This amendment was supported by 243 deputies, including all members of the SPU faction with the exception of Yosyp Vinsky.
It was only the second amendment approved during ten hours of discussion. Previous amendments did not garner more than 150 votes.
Somewhat later, the parliament voted on an amendment to reduce the threshold barrier to parliament to 3%. This was voted for by 267 deputies, except for the "Our Ukraine" and BYuT factions.
After the article on allowing observers from public organizations was removed from the text of the bill, a commotion occurred in the session hall. "Our Ukraine" member Roman Zvarych began demanding that a provision be included in the bill that "the composition of the Verkhovna Rada is appointed by President Kuchma."
To this remark, Oleksandr Moroz, who had been reporting on the bill and amendments since Thursday morning, said: "There's no need to include that, he already appoints the majoritarian part."
This angered Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, who asked Moroz "not to play along" and "to conduct the meeting."
When deputy Volodymyr Bondarenko ("Our Ukraine") said that Lytvyn was being controlled by presidential representative Oleksandr Zadorozhny and SDPU(o) member Nestor Shufrych, the speaker stated: "Don't measure everyone by your own yardstick! No one runs up to me or gives me instructions!"
Moroz proposed returning the provision on the presence of observers from public organizations during the vote on the election law as a whole.
After these debates, the parliament continued voting on amendments. As of 22:30, deputies had managed to consider 800 amendments out of 926.
From time to time, conflicts flared up between the "Our Ukraine" and CPU factions. Deputy Karmazin ("Our Ukraine") constantly approached Speaker Lytvyn throughout the session, and Lytvyn began openly waving this deputy away.
It was noticeable that the communist deputies were eating candy.
Presidential representative Zadorozhny predicted that the vote on the election law would take place around 3-4 in the morning. He also said that by the time a decision on the election law is adopted, "deputies will appear in the hall."
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The removed Article 63, which had been approved in the first reading, proposed allowing public organizations whose statutory activities include issues of the electoral process and observation thereof, registered in accordance with the procedure established by law no less than two years before election day, to have official observers with the permission of the CEC.
They could observe the course of the electoral process, including voting, vote counting, and the establishment of voting results at polling stations and in territorial districts.
At the same time, official observers from public organizations were granted the right to: be present at polling stations during voting, observe the actions of commission members; take photographs, film, audio and video recordings;
Observers were also allowed to be present during the issuance of ballots to members of the precinct election commission for organizing voting by voters outside the voting premises and during such voting; to be present at meetings of election commissions, including during the counting of voters' votes at the polling station and the establishment of voting results in the territorial election district;
In addition, observers could receive a copy of the protocol on the transfer of ballots, on the counting of votes and the establishment of voting results, and other documents in cases provided for by this Law.
The amendment on removing observers from public organizations was introduced by deputies Musiyaka, Kyrychenko, Rakhansky, Horbal, Larin, Maistryshyn, Bohatyryova, and was supported by the majority of members of the Temporary Special Commission for the elaboration of draft laws of Ukraine on amending the Constitution of Ukraine.