Snap parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 26 October 2014 to elect members of the Verkhovna Rada. President Petro Poroshenko had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential elections in May.Poroshenko hopes for early parliamentary elections in Ukraine this fall - presidential envoy, Interfax-Ukraine (19 June 2014) The July breakup of the ruling coalition gave him the right to dissolve the parliament, so on 25 August 2014 he announced the early election.Ukraine President Poroshenko Calls Snap General Election, Bloomberg News (25 August 2014)
Voting did not take place in the Russian-occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, nor in large parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts because of the ongoing war in Donbas.Parliamentary elections not to be held at nine constituencies in Donetsk region and six constituencies in Luhansk region - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (25 October 2014) Because of this, 27 of the 450 seats remained unfilled.
The elections were seen as a realignment. Ruling from 2010 to 2014, and taking one of the top two spots in elections since 2006, the Party of Regions did not participate in the 2014 elections, while its informal successor Opposition Bloc received only 9% of the vote. For the first time since Ukrainian independence, the Communist Party of Ukraine failed to win a seat. Four newly created parties received the highest vote shares; the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (formed in July 2014 by Poroshenko's supporters), People's Front (split from Fatherland in August 2014), Self Reliance (registered in 2012) and Opposition Bloc (formed in September 2014 by a group of the former Party of Regions members).
The work of the new parliament started on 27 November 2014."Parliament to form leadership and coalition on November 27", UNIAN (26 November 2014) On the same day, five factions formed the "European Ukraine" coalition: Petro Poroshenko Bloc, People's Front, Self Reliance, Radical Party and Fatherland. On 2 December the second Yatsenyuk government was approved.
Background According to the election law of November 2011, elections to the Verkhovna Rada must take place at least every five years. Law of Ukraine "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine " dated 17 November 2011, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine That law came into effect with the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election. If the Rada had sat for the maximum allotted time, the next parliamentary election would have occurred on 29 October 2017. Despite this, the president-elect Petro Poroshenko said that he wanted to hold early parliamentary elections following his victory in the presidential election on 25 May 2014. At 26 June session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Poroshenko said that he hoped to hold parliamentary elections in October 2014, portraying this as "the most democratic way".Poroshenko hopes early parliamentary elections in Ukraine will take place in October, Interfax-Ukraine (26 June 2014)
The parliamentary coalition that supported the Yatsenyuk Government, formed in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and of the Euromaidan movement, was dissolved on 24 July."Rada speaker announces dissolution of parliamentary coalition", Interfax-Ukraine (24 July 2014) If no new coalition formed within thirty days, President Poroshenko would become entitled to dissolve the Rada and to call early parliamentary elections. On the same day as the dissolution, the Sovereign European Ukraine faction submitted a bill to the Rada that called for elections to take place on 28 September 2014."Rada registers bill setting early parliamentary elections date for September 28, 2014", Interfax-Ukraine (24 July 2014)
In an interview with Ukrainian television channels on 14 August, Poroshenko justified early elections because the Rada refused to recognise the self-proclaimed breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as terrorist organisations."Poroshenko frustrated by Rada refusing to recognize self-proclaimed republics as terrorist organizations", Interfax-Ukraine (14 August 2014) The two republics, situated in the eastern Ukrainian region of the Donbas, originated in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine respectively, and have been fighting Ukrainian government forces in the war in Donbas. President Poroshenko said: "I don't know how to work with a parliament in which a huge number [of deputies], whole factions, make up 'the fifth column' controlled from abroad [referring to Russia]. And this danger is only increasing". He also said that new elections "are the best and the most efficient form of lustration of not only the parliament but also the political forces".
Poroshenko announced on 25 August that he had called for elections to the Rada to take place on 26 October 2014."Ukraine crisis: President calls snap vote amid fighting", BBC News (25 August 2014) In his accompanying television address, he portrayed the elections as necessary to "purify the Rada of the mainstay of [former president] Viktor Yanukovych". These deputies, Poroshenko said, "clearly do not represent the people who elected them". Poroshenko also painted these Rada deputies as responsible for "the [January 2014] Dictatorship laws that took the lives of the Heavenly Hundred". Poroshenko also stated that many of the (then) current MPs were "direct sponsors and accomplices or at least sympathizers of the militants/separatists"."Ukrainian President dissolves Parliament, announces early elections", United Press International (25 August 2014)Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko Dissolves Parliament, Sets Election Date, The Moscow Times (26 August 2014)"President's address on the occasion of early parliamentary elections of October 26", Presidential Administration of Ukraine (25 August 2014)
Electoral system The Verkhovna Rada has 450 members, elected to a five-year term in parallel voting, with 225 members elected in single-member constituencies using FPTP system and 225 members elected by proportional representation (closed list) in a single nationwide constituency using the largest remainder method with 5% threshold. Parties are not allowed to form electoral blocs (in contrast to 1998-2007 elections). Attempts to return to proportional representation with open party lists and electoral blocs were failed.Rada fails to put on today's agenda three bills on elections of MPs, Interfax-Ukraine (14 August 2014)
The division into 225 electoral districts was the same as at the 2012 election. Voting was only organized in 198 of them.
