Politics of Ukraine

Ukraine
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Politics of Ukraine takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by both the President and the Government. Legislative power is vested in the parliament (Verkhovna Rada). Scholars have described Ukraine's political system as "weak, fractured, highly personal and ideologically vacuous while the judiciary and media fail to hold politicians to account" (Dr. Taras Kuzio in 2009).[1][2][3] Ukrainian politics has been categorised as "over-centralised" which is seen as both a legacy of the Soviet system and caused by a fear of separatism.[2][4] Corruption in Ukraine is rampant, and widely cited, at home and abroad, as a defining characteristic (and decisive handicap) of Ukrainian society, politics and government.[5][6][7][8]

Constitution of Ukraine

Shortly after becoming independent in 1991, Ukraine named a parliamentary commission to prepare a new constitution, adopted a multi-party system, and adopted legislative guarantees of civil and political rights for national minorities. A new, democratic constitution was adopted on 28 June 1996, which mandates a pluralistic political system with protection of basic human rights and liberties, and a semi-presidential form of government.

The Constitution was amended in December 2004[9] to ease the resolution of the 2004 presidential election crisis. The consociationalist agreement transformed the form of government in a semi-presidentialism in which the President of Ukraine had to cohabit with a powerful Prime Minister. The Constitutional Amendments took force between January and May 2006.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine in October 2010 overturned the 2004 amendments, considering them unconstitutional.[10] The present valid Constitution of Ukraine is therefore the 1996 text.

Fundamental Freedoms

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, although religious organizations are required to register with local authorities and with the central government. Minority rights are respected in accordance with a 1991 law guaranteeing ethnic minorities the right to schools and cultural facilities and the use of national languages in conducting personal business. According to the Ukrainian constitution, Ukrainian is the only official state language. However, in Crimea and some parts of eastern Ukraine—areas with substantial ethnic Russian minorities—use of Russian is widespread in official business.

Freedom of speech and press are guaranteed by law, but authorities sometimes interfere with the news media through different forms of pressure (see Freedom of the press in Ukraine). In particular, the failure of the government to conduct a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation into the 2000 disappearance and murder of independent journalist Georgiy Gongadze has had a negative effect on Ukraine's international image. Over half of Ukrainians polled by the Razumkov Center in early October 2010 (56.6%) believed political censorship existed in Ukraine.[11]

Official labor unions have been grouped under the Federation of Labor Unions. A number of independent unions, which emerged during 1992, among them the Independent Union of Miners of Ukraine, have formed the Consultative Council of Free Labor Unions. While the right to strike is legally guaranteed, strikes based solely on political demands are prohibited.

Executive branch

Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
President Petro Poroshenko Independent 7 June 2014
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman Petro Poroshenko Bloc 14 April 2016

The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term.[12] The President nominates the Prime Minister, who must be confirmed by parliament. The Prime-minister and cabinet are de jure appointed by the Parliament on submission of the President and Prime Minister respectively. Pursuant to Article 114 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Legislative branch

The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) has 450 members, elected for a four-year term (five-year between 2006 and 2012 with the 2004 amendments). Prior to 2006, half of the members were elected by proportional representation and the other half by single-seat constituencies. Starting with the March 2006 parliamentary election, all 450 members of the Verkhovna Rada were elected by party-list proportional representation. The Verkhovna Rada initiates legislation, ratifies international agreements, and approves the budget.

The overall trust in legislative powers in Ukraine is very low.[13]

Political parties and elections

Ukrainian parties tend not have clear-cut ideologies[14] but incline to centre around civilizational and geostrategic orientations (rather than economic and socio-political agendas, as in Western politics),[15] around personalities and business interests.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Party membership is lower than 1% of the population eligible to vote (compared to an average of 4.7% in the European Union[28]).[29][30]

Parties currently represented in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament)

