2007 Ukraine Parliamentary Election
On September 30, Ukraine will hold a special parliamentary election. This election was mandated by President Viktor Yushchenko after he dismissed the country's Parliament on April 2. The vote was originally supposed to take place in May, but Ukraine was caught in the midst of a political crisis, with opposing political entities unable to come to an agreement on how to deal with the dismissal. At the end of May, President Yushchenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) Speaker Oleksandr Moroz reached an agreement to hold a "valid and constitutional" election in September.
What does all this mean? Ukraine will have a potentially new political structure in its parliament. The dismissed parliament was controlled by the Alliance for National Unity, comprised of the Party of Regions, Socialist Party of Ukraine, and Communist Party of Ukraine. This election provides hope to the opposition, led by Yushchenko's Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense Bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT).
Our Ukraine and BYuT have a history of disagreements, going back to 2005 when President Yushchenko dismissed Yulia Tymoshenko from her post as Prime Minister. Since then, these groups have not seen eye-to-eye on many issues. One thing they do have in common is the desire to take power away from the Party of Regions, whom them feel has allowed illegal acts and corruption to flourish in Ukrainian government.
The thought of power remaining with the Party of Regions and Alliance for National Unity must be a nightmare for Our Ukraine and BYuT because it appears they have formed their own alliance. If Our Ukraine and BYuT can win enough combined seats to hold a majority in parliament, it will be interesting to see if they can successfully co-exist for any length of time.
A rumor has started that Our Ukraine and BYuT are in talks to form a broader coalition with the Party of Regions. Representatives from both groups deny the rumor, saying that such an alliance would be impossible.
This will be an interesting election, and I'll be keeping on eye open for any new developments, and of course the voting results when they are announced. Whatever happens, it will be fascinating to watch political developments in Ukraine over the next two years, leading up to the January 2010 presidential election.
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