| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Verkhovna Rada / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
30 September 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all seats in the Parliament following the publication of a Presidential Decree of 1 June 2007 that called for early elections. Elections to the Parliament had previously taken place on 26 March 2006. |
The elections held in September 2007 followed a period of political turmoil since the previous elections in March 2006
when no party secured an absolute majority.
In March 2006
the Party of Regions of Mr. Viktor Yanukovych
President Victor Yushchenko's rival in the 2004 presidential elections
came in first with 186 seats. The Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc (YTB) followed with 129 seats. President Yushchenko's Our Ukraine took 81 seats
followed by the Socialist Party led by Mr. Oleksandr Moroz with 33
while the remaining 21 seats went to the Communist Party. On 6 July
Mr. Moroz was elected Speaker of Parliament with the support of the Party of Regions and the Communist Party. After long negotiations
a National Unity government was formed on 1 August by the Party of Regions and Our Ukraine
which was subsequently joined by the Socialist Party and the Communist Party
while the YTB remained outside the new coalition. On 4 August
Mr. Yanukovych was elected as the new Prime Minister.
However
Our Ukraine withdrew from the governmental coalition in October 2006. This triggered a standoff between the President and the Parliament
where the ruling coalition (comprising the Party of Regions
the Socialist Party
and the Communist Party) then held 240 of the 450 seats. Members of Our Ukraine joined the YTB in boycotting parliamentary sessions. The Ukrainian Constitution stipulates that the Parliament is considered to be a full-fledged legislative organ provided that it has more than 300 deputies.
In April 2007
President Yushchenko issued two presidential decrees dissolving the Parliament and calling early elections for 27 May 2007
subsequently postponed to 24 June. The ruling coalition rejected the presidential decrees
insisting that the dissolution was unconstitutional. The President claimed the ruling coalition was illegally trying to change the 2006 parliamentary election results by urging members of Our Ukraine and the YTB to switch political affiliation in order for the parliament to meet the quorum requirement.
On 18 April
in support of the President's decision to dissolve parliament
approximately 150 members of the YTB and Our Ukraine parties tendered their resignation. Constitutionally
their resignation needed to be approved by a majority vote of 226 of the 450-member parliament. However
the process was never completed. In June
parliament terminated the mandate of more than 150 members who had resigned from their political factions
as foreseen in article 81 (6) of the Constitution (see note 1).
After an almost two-month standoff
in late May
President Yushchenko
Prime Minister Yanukovych and Speaker Moroz reached an agreement to call elections on 30 September. At least 150 supporters and opponents of dissolution subsequently resigned to meet the constitutional requirement for dissolution.
The Constitution stipulates that the parliamentary mandate expires on the date when the new Parliament holds its first meeting. Speaker Moroz therefore continued to convene parliamentary sessions
which were attended by some 270 members. They argued that the parliament needed to address the lifting of parliamentary immunity and other privileges before the new elections. President Yushchenko affirmed that the parliamentary decisions would have no force of law
since the Constitution states that parliament is competent on the condition that no less than two-thirds of its constitutional membership has been elected. Despite the President's statement
issued on 4 September
the Parliament endorsed a bill on the lifting of parliamentary immunity from prosecution.
In the meantime
the election campaign officially started on 2 August. In all
20 political parties and coalitions ran in the 2007 elections. The ruling Party of Regions of Prime Minister Yanukovych called on voters' support for further economic development
referring to the strong economic performance under his government. He argued that President Yushchenko had created a political crisis instead of new jobs.
Nine pro-presidential parties (see note2) formed an electoral bloc known as "Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defence". Its leader
former interior minister Mr. Yuriy Lutsenko
promised to create a constitutional State accountable to citizens. He pledged to unify the nation and at the same time implement a new economic strategy.
The electoral bloc was in alliance with its former Orange Revolution coalition partner
the YTB. The latter promised to work towards the country's further cooperation with Europe and immediate affiliation to the World Trade Organization. The re-established coalition pledged to abolish parliamentary immunity after the 2007 elections.
The centrist "Block of Lytvyn"
led by former speaker of parliament
Volodymyr Lytvyn
was considered to be a potential kingmaker in a new parliament. The Communist Party
led by Mr. Petro Symonenko
did not join any electoral coalition.
