Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007

Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007
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All 450 seats to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
  First party Second party Third party
  Yany 2006 elections.JPG Julia Tymoshenko 2008.png Vyacheslav Kyrylenko.jpg
Leader Viktor Yanukovych Yulia Tymoshenko Vyacheslav Kyrylenko
Party Party of Regions Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc Our Ukraine
Leader since 13 April 2003 9 February 2001 5 July 2007
Last election 186 seats, 32.14% 129 seats, 22.29% 81 seats, 13.95%
Seats won 175 156 72
Seat change -11 +27 -9
Popular vote 8,013,895 7,162,193 3,301,282
Percentage 34.37% 30.71% 14.15%
Swing +2.23% +8.62% +0.20%

Fourth party Fifth party
  Simonenkopostercroped.jpg Volodymyr Lytvyn 2005.jpg
Leader Petro Symonenko Volodymyr Lytvyn
Party Communist Party of Ukraine Lytvyn Bloc
Leader since 1993 2005
Last election 21 seats, 3.66% 0 seats, 2,44%
Seats won 27 20
Seat change +6 +20
Popular vote 1,257,291 924,538
Percentage 5.39% 3.96%
Swing +1.73% +1.52%

Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007 (first place results).PNG

Results of the 2007 parliamentary election.

Prime Minister before election

Viktor Yanukovych
Party of Regions

Elected Prime Minister

Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc

Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine took place on 30 September 2007. The date of the election was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) Oleksandr Moroz on 27 May 2007, in an attempt to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine triggered by the 2 April 2007 presidential decree on dissolution of Ukraine's parliament. [1][2]

According to Ukraine's electoral system, the 450 seats are divided among all parties that achieved a minimum 3% nationwide vote tally. The number of seats that are allocated to each party, above the 3% participation rate quota, is calculated using the Hamilton method of apportionment.[3]

In the election, an alliance of two electoral blocs associated with the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc (BYuT) and Our Ukraine-Peoples Self Defence (OU-PSD) obtained a narrow majority [4] leaving their main rival, the Party of Regions (PoR) in opposition.

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Political crisis

Ukraine

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Following the 2006 parliamentary elections, there was an ongoing power struggle between the President and the parliamentary majority, which resulted in the dissolution of parliament.[5] The majority in the parliament, know as Coalition of National Unity, was formed by Party of Regions, Communist Party, and Socialist Party). It was opposed by Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine.

Early in 2007, several members of the opposition indicated their support to the ruling coalition. If sufficient numbers of members of parliament supported the government, the Coalition of National Unity could have secured a two-thirds majority, empowering the parliament to override the president's right of veto and enabling the parliament to initiate limited constitutional changes.

On 2 April 2007, Yushchenko decreed the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada.[6]

The authority of the president to dismiss the parliament was challenged in the Constitutional Court,[7][8] however following the president's intervention in the operation of the Constitutional Court the court has not ruled on the constitutionality of the president's decree. [9][10][11][12][13][14] [15]

The election was originally scheduled to be held on 27 May 2007 and later postponed to 24 June 2007. On 27 May 2007 an agreement was signed by President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and Parliamentary Speaker Oleksandr Moroz, scheduling the elections to be held on 30 September 2007. [16]

The President's previous decrees were revoked and a new decree based on the provisions of Article 82 and Article 90 of Ukraine's Constitution was issued in its place in August 2007 following the resignation of over 150 members of the opposition parties.

Results

The first polling places to open were at the Ukrainian embassies in Australia and Japan. Election districts were open from 7:00AM until 10:00PM local time. According to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine 63.22% of registered voters cast ballots.[17] This easily exceeded the 50% participation required by Ukrainian law to make the election valid.

Five parties received the required election threshold of 3% of the total vote and entered the Verkhovna Rada: Party of Regions (PoR), Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT), Our Ukraine-Peoples Self Defence (OU-PSD), the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) and the Bloc Lytvyn (BL). The Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU) secured only 2.86% of the vote and as such did not win any seats in the new parliament. Had the Socialist Party received an additional 0.14% of the vote the overall results would have been more or less the same as the previous Ukrainian parliamentary election in 2006 with the addition of Bloc Lytvyn representatives.

