Elections Update

By. O. Burlyuk and Dmetryo Fedoruk

On March 26, 2006 parliamentary and local elections were held in Ukraine based, for the first time in Ukrainian history, on the proportional representation system. The proportional representation system, a single nation-wide electoral district with votes allocated to political parties or election blocs r ather than to individual candidates, was implemented by recent constitutional reform.¹

Forty-five political parties and blocks endeavored to win the 3% of votes necessary to receive representation in the parliament, but only five of them managed to do so. According to the official results announced by the Central Election Commission on April 10th, the Pro-Russian Party of Regions won 32.14% of the vote; the three more western oriented parties - the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Our Ukraine Bloc and the Socialist Party of Ukraine - won, respectively, 22.29%, 13.95% and 5.69% of the vote; and the Communist Party of Ukraine won 3.66%.

In general, the elections were called "the most democratic" in Ukrainian history, conducted in a free, open and transparent manner.

However, a number of political parties and blocs that did not cross the 3% threshold needed for parliamentary representation brought suit against the Central Elections Commission (CEC), contesting the election results in court. On April 25, 2006 Ukraine's Higher Administrative Court ruled in favor of the CEC, and, on April 27, 2006 the results of the election were finally validated and were published in official Ukrainian publications.

With effect from April 27, 2006, the parliament has one month to assemble, two months to form a majority, and three months to nominate members to the Cabinet of Ministers. The first step towards formation of the future coalition was taken on April 13, when the Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Our Ukraine Bloc signed the Protocol on the Coalition of the Democratic Forces. These three parties have agreed on the structure of the coalition agreement, comprising three sections: the program/ agenda of the coalition, the coalition regulations and the division of responsibility among the participants of the coalition.

However, as of May 23, 2006, the coalition has yet to be formed. The political forces are still negotiating on the major issues of the future coalition, including the future policies and priorities of Ukraine, and on the person to occupy the position of Prime Minister. While these negotiations continue, many analysts believe that the Our Ukraine Bloc is also holding alternative negotiations with the pro-Russia Regions' Party (although the Our Ukraine Bloc has denied that any such discussions are taking place).

The latest date that a parliamentary coalition can be formed is June 27, 2006, and most politicians expect that the democratic parliamentary coalition will be formed by early June. If no coalition is formed by June 27, 2006, the reformed constitutional provisions require that new elections are announced and held.

If the parliamentary coalition of the three pro-Western parties (the Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Our Ukraine Bloc) is formed by the end of June, a new government will, most likely, consist of representatives from these three parties. Not only would this be a major step towards strengthening these forces on the Ukrainian political scene, but any such coalition would also affect the state's policies in the business arena. While in some jurisdictions the existence of a parliamentary coalition can slow down the decision-making process, in Ukraine, analysts predict that the existence of an effective coalition between the Socialists, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Our Ukraine Bloc (i.e. a coalition which agrees its program/agenda in advance) would result in faster implementation of democratic and economic reforms in Ukraine.

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