(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total Vacant
Petro Poroshenko Bloc People's Front Opposition Bloc Self Reliance Radical Party Fatherland Revival[a 1] People's Will[a 2][a 3] Non-affiliated[a 4] DNP[a 7] DNP 1 86 41 35 93 445 5
Seats won in 2014 election[31] 132 82 29 33 22 19 DNP DNP 96 423 27
November 27, 2014
(first session)[36][34]		 145 83 40 32 19 20 38 418 32
December 2, 2014[37][34] 147 420 30
February 5, 2015[34] 150 82 31 21 18 42 422 28
June 24, 2015[34] 144 81 43 22 19 422 28
October 22, 2015[34] 142 26 20 48 422 28
February 13, 2016[34] 136 23 53 422 28
April 11, 2016[34] 141 47 422 28
April 12, 2016[34] 145[a 8] 19 44 422 28
Latest voting share 34.4% 19.2% 10.2% 6.2% 5.0% 4.5% 5.5% 4.5% 10.4% 93.8% 6.2%
  1. ↑ Deputy groups (i.e. People's Will, Revival) consist of non-partisan deputies or representatives of parties that did not pass the 5% election threshold (i.e. Svoboda, Strong Ukraine, others).
  2. ↑ Deputy groups (i.e. People's Will, Revival) consist of non-partisan deputies or representatives of parties that did not overcome election threshold (i.e. Svoboda, Strong Ukraine, others).
  3. ↑ The People's Will deputy group in previous convocation was known as Sovereign European Ukraine.
  4. ↑ Parties that did not pass the 5% threshold of the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Svoboda (7 seats), Right Sector (1 seat), Strong Ukraine (1 seat), Volia (1 seat), and Zastup (1 seat) are part of non-affiliated.[31]</ref> +p rsonal&hl=nl&ei=1K9ZTaa0A End of previous convocation w DNP[a 5]
  5. ↑ 30% of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc election list was filled by members of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), which did not participate in the 2014 election independently. UDAR participated in the 2012 election, consisting of a faction of 41 deputies in the previous convocation.[32][33][34]</ref> i DNP[a 6]<ref name='People's Front is not so new'>Ukraine's united opposition discussing formation of single party, Kyiv Post (7 December 2012)(subscription required)
    Five factions, including Communist Party, registered in parliament, Kyiv Post (12 December 2012)(subscription required)
    Sobolev: Front for Change and Reform and Order Party to join Batkivschyna, Interfax-Ukraine (11 June 2013)
    Front for Change, Reforms and Order to dissolve for merger with Batkivshchyna - Sobolev, Ukrinform (11 June 2013)
    (Ukrainian) Sobolev heads "Batkivshchyna" in the Rada, Televiziyna Sluzhba Novyn (20 March 2014)
    "Turchynov is summoned for interrogation to SBU today – BYUT". UNIAN. 20 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
    "Batkivschyna to nominate Tymoshenko for presidency, Yatseniuk heads party's political council". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
    "BYT-Batkivschyna replaces its leader". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  6. ↑ People's Front is a September 2014 split off from Fatherland; many current members of the People's Front were members of the Fatherland faction of the previous convocation.<ref name='peoples_front'>(Ukrainian)Yatsenyuk became a leader of the "People's Front" political council, while Turchynov is a head of its headquarters. Ukrayinska Pravda. 10 September 2014
    Ukrainian PM, Parliament Speaker to Head Newly Formed Popular Front Party, RIA Novosti (10 September 2014)
  7. ↑ The Opposition Bloc consists mainly of former members of former President Yanukovych's Party of Regions,[35] which formed the largest caucus after the 2012 election with 185 deputies, although after the removal of Yanukovych and the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the caucus consisted of only 78 members.
  8. ↑ The addition of these four deputies made it possible for Petro Poroshenko Bloc and People's Front to form a government without additional parties.[38]