Election results by parties and blocs

e • d Summary of the 30 September 2007 Verkhovna Rada election results
Parties and blocs Votes % Swing % Seats Green Arrow Up.svg Red Arrow Down.svg (2006)
Party of Regions (Партія регіонів) 8,013,895 34.37 Green Arrow Up.svg +2.23 175 Red Arrow Down.svg -11 (186)
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (Блок Юлії Тимошенко)
  • All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland"
  • Ukrainian Social Democratic Party
  • Reforms and Order Party
7,162,193 30.71 Green Arrow Up.svg +8.43 156 Green Arrow Up.svg +27 (129)
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (Блок Наша Україна–Народна Самооборона)
  • People's Union "Our Ukraine"
  • Forward, Ukraine!
  • People's Movement of Ukraine
  • Ukrainian People's Party
  • Ukrainian Republican Party Assembly
  • Christian Democratic Union
  • European Party of Ukraine
  • Citizen's Party "PORA"
  • Motherland Defenders Party
3,301,282 14.15 Green Arrow Up.svg +0.21 72 Red Arrow Down.svg –9 (81)
Communist Party of Ukraine (Комуністична партія України) 1,257,291 5.39 Green Arrow Up.svg +1.73 27 Green Arrow Up.svg +6 (21)
Lytvyn Bloc (Блок Литвина)
  • People's Party
  • Labour Party of Ukraine
924,538 3.96 Green Arrow Up.svg +1.53 20 Green Arrow Up.svg +20 (0)
Socialist Party of Ukraine (Соціалістична партія України) 668,234 2.86 Red Arrow Down.svg -2.82 Red Arrow Down.svg -33 (33)
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (Прогресивна соціалістична партія України) 309,008 1.32
All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Свобода") 178,660 0.76 Green Arrow Up.svg +0.41
Party of Greens of Ukraine (Партія Зелених України) 94,505 0.40 Red Arrow Down.svg -0.13
Electoral Bloc of Liudmyla Suprun – Ukrainian Regional Asset (Виборчий блок Людмили Супрун — Український регіональний актив)
  • Popular Democratic Party
  • Democratic Party of Ukraine
  • Republican Christian Party
80,944 0.34
Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed) (Комуністична партія України (оновлена)) 68,602 0.29
Party of Free Democrats (Партія Вільних Демократів) 50,852 0.21
Bloc of the Party of Pensioners of Ukraine (Блок партії пенсіонерів України)
  • Party of Pensioners of Ukraine
  • Party of Protection of Pensioners of Ukraine
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)
  • Political Party "Cathedral Ukraine"
  • All-Ukrainian Chornobyl People's Party "For the Welfare and Protection of the People"
28,414 0.12
Peasants' Bloc "Agrarian Ukraine" (Селянський Блок "Аграрна Україна")
  • Rural Revival Party
  • People's Party New Ukraine
25,675 0.11
Christian Bloc (Християнський блок)
  • Social-Christian Party
  • All-Ukrainian Political Party "Ecology and Social Protection"
24,597 0.10
Electoral Bloc of Political Parties "KUCHMA" (Виборчий блок політичних партій «КУЧМА»)
  • Party "Union"
  • All-Ukrainian Union "Center"
23,676 0.10
Bloc "All-Ukrainian Community" (Блок "Всеукраїнська громада")
  • All-Ukrainian Party of Peace and Unity
  • National-Democratic Association "Ukraine"
  • Conscience of Ukraine
  • Political Party of Small and Medium-sized Businesses of Ukraine
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)

There were 20 parties and blocs registered on the voting ballot. One more electoral bloc PORA-Reforms and Order was participating in early election procedures but was subsequently removed by CVK as result of court decision.[18] Number 17 assigned initially to this bloc was removed from the ballot paper.

Results of the parliamentary elections:
Political alignment 2007
Vote percentage 2006 to 2007 (Top Six parties)
Swing 2006 to 2007 (Top Six parties)
Swing 2006 to 2007 (Percentage by electoral regions)

