| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Verkhovna Rada / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
28 October 2012 |
| Purpose of elections |
President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions came in first with 185 seats, but failed to secure an absolute majority (225 seats). It campaigned on the government's record, underscoring that it had achieved stability. Its ally, the Communist Party of Ukraine took 32 seats.
The main opposition Batkyvschina (Fatherland) came in second with 101 seats. For the first time since 1994, its leader, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, did not stand for election, after being jailed for seven years in 2011 over a gas deal with Russia. She said that the sentence was politically motivated. In a statement issued from prison, she accused the President of trying to set up a dictatorship and that he would never give up power by peaceful means.
The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), led by the famous boxer Vitali Klitschko, and the Svoboda (Freedom) party took 40 and 37 seats respectively. 43 independent candidates were elected.
The mixed electoral system adopted in November 2011 was used for the first time in the 2012 elections. 225 members each are elected under the majority and proportional representation systems. Previously, a purely proportional representation system was used in the 2006 and 2007 elections. |
Date of previous elections: 30 September 2007
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: N/A
Timing of election: Not applicable (see note)
Expected date of next elections: 29 October 2017
Number of seats at stake: 450 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 5,771 (2,664 under the proportional representation system and 3,127 under the majority system)
Percentage of women candidates: Not available
Number of parties contesting the election: 22
Number of parties winning seats: 9
Alternation of power: No (presidential system)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 12 December 2012
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Volodymyr Rybak (Party of Regions)
Note on the term of House:
Constitutional amendments of 2004, which came into effect in January 2006, extended the term of Parliament from four to five years. The outgoing legislature was elected in September 2007 to serve a five-year-term. On 30 September 2010, the Constitutional Court cancelled the 2004 constitutional amendments and re-introduced the Constitution adopted in 1996, under which Parliament's term was four years.
On 1 February 2011, Parliament amended several articles of the re-introduced Constitution. The new Article 76 sets the term of house as five years instead of four. Article 77 sets the date of elections on the last Sunday in October (instead of March in the previous text) in the fifth year of parliamentary term. In accordance with these amendments, parliamentary elections were held on 28 October 2012.
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 28 October 2012 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
36,213,010
20,797,206 (57.43%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Proportional |
Majority |
|
|
| Party of Regions |
185
|
72 |
113 |
|
|
| Batkyvschina (Fatherland) |
101
|
62 |
39 |
|
|
| Independents |
43
|
0 |
43 |
|
|
| Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) |
40
|
34 |
6 |
|
|
| Svoboda (Freedom) |
37
|
25 |
12 |
|
|
| Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) |
32
|
32 |
0 |
|
|
| United Centre |
3
|
0 |
3 |
|
|
| Pensioners' Party |
2
|
0 |
2 |
|
|
| Soyuz (Union) party |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Radical Party |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
403
42
9.44%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
There are five vacant seats.
As at 12 December 2012, there were following five parliamentary groups:
- Party of Regions: 210 members
- "Fatherland" All-Ukraine Union: 99 members
- UDAR: 42 members
- "Freedom" All-Ukraine Union: 37 members
- Communist Party: 32 members
- Independents: 24 members
Sources:
Parliament (16.11.2012, 13.12.2012, 01.01.2014)
http://www.osce.org
http://www.kyivpost.com/
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
