Referendum: The Institute of Democracy or the Means of Political Manipulation?

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the constitutional and legal institute of the referendum as a means of direct democracy. The political and legal method of research was used, which consists in the analysis of political and legal norms and political factors, that influences their formation and practical use. The main results and conclusions of the study. The institute of referendum as a system of constitutional and legal norms is analyzed from the point of view of both its democracy and the potential possibilities of its use as a means of political manipulation. The weaknesses of the institute of referendum are highlighted, examples of its use in Ukraine as a way to achieve opportunistic political goals are analyzed. Let us pay attention to the significant narrowing by the new Law of Ukraine «On an all-Ukrainian Referendum» of the rights and possibilities of the citizens of Ukraine to hold a referendum. It is concluded that in independent Ukraine the constitutional and legal institute of the referendum is used not so much for expression of the will of the Ukrainian people, also to directly solve the most important issues of state and public life, but as a way of political manipulation, achieving the political goals desired by the authorities.