Former parliamentary parties

Individual parties years in parliament Block association (years)
People's Movement of Ukraine 1990-2014 Our Ukraine Bloc (2002-2006)
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (2007-2012)
Fatherland-Unites Opposition (2012-2014)
Communist Party of Ukraine 1994-2014
Party of Regions 1997-2014 For United Ukraine (2002)
People's Party 1998-2002
2007-2014 		For United Ukraine (2002)
Lytvyn Bloc (2006-2014)
Union Party 1998-2002
2012-2014
People's Self-Defense (also as Forward, Ukraine!) 2002-2014 Our Ukraine Bloc (2002-2006)
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (2007-2012)
Fatherland-Unites Opposition (2012-2014)
For Ukraine! 2012-2014 Fatherland-Unites Opposition (2012-2014)
Social Christian Party 2012-2014 Fatherland-Unites Opposition (2012-2014)
Civil Position 2012-2014 Fatherland-Unites Opposition (2012-2014)
Ukrainian Social Democratic Party 2002 - 2012 Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (2002-2012)
Ukrainian Platform "Assembly" 2002 - 2006
2006 - 2012 		Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (2002-2006)
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (Our Ukraine) (2006-2012)
Our Ukraine 2006 - 2012 Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (Our Ukraine) (2006-2012)
Solidarity (Ukraine) 2002 - 2006 Bloc of Viktor Yushchenko (2002-2006)
Ukrainian People's Party 2002 - 2006
2007 - 2012 		Bloc of Viktor Yushchenko (2002-2006)
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (2007-2012)
Republican Christian Party 2002 - 2006 Bloc of Viktor Yushchenko (2002-2006)
Youth Party of Ukraine 2002 - 2006 Bloc of Viktor Yushchenko (2002-2006)
Motherland Defenders Party 2007 - 2012 Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (2007-2012)
It's time! 2007 - 2012 Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (2007-2012)
Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists 1994 - 2002
2002 - 2007 		National Front (1998-2002)
Bloc of Viktor Yushchenko (Our Ukraine) (2002-2007)
Ukrainian Republican Party 1994 - 2002 National Front (1998-2002)
Labour Party Ukraine 2007 - 2012 Bloc of Volodymyr Lytvyn (2007-2012)
Socialist Party of Ukraine 1994 - 2007 Bloc of SPU-SelPU (1998-2002)
Peasant Party of Ukraine 1994 - 2002 Bloc of SPU-SelPU (1998-2002)
Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 2002 - 2006
2006 - 2007 		For United Ukraine (2002-2006)
Our Ukraine bloc (2006-2007)
People's Democratic Party 1998 - 2006 For United Ukraine (2002-2006)
Labour Ukraine 2002 - 2006 For United Ukraine (2002-2006)
Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) 1994 - 2006
Democratic Party of Ukraine 1994 - 2006 Bloc of DemPU-DemU (2002-2006)
Democratic Union 2002 - 2006 Bloc of DemPU-DemU (2002-2006)
Party of National Economic Development of Ukraine 2002 - 2006
Ukrainian Marine Party 2002 - 2006
Unity 2002 - 2006 Unity (2002-2006)
Social Democratic Union 2002 - 2006 Unity (2002-2006)
Young Ukraine 2002 - 2006 Unity (2002-2006)
Ukrainian Party of Justice - Union of Veterans, Handicapped, Chornobilians, Afghans 2002 - 2006 Unity (2002-2006)
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine 1998 - 2002
Party of Greens of Ukraine 1998 - 2002
Hromada 1998 - 2002
Party "Union" 1998 - 2002
Ukrainian National Assembly 1994 - 1998
Party of Labor 1994 - 1998
Ukrainian Conservative Republican Party 1994 - 1998
Christian Democratic Party of Ukraine 1994 - 1998
Party of Democratic Revival of Ukraine 1994 - 1998
Social Democratic Party of Ukraine 1994 - 1998
Party of Economic Revival of Crimea 1994 - 1998
Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) 1937 - 1994

A faction of nonpartisan deputies under the name Reforms for the Future existed between 16 February 2011[39] and 15 December 2012.[40][41][42][34] A faction of nonpartisan deputies under the name For Peace and Stability existed between 2 July 2014 and 27 November 2014.[43][36]

In 1998 - 2000 there was another parliamentary faction Labour Ukraine that existed without its political party until it was registered by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice in June 2000.[44]

The Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) was prohibited in 1991, however its members were not excluded from the Ukrainian parliament. They formed a parliamentary faction of the Socialist Party of Ukraine. For the 1994 parliamentary elections however the ban on communist parties was lifted and there were two parties with similar ideologies running for parliament the Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Communist Party of Ukraine that was reestablished in 1993.

Presidential Election 2014

Originally scheduled to take place on 29 March 2015, the date was changed to 25 May 2014 following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.[45][46][47] Petro Poroshenko won the elections with 54.7% of the votes.[48] His closest competitor was Yulia Tymoshenko, who emerged with 12.81% of the votes.[48] The Central Election Commission reported voter turnout at over 60% excluding those regions not under government control, Crimea and a large part of the Donbass.[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] Since Poroshenko obtained an absolute majority in the first round, a run-off second ballot was unnecessary.[58]

Candidate Party Votes %
Petro PoroshenkoIndependent9,857,30854.70
Yulia TymoshenkoAll-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"2,310,05012.81
Oleh LyashkoRadical Party1,500,3778.32
Anatoliy HrytsenkoCivil Position989,0295.48
Serhiy TihipkoIndependent943,4305.23
Mykhailo DobkinParty of Regions546,1383.03
Vadim RabinovichIndependent406,3012.25
Olga BogomoletsIndependent345,3841.91
Petro SymonenkoCommunist Party of Ukraine272,7231.51
Oleh TyahnybokAll-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda"210,4761.16
Dmytro YaroshRight Sector127,7720.70
Andriy HrynenkoIndependent73,2770.40
Valeriy KonovalyukIndependent69,5720.38
Yuriy BoykoIndependent35,9280.19
Mykola MalomuzhIndependent23,7710.13
Renat KuzminIndependent18,6890.10
Vasyl KuybidaPeople's Movement of Ukraine12,3910.06
Oleksandr KlymenkoUkrainian People's Party10,5420.05
Vasyl TsushkoIndependent10,4340.05
Volodymyr SaranovIndependent6,2320.03
Zoryan ShkiryakIndependent5,0210.02
Invalid/blank votes244,6591.35
Total18,019,504100
Registered voters/turnout29,625,200[59] (without FED[60])
30,099,246[59]		60.19[61] (without FED[60])
59,48[61]
Source: CEC

