonid Kuchma has the right to run for president in the next elections. The 1996 Constitution prohibits holding the post of president more than twice, but under current legislation, Kuchma was elected president only once - in December 1999. In July 1994, he was elected under the constitution of Soviet Ukraine.
Leonid Kuchma, unlike his comrades, wrote only three books, he has few state awards. Back in Soviet times, in 1981, he became a Lenin Prize laureate. During his premiership - in 1993 - Kuchma was awarded a state prize in the field of science and technology. After being re-elected to the presidency in 1999, Kuchma was awarded the church orders of Prince Vladimir by two warring Orthodox churches of Ukraine - the Moscow and Kyiv Patriarchates. Svetlana STEPANENKO, Kyiv |
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