Politics of Ukraine

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Ukraine

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Politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet. 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]

Contents

[edit] Constitution of Ukraine

See also: 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 June 28, 1996, which mandates a pluralistic political system with protection of basic human rights and liberties, and a presidential form of government.

The Constitution was amended in December 2004[5] to ease the resolution of the 2004 presidential election crisis. The consociationalist agreement trasformed 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 foce between January and May 2006.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine in October 2010 overturned the 2004 amendments, considering them unconstitutional.[6] The present valid Constitution of Ukraine is therefore the 1996 text.

[edit] 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. 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.[7]

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.

[edit] Executive branch

Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
President Viktor Yanukovych Party of Regions 25 February 2010
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov Party of Regions 11 March 2010

The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. 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.

A large share of the current top officials in the executive branch and majority parliament coalition are from East Ukraine, most notably from Donetsk Oblast.[8]

[edit] 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.[9]

[edit] Political parties and elections

For other political parties see Political parties in Ukraine. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Ukraine.

Ukrainian parties tend not have a clear ideology[10] but tend to be centred around civilizational and geostrategic orientations rather than economic and socio-political agendas (as in Western politics),[11] personalities and business interests.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Party membership is lower than 1% of the population eligible to vote (compared to a average 4.7% in the European Union[24]).[25][26]

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

[edit] Parliamentary faction which is not a party

[edit] Parties of which members are deputies in the Verkhovna Rada although the parties itself did not participate in the 2007 parliamentary election

[edit] Former parliamentarian parties

[edit] Presidential Election 2004

Main article: Ukrainian 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.


e • d 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.

[edit] 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)
Main article: Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2007
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) 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) 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) 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) 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) 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)


[edit] Presidential Election 2010

Main article: Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
e • d Summary of the 17 January and 7 February 2010 Ukrainian presidential election results
Candidates — nominating parties First round[36] Second round
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 [37]
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

  • Viktor Yanukovych (First round) - percentage of total national vote (35.33%)

  • Yulia Tymoshenko (First round) - percentage of total national vote (25.05%)

  • Serhiy Tihipko (First round) - percentage of total national vote (13.06%)

  • Arseniy Yatsenyuk (First round) - percentage of total national vote (6.69%)

  • Viktor Yushchenko (First round) - percentage of total national vote (5.46%)

  • Total vote distribution (First round) - percentage of total national vote


[edit] Judicial branch

Main article: Judicial system of Ukraine

constitutional jurisdiction:

general jurisdiction:

  • the Supreme Court of Ukraine;
  • high specialized courts: the High Arbitration Court of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Вищий господарський суд України), the High Administrative Court of Ukraine;
  • regional courts of appeal, military courts of appeal, specialized courts of appeal;
  • local district courts, military garrison courts.

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.

[edit] Local government

[icon] This section requires expansion.
Ambox outdated serious.svg
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Local government is officially guaranteed. Local councils and city mayors are popularly elected and exercise control over local budgets.

Practically, the scope of local self-government is limited[citation needed]. A large-scale reformation of the local government (that would require new constitutional changes) is periodically urged since 2000, most actively by the Socialist Party of Ukraine and Oleksandr Moroz.

[edit] Autonomous Republic 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Politics of Ukraine

[edit] References

  1. ^ Populism in Ukraine in Comparative European Context, Taras Kuzio (24 April 2009)
  2. ^ a b Ukraine at a Crossroads, Peter Lang, 2005, ISBN 978-3039104680 (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 978-3810038142 (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 978-3810038142 (page 349)
  5. ^ Laws of Ukraine. Verkhovna Rada decree No. 2222-IV: About the amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine. Passed on 2004-12-08. (Ukrainian)
  6. ^ Update: Return to 1996 Constitution strengthens president, raises legal questions, Kyiv Post (October 1, 2010)
  7. ^ Over half of Ukrainians feel political censorship, Kyiv Post (October 9, 2010)
  8. ^ Herman: ‘I am a dissident in this administration’, Kyiv Post (September 5, 2011)
  9. ^ 84% of Ukrainians do not trust parliament, Radio Ukraine (December 23, 2009)
  10. ^ Against All Odds:Aiding Political Parties in Georgia and Ukraine by Max Bader, Vossiuspers UvA, 2010, ISBN 978-9056296315 (page 82)
  11. ^ Ukraine right-wing politics: is the genie out of the bottle?, openDemocracy.net (January 3, 2011)
  12. ^ Black Sea Politics:Political Culture and Civil Society in an Unstable Region, I. B. Tauris, 2005, ISBN 978-1845110352 (page 45)
  13. ^ State-Building:A Comparative Study of Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia by Verena Fritz, Central European University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-9637326998 (page 189)
  14. ^ Political Parties of Eastern Europe:A Guide to Politics in the Post-Communist Era by Janusz Bugajski, M.E. Sharpe, 2002, ISBN 978-1563246760 (page 829)
  15. ^ Ukraine and European Society (Chatham House Papers) by Tor Bukkvoll, Pinter, 1998, ISBN 978-1855674653 (page 36)
  16. ^ How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy by Anders Åslund, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2009, ISBN 978-0881324273
  17. ^ The Rebirth of Europe by Elizabeth Pond, Brookings Institution Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0815771593 (page 146)
  18. ^ Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe by Uwe Backes and Patrick Moreau, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008, ISBN 978-3525369128 (page 383 and 396)
  19. ^ The Crisis of Russian Democracy:The Dual State, Factionalism and the Medvedev Succession by Richard Sakwa, Cambridge University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-0521145220 (page 110)
  20. ^ To Balance or Not to Balance:Alignment Theory And the Commonwealth of Independent States by Eric A. Miller, Ashgate Publishing, ISBN 978-0754643340 (page 129)
  21. ^ Ukraine:Challenges of the Continuing Transition, National Intelligence Council (Conference Report August 1999)
  22. ^ Understanding Ukrainian Politics:Power, Politics, And Institutional Design by Paul D'Anieri, M. E. Sharpe, 2006, ISBN 978-0765618115 (page 189)
  23. ^ Former German Ambassador Studemann views superiority of personality factor as fundamental defect of Ukrainian politics, Kyiv Post (December 21, 2009)
  24. ^ Research, European Union Democracy Observatory
  25. ^ Ukraine: Comprehensive Partnership for a Real Democracy, Center for International Private Enterprise, 2010
  26. ^ Poll: Ukrainians unhappy with domestic economic situation, their own lives, Kyiv Post (September 12, 2011)
  27. ^ "Informational site "RAZOM"". People's Union "Our Ukraine". http://www.razom.org.ua/. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  28. ^ Official site of the People's Self-Defense (Ukrainian)
  29. ^ "Party "Forward, Ukraine!"". Forward, Ukraine!. http://www.vpered-ukraino.org/. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  30. ^ "Homepage". People's Movement of Ukraine. http://www.nru.org.ua/en/. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  31. ^ "Ukrainian People's Party". Ukrainian People's Party. http://www.unp-ua.org/. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  32. ^ "Ukrainian Republican Party Assembly". Ukrainian Republican Party Assembly. http://www.urpsobor.org.ua/. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  33. ^ Official website Civic party "PORA"
  34. ^ (Ukrainian) Тігіпко створив свій виборчий блок, Gazeta.ua (February 22, 2010)
  35. ^ Individual deputies create Reforms for the Sake of Future group in parliament, Kyiv Post (February 16, 2011)
  36. ^ (Ukrainian) ЦВК оприлюднила офіційні результати 1-го туру виборів, Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)
  37. ^ Yulia Timoshenko received 45.47 percent, or 11.6 million votes
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