Parliamentary Election 2012

The Central Election Commission of Ukraine finalized the vote count on 12 November 2012 but simultaneously ordered - on recommendation of the Verkhovna Rada - repeat elections (on a yet unknown date) in five troubled single-mandate constituencies where it could not establish results.[62] Because of occurrences in these five constituencies.[63][64][65] Hence, on 12 November 2012 445 deputies had been elected of the 450 seats in parliament.[62][66] On 8 February 2013 the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine deprived 2 more deputies of power.[67] They were banned from parliament on 3 July 2013.[67] On 5 September 2013 the Verkhovna Rada itself set the date of all 7 re-elections to 15 December 2013.[68]

Nationwide list

 Summary of the 28 October 2012 Verkhovna Rada election results (preliminary result with 100.00% of the ballots counted)
Parties List votes % Swing % Seats (proportional representation) Seats (constituencies) Seats (total) Seats (% of total) Change

(2007)

Party of Regions 6,116,815 30.00 Decrease 4.37 72 113 185 41.56 Increase 10
All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (incl. United Opposition)1 5,208,390 25.55 Decrease 5.16 62 39 101 22.67 Decrease 55
UDAR (Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform) of Vitaliy Klychko2 2,847,878 13.97 N/A 34 6 40 8.89 Increase 40
Communist Party of Ukraine 2,687,246 13.18 Increase 7.79 32 — 32 7.11 Increase 5
All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" 2,129,246 10.45 Increase 9.69 25 12 37 8.44 Increase 37
5% threshold for the party-list vote
Ukraine – Forward! of Natalia Korolevska1 322,202 1.58 N/A — — — — First election
Our Ukraine3 226,482 1.11 Decrease 13.04 — — — — Decrease 72
Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko 221,136 1.08 N/A — 1 1 0.22 New party
Party of Pensioners of Ukraine4 114,198 0.56 Increase 0.42 — — — — Steady 0
Socialist Party of Ukraine 93,081 0.46 Decrease 2.40 — — — — Steady 0
Party of Greens of Ukraine 70,316 0.35 Decrease 0.05 — — — — Steady 0
Ukrainian Party "Green Planet"10 70,117 0.35 N/A — — — — Steady 0
Russian Bloc11 63,530 0.31 N/A — — — — Steady 0
Greens 51,386 0.25 N/A — — — — New party
Ukraine of the Future 38,544 0.19 N/A — — — — New party
Political Association "Native Fatherland" 32,724 0.16 N/A — — — — New party
People's Labor Union of Ukraine 22,854 0.11 N/A — — — — First election
New Politics 21,033 0.10 N/A — — — — First election
All-Ukrainian Association "Community"5 17,678 0.08 N/A — — — Steady 0
UNA-UNSO6 16,937 0.08 N/A — — — — Steady 0
Liberal Party of Ukraine7 15,566 0.07 N/A — — — — Steady 0
United Centre8 DNP11 DNP N/A — 3 3 0.67 New party
People's Party9 DNP11 DNP N/A — 2 2 0.44 Decrease 18
Union10 DNP11 DNP N/A — 1 1 0.22 Increase 1
Independents (elected in electoral districts (see below)) DNP11 DNP N/A — 43 43 9.78 Increase 43
Invalid ballot papers 409,068 1.97 Increase 0.35
Total (turnout 57.99%) 20,759,472 100% Decrease 4.03 225 220 445 98.89 Decrease 5
Sources: (Proportional votes, Constituency seats) Central Electoral Commission (in Ukrainian) & ((% of total seats) Ukrayinska Pravda

Notes:

  • 1Participated as part of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc in 2007 (Swing % and Seat Change are based on the best performed party)
  • 2Transformed in 2010 from another party, the Political Party "European Capital", and that party did not participate in 2007
  • 3Participated as part of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc in 2007 (Swing % and Seat Change are based on the best performed party)
  • 4Participated as part of the Bloc of the Party of Pensioners of Ukraine in 2007
  • 5"Missed" registration in 2007
  • 6Suspension in 2007
  • 7Boycotted in 2007
  • 8Transformed in 2008 from another party, the Party of Private Property, and that party did not participate in 2007
  • 9Participated as part of the Lytvyn Bloc in 2007
  • 10Participated as part of the KUCHMA Bloc in 2007
  • 11DNP – Did not participate in party voting

Electoral districts

Next to the 87 political parties[69] 1150 independent candidates took part in the 225 electoral districts.[70]