A total of 62.02 per cent of the 23 million registered voters turned out at the polls. 2.73 per cent of voters chose to vote "against all parties".
In all
880 international observers
including those from the European Union
monitored the polls. They said the elections had been generally democratic and had met international standards
in spite of a certain number of irregularities.
Five political parties and coalitions surpassed the 3-per-cent threshold to win a seat in parliament. Although Prime Minister Yanukovych's Party of Regions came in first with 175 seats
the former Orange Revolution coalition (YTB and Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence) - won a total of 228 seats
securing a slim majority in the 450-member parliament. The "Block of Lytvyn" entered the parliament
while the Socialist Party failed to win a seat.
Publication of the official election results was delayed due to an appeal lodged by four parties that had failed to win a seat in parliament and the Communist Party. On 25 October
the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal
leaving the election results unchanged. On 27 October
the Electoral Commission published the final official results
thus paving the way for the election winners to form a new government.
In the meantime
on 16 October
Ms. Tymoshenko and President Yushchenko signed a coalition agreement
which would allow the YTB to name a new prime minister
and the "Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence" Bloc to choose the Speaker of parliament.
The newly elected members were officially sworn in on 23 November. On 29 November
Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence
Bloc and the YTB formed the Coalition of Democratic Forces in the Parliament. On 4 December
ex-Foreign Minister Mr. Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk of the "Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence" Bloc was elected as new Speaker with 227 votes. The Party of Regions
the Communist Party and the Bloc of Lytvyn did not take part in the voting.
On 18 December
Ms. Tymoshenko was elected as Prime Minister with 226 votes.
Note 1:
Article 81
Powers of a National Deputy of Ukraine shall terminate prior to the expiration of his or her term in office in the event of:
(6) his or her failure
as having been elected from a political party (an electoral bloc of political parties)
to join the parliamentary faction representing the same political party (the same electoral bloc of political parties) or his or her withdrawal from such a faction;
http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/8f/b3/6b843faeedcd0d8d3da4ecb77698.htm
Note 2:
The nine parties are Our Ukraine
Forward Ukraine!
People's Movement of Ukraine
Sobor
the Ukrainian People's Party
the Christian-Democratic Union
Pora
Defenders of the Motherland
and the European Party of Ukraine). |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 30 September 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
37'588'040
23'315'257 (62.02%)
1'016'888
22'298'369 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Party of Regions |
|
8'013'895 |
|
|
35.94 |
|
|
| Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc |
|
7'162'193 |
|
|
32.12 |
|
|
| Block "Our Ukraine - Peoples' Self-Defense" |
|
3'301'282 |
|
|
14.81 |
|
|
| Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) |
|
1'257'291 |
|
|
5.64 |
|
|
| Bloc of Lytvyn |
|
924'538 |
|
|
4.15 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Number of women |
|
|
|
| Party of Regions |
175
|
12 |
|
|
|
| Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc |
156
|
12 |
|
|
|
| Block "Our Ukraine - Peoples' Self-Defense" |
72
|
7 |
|
|
|
| Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) |
27
|
5 |
|
|
|
| Bloc of Lytvyn |
20
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
412
38
8.44%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Engineers/PC experts |
165 |
| Legal professions |
85 |
| Economists |
79 |
| Educators |
56 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
19 |
| Military/police officers |
16 |
| Medical professions (doctors
dentists
nurses) |
14 |
| Media-related professions (journalists/publishers) |
13 |
| Unknown |
3 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.cvk.gov.ua
- IPU Group (26.11.2007
09.04.2008)
Note:
The percentage of votes under the "distribution of votes" section is calculated as follows: number of votes obtained by the party divided by the number of valid votes. The percentage on PARLINE thus differs from the one published by the Electoral Commission on 15 October 2007
which was calculated based on the number of voters.
Note on distribution of seats according to sex:
Thirty-eight women were elected on 30 September 2007. However
after the formation of the new government on 18 December
some female members who had been elected resigned to take up ministerial posts. Consequently
the total number of women parliamentarians decreased to 37 (IPU Group
08.01.2008).
Distribution of seats according to age:
Under 27 years: 8
28 - 34 years: 39
35 - 45 years: 145
46 - 54 years: 132
55 - 59 years: 59
Over 60 years: 67 |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