Support of leading parties and blocs by administrative regions

Party of Regions results (34.37%)
Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko results (30.71%)
Our Ukraine People's Self-Defence results (14.15%)
Communist Party of Ukraine results (5.39%)
Bloc Lytvyn Party results (3.96%)
Socialist Party of Ukraine results (2.86%)
Region Voter registration Voter turnout PoR BYuT OU-PSD CPU BL SPU
Autonomous Republic of Crimea 1,568,070 55.8 61.0 6.9 8.2 7.6 3.9 1.9
Cherkasy Oblast 1,095,058 60.1 15.5 47.0 15.3 4.9 4.9 4.3
Chernihiv Oblast 939,072 61.8 20.7 41.9 14.9 6.7 4.2 2.9
Chernivtsi Oblast 705,272 58.2 16.8 46.2 20.3 2.3 2.5 3.8
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast 2,810,168 58.9 48.7 20.8 6.2 7.6 5.0 1.3
Donetsk Oblast 3,620,888 66.0 76.0 4.5 2.0 6.8 1.0 1.3
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast 1,080,296 72.6 3.0 50.7 36.8 0.8 1.0 0.8
Kharkiv Oblast 2,282,993 58.3 49.6 16.4 8.1 8.3 4.6 2.6
Kherson Oblast 893,442 55.5 43.2 23.1 9.1 9.1 3.7 2.5
Khmelnytsky Oblast 1,083,968 66.3 14.1 48.2 18.4 4.0 6.6 1.7
Kirovohrad Oblast 614,832 57.9 27.0 37.6 11.7 6.4 5.5 2.8
Kiev 2,151,576 63.5 15.0 46.2 15.8 4.6 6.6 1.6
Kiev Oblast 1,679,197 61.9 13.0 53.4 15.1 3.0 5.1 2.2
Luhansk Oblast 1,898,637 66.3 73.5 5.1 1.7 8.5 2.4 1.3
Lviv Oblast 2,002,372 73.9 4.2 50.4 36.0 1.0 1.1 0.6
Mykolaiv Oblast 971,038 57.6 54.4 16.6 5.8 7.2 4.5 1.9
Odessa Oblast 1,851,868 54.5 52.2 13.7 6.5 6.2 5.1 7.2
Poltava Oblast 1250,952 61.9 24.8 37.9 14.5 6.5 4.9 3.0
Rivne Oblast 865,092 68.7 10.4 51.0 20.8 2.4 6.1 2.1
Sevastopol 308,928 59.7 64.5 5.0 2.3 10.3 2.5 2.7
Sumy Oblast 990,575 62.0 15.7 44.5 20.8 5.8 3.3 2.0
Ternopil Oblast 870,214 76.5 3.0 51.6 35.2 0.7 1.6 1.1
Vinnytsia Oblast 1,342,608 64.5 12.6 50.0 18.6 5.0 3.1 2.5
Volyn Oblast 801,557 71.0 6.7 57.6 20.0 2.7 4.6 1.9
Zakarpattia Oblast 946,525 52.1 19.8 28.9 31.1 1.8 6.0 3.5
Zhytomyr Oblast 1,044,852 62.5 22.4 37.0 15.1 5.8 8.3 2.5
Zaporizhia Oblast 1,515,832 61.4 55.5 14.7 4.7 8.3 5.5 2.3
Foreign Embassies 431,142 6.0 26.5 33.1 25.5 1.6 2.3 1.2
Ukraine 37,185,882 62.0 34.4 30.7 14.2 5.4 4.0 2.9

Format of ruling coalition

Parliament 2007

Following the announcement of preliminary election results, the parties expressed their position on forming the coalition. The Party of Regions announced itself a winner of the election and stated that it started negotiations on forming a ruling coalition. The party did not express the desire to be in opposition. Tymoshenko's Bloc advocated a coalition with Our Ukraine and possibly Lytvyn's Bloc. Yulia Tymoshenko was strongly against any coalition with the Party of Regions or the Communists. She stated that her Bloc would be in opposition should such a coalition be formed. President Yushchenko has expressed the need for a better relationship between coalition and opposition. This should be achieved by providing the opposition with posts in the parliament and the government. Lytvyn's Bloc received proposals from all top parties on forming a coalition. Leaders of the Bloc stated that their decision will be made at the party's assembly. Oleksandr Moroz, the leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, acknowledged his defeat on 4 October 2007 and supported Tymoshenko's bid for premiership.[19]

Yulia Tymoshenko, following the formation of a coalition between the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc was subsequently elected prime-minister on 18 December 2007.[4] Her candidacy was supported by the vote of 226 deputies.[20]

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is competent on the condition that no less than two-thirds of its constitutional composition has been elected. This means that if any one of the two largest parties resign en masse, the parliament would lose its authority and fresh elections would be required.

International observers

3354 international observers were officially registered to monitor the conduct of the election.[21]

Representatives of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Fair Election organization registered officials with the Central Elections Committee. The OSCE closely worked with Ukrainian officials in the design, administration, and conduct of the election.

Observers declared that elections generally met international standards for democratic elections. However they noted:[22][23][24]

Exit polls

Voting process overview.
Voting ballot.
Election process.
Vote counting.
Party National Exit Poll [1] [2] Sotsiovymir [3] Ukrainian Exit Poll [4] Public Strategies [5]
Party of Regions 35.3 33.9 34.9 34.5
Yulia Tymoshenko Electoral Bloc 31.5 32.5 32.4 30.4
Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc 13.5 14.7 14.1 14.4
Communist Party of Ukraine 5.1 4.4 4.5 5.2
Lytvyn's Bloc 3.8 4.0 3.8 4.0
Socialist Party of Ukraine 2.5 2.4 2.1 -
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine 1.5 - - -
Other parties and blocs 3.9 - - -
Against all 2.9 2.8 3.0 -

Time Table

Registered parties and blocs

Number in parentheses is the number of candidates included on the party list. Parties or blocs that obtained 3% or more of the vote are in bold.