Presidential Election 2010

 Summary of the 17 January and 7 February 2010 Ukrainian presidential election results
Candidates Nominating Party First round[75] Second round[76]
Votes % Votes %
Viktor Yanukovych Party of Regions 8,686,642 35.32 12,481,266 48.95
Yulia Tymoshenko All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" 6,159,810 25.05 11,593,357 45.47
Serhiy Tihipko Self-nominated 3,211,198 13.05
Arseniy Yatsenyuk Self-nominated 1,711,737 6.96
Viktor Yushchenko Self-nominated 1,341,534 5.45
Petro Symonenko Communist Party of Ukraine 872,877 3.54
Volodymyr Lytvyn People's Party 578,883 2.35
Oleh Tyahnybok All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" 352,282 1.43
Anatoliy Hrytsenko Self-nominated 296,412 1.20
Inna Bohoslovska Self-nominated 102,435 0.41
Oleksandr Moroz Socialist Party of Ukraine 95,169 0.38
Yuriy Kostenko Ukrainian People's Party 54,376 0.22
Liudmyla Suprun People's Democratic Party 47,349 0.19
Vasily Protyvsih Self-nominated 40,352 0.16
Oleksandr Pabat Self-nominated 35,474 0.14
Serhiy Ratushniak Self-nominated 29,795 0.12
Mykhaylo Brodskyy Self-nominated 14,991 0.06
Oleh Riabokon Self-nominated 8,334 0.03
Against all 542,819 2.20 1,113,055 4.36
Invalid 405,789 1.65 305,837 1.19
Total 24,588,268 100.00 25,493,529 100.00
Source: Central Election Commission of Ukraine

The first round of voting took place on January 17, 2010. Eighteen candidates nominated for election in which incumbent president Viktor Yushchenko was voted out of office having received only 5.45% of the vote. The two highest polling candidates, Viktor Yanukovych (34.32%) and Yulia Tymoshenko (25.05%), will face each other in a final run-off ballot scheduled to take place on February 7, 2010

Parliamentary Election 2007

Political alignment 2007
Swing 2006 to 2007 (Top Six parties)
Highest vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
Party of Regions vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
Our Ukraine People's self-defence vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
Communist Party of Ukraine vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
Bloc Lytvyn vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
Socialist Party of Ukraine vote per region (Percentage by national vote)
 Summary of the 30 September 2007 Verkhovna Rada election results
Parties and blocs Votes % Swing % Seats   (2006)
Party of Regions (Партія регіонів) 8,013,895 34.37  2.23 175  -11 (186)
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (Блок Юлії Тимошенко) 7,162,193 30.71  8.43 156  +27 (129)
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc(1) (Блок Наша Україна–Народна Самооборона) 3,301,282 14.15  0.21 72  –9 (81)
Communist Party of Ukraine (Комуністична партія України) 1,257,291 5.39  1.73 27  +6 (21)
Lytvyn Bloc(2) (Блок Литвина) 924,538 3.96  1.53 20  +20 (0)
Socialist Party of Ukraine (Соціалістична партія України) 668,234 2.86  2.82  33 (33)
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine(3) (Прогресивна соціалістична партія України) 309,008 1.32 Decrease 1.61
All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Свобода") 178,660 0.76  0.41
Party of Greens of Ukraine (Партія Зелених України) 94,505 0.40  0.14
Electoral Bloc of Liudmyla Suprun – Ukrainian Regional Asset(4) (Виборчий блок Людмили Супрун — Український регіональний актив) 80,944 0.34 Decrease 0.15
Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed) (Комуністична партія України (оновлена)) 68,602 0.29 N/A(5)
Party of Free Democrats(9) (Партія Вільних Демократів) 50,852 0.21
Bloc of the Party of Pensioners of Ukraine (Блок партії пенсіонерів України) 34,845 0.14
Party of National Economic Development of Ukraine (Партія національно-економічного розвитку України) 33,489 0.14
Ukrainian People's Bloc (Український Народний Блок) 28,414 0.12
Peasants' Bloc "Agrarian Ukraine" (Селянський Блок "Аграрна Україна") 25,675 0.11
Christian Bloc (Християнський блок) 24,597 0.10
Electoral Bloc of Political Parties "KUCHMA" (Виборчий блок політичних партій «КУЧМА») 23,676 0.10
Bloc "All-Ukrainian Community" (Блок "Всеукраїнська громада") 12,327 0.05
All-Ukrainian Party of People's Trust (Всеукраїнська партія Народної Довіри) 5,342 0.02
Against all 637,185 2.73
Invalid ballot papers 379,658 1.62
Total (turnout 62.02%) 23,315,257 100 450
Source: Central Election Commission of Ukraine (English) More detailed information: Центральної виборчої комісії України (Ukrainian)

Notes:

Presidential Election 2004

The initial second round of the Presidential Election 2004 (on November 17, 2004) was followed by the Orange Revolution, a series of peaceful protests that resulted in the nullification of the second round. The Supreme Court of Ukraine ordered a repeat of the re-run to be held on December 26, 2004, and asked the law enforcement agencies to investigate cases of election fraud.