Non-voting areas The voting was impossible to provide on the territories that was not under government control. Particularly, because of Russian occupation of Crimea there was no voting in all 10 districts in Autonomous Republic of Crimea and 2 in Sevastopol. The voting in Donbas was provided partially. The democratic watchdog OPORA estimated that 4.6 million Ukrainians were unable to vote: 1.8 million in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, 1.6 million in Donetsk Oblast and 1.2 million in Luhansk Oblast.На выборах не смогут проголосовать почти 5 млн украинцев Подробности читайте на УНИАН: http://www.unian.net/politics/1000335-na-vyiborah-ne-smogut-progolosovat-pochti-5-mln-ukraintsev.html, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (24 October 2014)
Crimea About 1.8 million eligible voters live in Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, that is 5% of the whole number of voters in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government lost control over the region in March 2014 during the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. Since that time no legitimate elections are provided there. In the 2014 legislative election Crimean voters had ability to vote in any other region for party-lists in the single nationwide constituency, but they were unable to vote for candidates in single-member constituencies. The CEC explained how to vote to inhabitants of Russian-occupied territories, 5 Kanal (2 September 2014)
Donbas "Donbas" is an unofficial name of the two most eastern Ukrainian oblasts: Donetsk and Luhansk. About 5 million of eligible voters live there, that is 14% of the whole number of voters in Ukraine. After an active phase of war in Donbas in the summer 2014 and September ceasefire, roughly a half of the region remained to be controlled by separatists loyal to Yanukovych. On the day before the election, the CEC stated that there was no ability to provide voting in the captured areas. Thus, full-fledged voting was provided only in 8 districts of 32. Other 9 districts were split by the front line for controlled and not controlled areas, so voting was provided there only partly. In 2 of them only slight number of polling station was opened: in 53rd district only 9% of voters were able to vote and in 45th district only 2%. In spite of this, the elections in these single-member constituencies were recognized as successful, and the winners (Oleh Nedava and Yukhym Zvyahilsky) got mandates. To the other 15 districts ballots were not transferred at all. Donetsk OblastLuhansk OblastTotalDistricts with full-fledged voting718Districts with partial voting549Districts with no voting9615 Instead of this election, on the captured territories separatists organized so-called "Donbas general elections" on 2 November, that were a violation of Minsk agreement and were not recognized by the world community.
Campaign In the 225 electoral districts some 3,321 candidates participated, out of which 2,018 were independent candidates.Basic electoral statistics 2014 extraordinary parliamentary election , Central Election Commission of Ukraine 52 political parties nominated candidates. 147 candidates withdrew after the 1 October candidate registration deadline.Registration of candidates to run in early parliamentary elections in Ukraine ended, Interfax Ukraine (01.10.2014)
In the election campaign the parties positions on foreign relations and the war in Donbas could be roughly divided into two groups. The first group consisted of pro-European parties that advocated to end the war in Donbas by use of force and consisted of Fatherland Party, Civic Position, Radical Party and People's Front (this party was ambiguous about use of force). Svoboda also wanted to end the war in Donbas by use of force. The party Petro Poroshenko Bloc was the only pro-European party that wanted to end the war in Donbas by a peaceful solution. The second group was Strong Ukraine and Opposition Bloc who were considered pro-Russian and they advocated to end the war in Donbas by a peaceful solution. The Communist Party of Ukraine (according to political scientist Tadeusz A. Olszański) "effectively supports the separatist rebellion".
According to Olszański Radical Party and the Communists were the only left-wing parties.
Registered parties and candidates
Nationwide party lists On 26 September 2014 the Central Election Commission of Ukraine finished registering the nationwide party lists. A total of 29 parties participated in the election.ЦИК завершила регистрацию партий на внеочередных выборах в парламент, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (26 September 2014) Parties appeared on the ballot in the following order:ЦИК определила порядковые номера партий на выборах в Раду, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (27 September 2014)
Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko Solidarity of Ukrainian Women Internet Party of Ukraine Opposition Bloc People's Front 5.10 All-Ukrainian Agrarian Union "ZASTUP" Revival New Politics United Country People's Power Svoboda National Democratic Party of Ukraine Communist Party of Ukraine Self Reliance Party Ukraine is United Right Sector Ukraine of the Future Liberal Party of Ukraine Party of Greens of Ukraine Green Planet Petro Poroshenko Bloc Strength and Honour Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists Strong Ukraine Fatherland Civil Position Bloc of Ukrainian Left Forces Ukrainian Civil Movement
Forming of political coalitions