| Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( M) |
| Valentyn Oleksandrovych Zaichouk ( M) |
M. Grushevskogo str., 5
01008 KIEV
Tel.: (380 44) 255 21 15
Fax: (380 44) 253 32 17
E-mail: gamianin@rada.gov.ua
vidmz@rada.gov.ua
| http://www.rada.gov.ua/ |
| http://portal.rada.gov.ua/ |
- parties must obtain 3 per cent of the vote to gain parliamentary representation
Voting is not compulsory.
- Ukrainian citizenship
- Ukrainians living and working overseas who are registered on the electoral list established by the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in their country of residence are entitled to vote.
- disqualifications: insanity/mental illness, undocumented immigrants
- age: at least 21 years old on election day
- Ukrainian citizenship
- residence in Ukraine for at least five years prior to election
- ineligibilities: persons with a criminal record; military and civil defence personnel and staff of the executive or judicial branches of government are subject to special requirements
- Chairperson of the central executive authority
- Holders of any elective post
- Civil servants
- Persons performing any remunerated work other than MPs (except for teaching, scientific and creative activities and medical professions)
- Persons involved in pre-trial investigation, prosecution authorities and agents of the courts
- Executives and board members of companies or organizations
- A deposit equivalent to 2,000 minimum wages (approximately US$ 206,000)
- The deposit is reimbursed if the party or the coalition obtains at least 3 per cent of the votes
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
In March 2006, the Party of Regions of Mr. Viktor Yanukovych, President Victor Yushchenko's rival in the 2004 presidential elections, came in first with 186 seats. The Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc (YTB) followed with 129 seats. President Yushchenko's Our Ukraine took 81 seats, followed by the Socialist Party led by Mr. Oleksandr Moroz with 33, while the remaining 21 seats went to the Communist Party. On 6 July, Mr. Moroz was elected Speaker of Parliament with the support of the Party of Regions and the Communist Party. After long negotiations, a National Unity government was formed on 1 August by the Party of Regions and Our Ukraine, which was subsequently joined by the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, while the YTB remained outside the new coalition. On 4 August, Mr. Yanukovych was elected as the new Prime Minister.
However, Our Ukraine withdrew from the governmental coalition in October 2006. This triggered a standoff between the President and the Parliament, where the ruling coalition (comprising the Party of Regions, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party) then held 240 of the 450 seats. Members of Our Ukraine joined the YTB in boycotting parliamentary sessions. The Ukrainian Constitution stipulates that the Parliament is considered to be a full-fledged legislative organ provided that it has more than 300 deputies.
In April 2007, President Yushchenko issued two presidential decrees dissolving the Parliament and calling early elections for 27 May 2007, subsequently postponed to 24 June. The ruling coalition rejected the presidential decrees, insisting that the dissolution was unconstitutional. The President claimed the ruling coalition was illegally trying to change the 2006 parliamentary election results by urging members of Our Ukraine and the YTB to switch political affiliation in order for the parliament to meet the quorum requirement.
On 18 April, in support of the President's decision to dissolve parliament, approximately 150 members of the YTB and Our Ukraine parties tendered their resignation. Constitutionally, their resignation needed to be approved by a majority vote of 226 of the 450-member parliament. However, the process was never completed. In June, parliament terminated the mandate of more than 150 members who had resigned from their political factions, as foreseen in article 81 (6) of the Constitution (see note 1).
After an almost two-month standoff, in late May, President Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yanukovych and Speaker Moroz reached an agreement to call elections on 30 September. At least 150 supporters and opponents of dissolution subsequently resigned to meet the constitutional requirement for dissolution.
The Constitution stipulates that the parliamentary mandate expires on the date when the new Parliament holds its first meeting. Speaker Moroz therefore continued to convene parliamentary sessions, which were attended by some 270 members. They argued that the parliament needed to address the lifting of parliamentary immunity and other privileges before the new elections. President Yushchenko affirmed that the parliamentary decisions would have no force of law, since the Constitution states that parliament is competent on the condition that no less than two-thirds of its constitutional membership has been elected. Despite the President's statement, issued on 4 September, the Parliament endorsed a bill on the lifting of parliamentary immunity from prosecution.
In the meantime, the election campaign officially started on 2 August. In all, 20 political parties and coalitions ran in the 2007 elections. The ruling Party of Regions of Prime Minister Yanukovych called on voters' support for further economic development, referring to the strong economic performance under his government. He argued that President Yushchenko had created a political crisis instead of new jobs.
Nine pro-presidential parties (see note2) formed an electoral bloc known as "Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defence". Its leader, former interior minister Mr. Yuriy Lutsenko, promised to create a constitutional State accountable to citizens. He pledged to unify the nation and at the same time implement a new economic strategy.
The electoral bloc was in alliance with its former Orange Revolution coalition partner, the YTB. The latter promised to work towards the country's further cooperation with Europe and immediate affiliation to the World Trade Organization. The re-established coalition pledged to abolish parliamentary immunity after the 2007 elections.