 Summary of the October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004 Ukraine presidential election results
Candidates — nominating parties Votes first round 31-Oct-04 % Votes run-off 21-Nov-04 % Votes rerun 26-Dec-04 %
Viktor Yushchenko — Self-nomination 11,188,675 39.90 14,222,289 46.61 15,115,712 51.99
Viktor Yanukovych — Party of Regions 11,008,731 39.26 15,093,691 49.46 12,848,528 44.20
Oleksandr Moroz — Socialist Party of Ukraine 1,632,098 5.82
Petro Symonenko — Communist Party of Ukraine 1,396,135 4.97
Nataliya Vitrenko — Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine 429,794 1.53
Others 988,363 3.53
Against All 556,962 1.98 707,284 2.31 682,239 2.34
Informal 834,426 2.97 488,025 1.59 422,492 1.45
Total 28,035,184 100.00 30,511,289 100.00 29,068,971 100.00
Participation rate from 37,613,022 74.54 81.12 77.28
Source: Central Election Commission of Ukraine. On December 3, the Supreme Court of Ukraine declared the results of the November 21, 2004 run-off ballot to be invalid. The re-run ballot was held on December 26, 2004.

Judicial branch

constitutional jurisdiction:

general jurisdiction:

Laws, acts of the parliament and the Cabinet, presidential edicts, and acts of the Crimean parliament (Autonomous Republic of Crimea) may be nullified by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, when they are found to violate the Constitution of Ukraine. Other normative acts are subject to judicial review. The Supreme Court of Ukraine is the main body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction.

The Constitution of Ukraine provides for trials by jury. This has not yet been implemented in practice. Moreover, some courts provided for by legislation as still in project, as is the case for, e.g., the Court of Appeals of Ukraine. The reform of the judicial branch is presently under way. Important is also the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, granted with the broad rights of control and supervision.

Local government

Administrative divisions of Ukraine are 24 oblasts (regions), with each oblast further divided into rayons (districts). The current administrative divisions remained the same as the local administrations of the Soviet Union. The heads of the oblast and rayon are appointed and dismissed by the President of Ukraine and serve as representatives of the central government in Kyiv. They govern over locally elected assemblies. This system encourages regional elites to compete fiercely for control over the central government and the position of the president.[77]

Autonomous Republic of Crimea

Main article: Politics of Crimea

During 1992 a number of pro-Russian political organizations in Crimea advocated secession of Crimea and annexation to Russia. During USSR times Crimea was ceded from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 by First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev to mark the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav. In July 1992, the Crimean and Ukrainian parliaments determined that Crimea would remain under Ukrainian jurisdiction while retaining significant cultural and economic autonomy, thus creating the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

The Crimean peninsula -- while under Ukraininan sovereignty, served as site for major military bases of both Ukrainian and Russian forces, and was heavily populated by ethnic Russians.

In early 2014, Ukraine's pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted by Ukraininans over his refusal to ally Ukraine with the European Union, rather than Russia. In response, Russia invaded Crimea in February 2014 and occupied it.

In March, 2014, a [78] a controversial referendum was held in Crimea, and a "97%" pro-annexation vote was declared by Russia.[79] On 18 March 2014, Russia and the new, self-proclaimed Republic of Crimea signed a treaty of accession of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol in the Russian Federation. In response, the UN General Assembly passed resolution 68/262 declaring the referendum invalid, and officially supporting Ukraine's claim to Crimea. Although Russian forces remain in control (in April 2016), Ukraine and nearly all other nations reject Russia's claim to the territory.[80][81]

International organization participation

BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS (participating), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

See also

Center for Adaptation of Civil Service to the Standards of EU - public institution established by the Decree of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to facilitate administrative reform in Ukraine and to enhance the adaptation of the civil service to the standards of the European Union.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Politics of Ukraine.

