Ukraine, parlamentary elections 2012

2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine: what is at stake?

On October 28th millions of Ukrainians will be electing the Verkvona Rada, Ukrainian parliament, for the seventh time during the years of independence. The forthcoming elections and political campaigns have never been more scandalous, tensed and fierce since they take place in brand new political conditions. The most notable among them are the non-participation of Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister, who was sentenced for 7 years imprisonment for abuse of power and put behind the bars in October 2011, and the introduction of the old/new mixed electoral system to be applied during the election of the Ukrainian legislative body.

Yet the political calamity causes nothing more than a feeling of desperation among the voters, who are tired of endless political fuss and absence of any new political leaders and alternative forces. According to the polls 4 to 5 parties have chances to get their share of parliamentary seats after the elections, with the current ruling Party of Regions potentially leading the run. The results, however, will significantly depend on the single-member districts winners, as well as on the ability of the so-called united opposition to show concerted efforts. The parliamentary elections are of utmost importance for the political situation in Ukraine, since they create a certain political fundament for the presidential elections 2015. Experts argue that a strong majority in the new parliament might open the way for the current President Viktor Yanukovych to change the law and shift the elections of the head of state to the parliament, thus eliminating a necessity to stand for direct elections.

The EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and the Commissioner Stefan Füle in their joint statement from October 12th have stressed that the parliamentary elections cannot be seen as fair and transparent since the main leaders of the opposition parties are artificially excluded from the election by being imprisoned for political motives.

This dossier presents the general overview and analysis of the Ukrainian parliamentary elections 2012, as well as a general profile of the country.

Dossier’s authors: Anna Novosad, Research Assistant, CIDOB, y Carmen Claudín, Research Director, CIDOB.