  • Communist Party of Ukraine (444)
  • Party of Regions (450)
  • Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine (403)
  • Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (401)
  • All-Ukrainian Union "Freedom" (351)
  • Lytvyn's Bloc (260)
  • Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (447)
  • Socialist Party of Ukraine (282)
  • All-Ukrainian Party of People's Trust (86)
  • Party of National Economic Development of Ukraine (136)
  • Bloc "All-Ukrainian Community" (103)
  • Electoral bloc of Liudmyla Suprun – Ukrainian Regional Asset (387)
  • Party of Free Democrats (85)
  • Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed) (41)
  • Peasant's Bloc "Agricultural Ukraine" (136)
  • Party of Greens of Ukraine (147)
  • Ukrainian People's Bloc (213)
  • Electoral bloc of political parties "KUCHMA" (168)
  • Bloc of Party of Pensioners of Ukraine (92)
  • Christian's Bloc (225)

References

  1. "Ukraine leaders agree on poll date". Secretariat of President of Ukraine. 2007-05-27. http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/data/1_16140.html. 
  2. "Ukraine leaders sign joint statement". 2007-05-27. http://en.for-ua.com/news/2007/05/29/101029.html. 
  3. Laws of Ukraine. Law No. 1665-IV: On elections of People's deputies of Ukraine. Passed on 2004-03-25. (Ukrainian). Article 96.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Orange bloc edges to poll victory". BBC News. 2007-10-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7025382.stm. Retrieved 2007-10-03. 
  5. "President dissolves parliament". Press office of President Victor Yushchenko. 2007-04-02. http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/data/1_14702.html. 
  6. "Tragedy and farce". The Economist. 2007-04-04. http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8975348. 
  7. PACE (2007-04-19). "Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine" (in English). PACE. http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta07/ERES1549.htm. 
  8. "Constitutional Court Judge Havrysh Doubts Constitutional Court Will Consider Petition On Constitutionality Of September 30 Rada Elections" (in English). Ukrainian News agency. 2007-07-24. http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article/56286.html. 
  9. "Lavrynovych: Early elections should have been already recognized invalid today" (in English). Inter-Media, ForUm. 2007-08-03. http://en.for-ua.com/news/2007/08/03/161518.html. 
  10. "Stanik Back Into the CC" (in English). http://www.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2007/7/20/8377.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-20. 
  11. "Yushchenko dismissed CCU judges" (in English). for-ua. http://www.eng.for-ua.com/news/2007/05/03/103007.html. Retrieved 2006-05-17. 
  12. "Stanik and Pshenychnyy returned to CC". Korrespondent. 2007-05-17. http://www.korrespondent.net/main/190075. 
  13. "Yushchenko dismissed CCU judges" (in English). for-ua. http://www.eng.for-ua.com/news/2007/05/03/103007.html. Retrieved 2006-05-17. 
  14. "Supreme Court Restores Stanik As Constitutional Court Judge" (in English). Ukrainian News agency. 2008-03-27. http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article/112528.html. 
  15. "Ukraine leaders sign joint statement" (in English). ForUm. 2007-05-29. http://en.for-ua.com/news/2007/05/29/101029.html. 
  16. "First CVK result" (in Ukrainian). Pravda. 2007-10-01. http://pravda.com.ua/news/2007/10/1/64710.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
  17. "Regulation №307" (in Ukrainian). Central Election Commission of Ukraine. 2007-09-04. http://www.cvk.gov.ua/postanovy/2007/p0307_2007.htm. 
  18. Bondaruk, Halyna (2007-10-04). "Moroz Recognizes Defeat and Stands for Tymoshenko’s Premiership". Ukrayinska Pravda. http://www2.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2007/10/4/9121.htm. 
  19. "Parliament named Tymoshenko as the Prime Minister of Ukraine" (in Russian). Korrespondent. December 18, 2007. http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/319536. Retrieved 2007-12-18. 
  20. "International observers". Central Election Commission of Ukraine. 2007-10-17. http://www.cvk.gov.ua/vnd2007/w6p041pt001f01=600.html. 
  21. "Ukraine’s Pre-Term Parliamentary Elections and Demonstrable Commitment to Democratic Standards focus of Commission Initiatives". Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 2007-12-06. http://www.csce.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=UserGroups.Home&ContentRecord_id=131&ContentType=G. 
  22. "OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Report" (PDF). Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 2007-12-20. http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2007/12/29054_en.pdf. 
  23. "Final report on 2007 parliamentary elections in Ukraine". European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations. http://enemo.eu/press/Ukraine2007_final_report_ENG.pdf. 

External links