References

  1. ↑ Populism in Ukraine in Comparative European Context, Taras Kuzio (24 April 2009)
  2. 1 2 Ukraine at a Crossroads, Peter Lang, 2005, ISBN 978-3-03910-468-0 (page 43)
  3. ↑ The Making of Regions in Post-Socialist Europe: The Impact of Culture, Economic Structure and Institutions, Vol. II:Case Studies from Poland, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine by Melanie Tatur, VS Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-8100-3814-2 (page 111)
  4. ↑ The Making of Regions in Post-Socialist Europe: The Impact of Culture, Economic Structure and Institutions, Vol. II:Case Studies from Poland, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine by Melanie Tatur, VS Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-8100-3814-2 (page 349)
  5. ↑ Dorell, Oren and Kim Hjelmgaard, "2 years after revolution, corruption plagues war-torn Ukraine,", Feb. 21, 2016, USA Today
  6. ↑ New York Times Editorial Board, "Ukraine’s Unyielding Corruption," (editorial), March 30, 2016, New York Times.
  7. ↑ "Ostrich zoo and vintage cars: The curse of corruption in Ukraine,", Jun 14th 2014, The Economist
  8. ↑ "Fighting corruption in Ukraine: A serious challenge," (press release), Oct. 31, 2012., Transparency International
  9. ↑ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada decree No. 2222-IV: About the amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine. Adopted on 2004-12-08. (Ukrainian)
  10. ↑ Update: Return to 1996 Constitution strengthens president, raises legal questions, Kyiv Post (October 1, 2010)
  11. ↑ Over half of Ukrainians feel political censorship, Kyiv Post (October 9, 2010)
  12. ↑ "New Ukrainian president will be elected for 5-year term – Constitutional Court". Interfax-Ukraine. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  13. ↑ 84% of Ukrainians do not trust parliament, Radio Ukraine (December 23, 2009)
  14. ↑ Against All Odds:Aiding Political Parties in Georgia and Ukraine by Max Bader, Vossiuspers UvA, 2010, ISBN 978-90-5629-631-5 (page 82)
  15. ↑ Ukraine right-wing politics: is the genie out of the bottle?, openDemocracy.net (January 3, 2011)
  16. ↑ Black Sea Politics:Political Culture and Civil Society in an Unstable Region, I. B. Tauris, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84511-035-2 (page 45)
  17. ↑ State-Building:A Comparative Study of Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia by Verena Fritz, Central European University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-963-7326-99-8 (page 189)
  18. ↑ Political Parties of Eastern Europe:A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era by Janusz Bugajski, M.E. Sharpe, 2002, ISBN 978-1-56324-676-0 (page 829)
  19. ↑ Ukraine and European Society (Chatham House Papers) by Tor Bukkvoll, Pinter, 1998, ISBN 978-1-85567-465-3 (page 36)
  20. ↑ How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy by Anders Åslund, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2009, ISBN 978-0-88132-427-3
  21. ↑ The Rebirth of Europe by Elizabeth Pond, Brookings Institution Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-8157-7159-3 (page 146)
  22. ↑ Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe by Uwe Backes and Patrick Moreau, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-36912-8 (page 383 and 396)
  23. ↑ The Crisis of Russian Democracy:The Dual State, Factionalism and the Medvedev Succession by Richard Sakwa, Cambridge University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-14522-0 (page 110)
  24. ↑ To Balance or Not to Balance:Alignment Theory And the Commonwealth of Independent States by Eric A. Miller, Ashgate Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7546-4334-0 (page 129)
  25. ↑ Ukraine:Challenges of the Continuing Transition, National Intelligence Council (Conference Report August 1999)
  26. ↑ Understanding Ukrainian Politics:Power, Politics, And Institutional Design by Paul D'Anieri, M. E. Sharpe, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7656-1811-5 (page 189)
  27. ↑ Former German Ambassador Studemann views superiority of personality factor as fundamental defect of Ukrainian politics, Kyiv Post (December 21, 2009)
  28. ↑ Research, European Union Democracy Observatory
  29. ↑ Ukraine: Comprehensive Partnership for a Real Democracy, Center for International Private Enterprise, 2010
  30. ↑ Poll: Ukrainians unhappy with domestic economic situation, their own lives, Kyiv Post (September 12, 2011)
  31. 1 2 Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, Ukrinform (8 November 2014)
    People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
    Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
  32. ↑ (Ukrainian) Block Poroshenko and kick off to the polls together, TVi (2 September 2014)
  33. ↑ After the parliamentary elections in Ukraine: a tough victory for the Party of Regions, Centre for Eastern Studies (7 November 2012)
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (Ukrainian) Депутатські фракції і групи VIII скликання Deputy fractions and Groups VIII convocation, Verkhovna Rada
  35. ↑ Grytsenko, Oksana (September 21, 2014). "Allies of Yanukovych trying for parliament". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  36. 1 2 (Ukrainian) In Parliament created a faction, Ukrayinska Pravda (27 November 2014)
  37. ↑ (Ukrainian) Two more deputies entered the Poroshenko Bloc faction, Ukrayinska Pravda (2 December 2014)
