Ukraine: May 2008 Archives

Kyiv's incumbent mayor Leonid Chernovetsky has apparently won another term in office.  With approximately 80% of votes counted, Chernovetsky has almost twice as many votes as his closest competitor, First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov.

According to the Kyiv City Electoral Commission, 53.39% of eligible voters turned out for the May 25 election at 1,026 polling stations located throughout the city. Seventy candidates participated in the election, producing a ballot measuring one meter in length.

At the time of this posting, data from 830 polling stations reveals the following results:

• Leonid Chernovetsky (36.89%)
• Oleksandr Turchynov (18.71%)
• Vitaliy Klitschko (17.66%)
• Victor Pylypyshyn (6.62%)
• Mykola Katerynchuk (4.34%)
• Oleksandr Omelchenko (2.49%)
• Vassyl Horbal (2.4%)
• Oleh Tyahnybok (1.36%)
• Oleksandr Pabat (1.31%)

The election also included party voting for City Council Deputy seats. Data from 900 polling stations provides the following results:

• Chernovetsky Bloc (30.02%)
• Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc - BYuT (22.59%)
• Klitschko Bloc (10.46%)
• Lytvyn Block (8.12%)
• Civil Activists of Kyiv (5.83%)
• Party of Regions (3.93%)
• Katerynchuk Bloc (3.41%)

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's charges of bribery and corruption against Chernovetsky were the motivation behind this election. In March, BYuT MPs threatened to walk out of Parliament if lawmakers did not call for a new election. Tymoshenko's support of Turchynov made this appear to be nothing more than a power play to gain political control in Kyiv.

Tymoshenko refused to cooperate with other Democratic political groups to back a single mayoral candidate. This stubbornness gave voters too many options on the ballot. The result was Tymoshenko suffering her first political defeat in what can only be viewed as a failure of monumental proportions.

Many experts viewed this election as a preview of Ukraine's 2010 Presidential election in which Tymoshenko is expected to have a successful run against incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko. If this city election was indeed a Presidential preview, Tymoshenko could be in a lot of trouble. On the other hand, I'm sure Yushchenko is overjoyed at this outcome.

Tymoshenko clearly overestimated her popularity and influence. Obviously, she does not have nearly the same amount of influence over voters as Vladimir Putin did earlier this year, helping Dmitry Medvedev get elected as President of Russia in a landslide.

On May 16, 2008, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed a new law limiting the government's authority. This law restores the President's right to review Cabinet appointments and increases presidential control over defense and foreign policy. The bill was supported by 245 members of Parliament.

Due to political deals made during the 2004 protests over election fraud, Yushchenko agreed to a reduction of presidential powers. Two years later, Parliament passed legislation further decreasing his powers. Ever since taking office, Yushchenko has wanted to overhaul the country's Constitution in an effort to restore the balance of power between the President and the government.

Yushchenko saw his opportunity to change the law following the democratic coalition's narrow victory in the September 2007 pre-term parliamentary election. What he did not foresee was Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's desire to change Ukraine's form of government to a parliamentary republic. If this occurred, it would further decrease presidential powers, essentially making the President little more than a ceremonial figurehead.

While the new law is not exactly what Yushchenko wanted, it is nonetheless a small victory. Due to the unpredictable nature of Ukrainian politics, any victory is worthy of a celebration. It may have been a baby step, but at least for Yushchenko, it was a step in the right direction.

Photo courtesy of the official website of the President of Ukraine