  38. ↑ Ukraine: Lawmakers end session without new PM vote, BBC News (12 April 2016)
  39. ↑ Individual deputies create Reforms for the Sake of Future group in parliament, Kyiv Post (February 16, 2011)
  40. ↑ Parliament of sixth convocation ends its work, Kyiv Post (6 December 2012)
  41. ↑ You Scratch My Back, and I’ll Scratch Yours, The Ukrainian Week (26 September 2012)
    Voting for the Verkhovna Rada regulations amendment
    Stenogram of November 6, 2012 session
    Політичний цирк: кнопкодави попалися на своїх звичках (Political circus: the "button-pushers" got caught on its habits). Ukrayinska Pravda.
  42. ↑ Yefremov: Regions Party faction already has 223 members, Kyiv Post (28 November 2012 2012)
    A difficult victory for the Party of Regions, Centre for Eastern Studies (31 October 2012)
  43. ↑ (Ukrainian) , Ukrayinska Pravda (2 July 2014)
  44. ↑ (Ukrainian) Політична партія „Трудова Україна“, Database DATA
    Explaining State Capture and State Capture Modes by Oleksiy Omelyanchuk, Central European University, 2001 (page 22)
    Trudova Ukraina elects a new chairman, Policy Documentation Center (November 27, 2000)
    Explaining State Capture: Russia and Ukraine, Central European University (2001)
  45. ↑ "BBC News – Ukrainian president and opposition sign early poll deal". Bbc.co.uk. 21 February 2014.
  46. ↑ "Ukraine president announces early elections – Europe". Al Jazeera English.
  47. ↑ "Ukraine's President Yanukovich declares early elections, constitutional reforms – RT News". Rt.com. 21 February 2014.
  48. 1 2 "Poroshenko wins presidential election with 54.7% of vote - CEC". Radio Ukraine International. 29 May 2014.
    (Russian) Results election of Ukrainian president, Телеграф (29 May 2014)
  49. ↑ Interfax (2014-05-26). "Ukrainian presidential election turnout tops 60 percent - chief election official | Russia Beyond The Headlines". Rbth.com. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
  50. ↑ "CEC chair: Ukrainian presidential election turnout tops 60 percent". Kyivpost.com. 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
  51. ↑ Ukraine elections: Runners and risks, BBC News (22 May 2014)
  52. ↑ Q&A: Ukraine presidential election, BBC News (7 February 2010)
  53. ↑ Ukraine crisis timeline, BBC News
  54. ↑ EU & Ukraine 17 April 2014 FACT SHEET, European External Action Service (17 April 2014)
  55. ↑ Gutterman, Steve. "Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions". Reuters.com. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  56. ↑ Poroshenko Declares Victory in Ukraine Presidential Election, The Wall Street Journal (25 May 2014)
  57. ↑ Russia will recognise outcome of Ukraine poll, says Vladimir Putin, The Guardian (23 May 2014)
  58. ↑ Ukraine talks set to open without pro-Russian separatists, The Washington Post (14 May 2014)
  59. 1 2 http://www.cvk.gov.ua/vp2014/wp095pt00_t001f01=702pt001f01=702pt049f01=5.html
  60. 1 2 Foreign Electoral District
  61. 1 2 http://www.cvk.gov.ua/vp2014/wp063pt00_t001f01=702pt001f01=702.html
  62. 1 2 Party of Regions gets 185 seats in Ukrainian parliament, Batkivschyna 101 - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (12 November 2012)
  63. ↑ With all party lists ballots counted, Regions Party gets 30%, Batkivschyna 25.54%, UDAR 13.96%, Communists 13.18%, Svoboda 10.44%, Kyiv Post (8 November 2012)
  64. 1 2 3 Repeat elections in troubled constituencies unlikely to be held before March 2013, says CEC deputy head, Interfax-Ukraine (7 November 2012)
  65. 1 2 Okhendovsky:CEC could call repeat elections in five districts only after parliament passes law, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2012)
  66. ↑ Q&A: Ukrainian parliamentary election, BBC News (23 October 2012)
  67. 1 2 3 Baloha, Dombrovsky no longer MPs, Ukrinform (3 July 2013)
  68. ↑ Rada schedules reelection in troubled districts for December 15, The Ukrainian Week (5 September 2013)
  69. ↑ People First: The latest in the watch on Ukrainian democracy, Kyiv Post (11 September 2012)
  70. ↑ (Ukrainian) Candidates, RBC Ukraine
  71. ↑ 2012 Parliamentary Elections Boundary Delimitation Summary and Analysis, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (May 2012)
  72. ↑ Results of the vote count, Kyiv Post (9 November 2012)
  73. ↑ Novinsky wins by-election to Rada in Sevastopol, according to CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 July 2013)
  74. ↑
  75. ↑ (Ukrainian) ЦВК оприлюднила офіційні результати 1-го туру виборів, Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)
  76. ↑ Yulia Timoshenko received 45.47 percent, or 11.6 million votes
  77. ↑ "The Politics of Regionalism". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  78. ↑ "Russian Roulette: The Invasion of Ukraine (Dispatch One)". vicenews.com. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  79. ↑ "Official results: 97 percent of Crimea voters back joining Russia". cbsnews.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  80. ↑ Alex Felton; Marie-Louise Gumuchian (27 March 2014). "U.N. General Assembly resolution calls Crimean referendum invalid". cnn.com. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  81. ↑ Michel, Casey, [one-year-after-russias-annexation-world-has-forgotten-crimea "The Crime of the Century,"], March 4, 2015, The New Republic
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