The centrist "Block of Lytvyn", led by former speaker of parliament, Volodymyr Lytvyn, was considered to be a potential kingmaker in a new parliament. The Communist Party, led by Mr. Petro Symonenko, did not join any electoral coalition.
A total of 62.02 per cent of the 23 million registered voters turned out at the polls. 2.73 per cent of voters chose to vote "against all parties".
In all, 880 international observers, including those from the European Union, monitored the polls. They said the elections had been generally democratic and had met international standards, in spite of a certain number of irregularities.
Five political parties and coalitions surpassed the 3-per-cent threshold to win a seat in parliament. Although Prime Minister Yanukovych's Party of Regions came in first with 175 seats, the former Orange Revolution coalition (YTB and Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence) - won a total of 228 seats, securing a slim majority in the 450-member parliament. The "Block of Lytvyn" entered the parliament, while the Socialist Party failed to win a seat.
Publication of the official election results was delayed due to an appeal lodged by four parties that had failed to win a seat in parliament and the Communist Party. On 25 October, the Constitutional Court rejected the appeal, leaving the election results unchanged. On 27 October, the Electoral Commission published the final official results, thus paving the way for the election winners to form a new government.
In the meantime, on 16 October, Ms. Tymoshenko and President Yushchenko signed a coalition agreement, which would allow the YTB to name a new prime minister, and the "Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence" Bloc to choose the Speaker of parliament.
The newly elected members were officially sworn in on 23 November. On 29 November, "Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence" Bloc and the YTB formed the Coalition of Democratic Forces in the Parliament. On 4 December, ex-Foreign Minister Mr. Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk of the "Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence" Bloc was elected as new Speaker with 227 votes. The Party of Regions, the Communist Party and the Bloc of Lytvyn did not take part in the voting.
On 18 December, Ms. Tymoshenko was elected as Prime Minister with 226 votes.
Note 1:
Article 81
Powers of a National Deputy of Ukraine shall terminate prior to the expiration of his or her term in office in the event of:
(6) his or her failure, as having been elected from a political party (an electoral bloc of political parties), to join the parliamentary faction representing the same political party (the same electoral bloc of political parties) or his or her withdrawal from such a faction;
http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/8f/b3/6b843faeedcd0d8d3da4ecb77698.htm
Note 2:
The nine parties are Our Ukraine, Forward Ukraine!, People's Movement of Ukraine, Sobor, the Ukrainian People's Party, the Christian-Democratic Union, Pora, Defenders of the Motherland, and the European Party of Ukraine).
| Round no 1 (30 September 2007): Election results | ||||
| Number of registered electors | 37'588'040 | |||
| Voters | 23'315'257 (62.02%) | |||
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | 1'016'888 | |||
| Valid votes | 22'298'369 | |||
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Candidates | Votes | % of votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Party of Regions | 8'013'895 | 35.94 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc | 7'162'193 | 32.12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block "Our Ukraine - Peoples' Self-Defense" | 3'301'282 | 14.81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) | 1'257'291 | 5.64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bloc of Lytvyn | 924'538 | 4.15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Total of seats | Number of women | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party of Regions | 175 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc | 156 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block "Our Ukraine - Peoples' Self-Defense" | 72 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU) | 27 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bloc of Lytvyn | 20 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- http://www.cvk.gov.ua
- IPU Group (26.11.2007, 09.04.2008)
Note:
The percentage of votes under the "distribution of votes" section is calculated as follows: number of votes obtained by the party divided by the number of valid votes. The percentage on PARLINE thus differs from the one published by the Electoral Commission on 15 October 2007, which was calculated based on the number of voters.
Note on distribution of seats according to sex:
Thirty-eight women were elected on 30 September 2007. However, after the formation of the new government on 18 December, some female members who had been elected resigned to take up ministerial posts. Consequently, the total number of women parliamentarians decreased to 37 (IPU Group, 08.01.2008).
Distribution of seats according to age:
Under 27 years: 8
28 - 34 years: 39
35 - 45 years: 145
46 - 54 years: 132
55 - 59 years: 59
Over 60 years: 67
| Engineers/PC experts | 165 | |
| Legal professions | 85 | |
| Economists | 79 | |
| Educators | 56 | |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) | 19 | |
| Military/police officers | 16 | |
| Medical professions (doctors, dentists, nurses) | 14 | |
| Media-related professions (journalists/publishers) | 13 | |
| Unknown | 3 |
- reasons for interruption of the term: resignation, death, dissolution of the Parliament
- the election is held during the first sitting of the newly elected Parliament
- after Members' mandates have been validated
- one single round, requiring a two-thirds majority of the votes cast
- the Chairman of the Special Committee for Calculation supervises the voting
- the Chairman of the Special Committee for Calculation announces the results without delay
- the results cannot be challenged
- represents the Parliament in international bodies
- in the absence of the President, one of the Vice-Presidents can assume his/her role and functions
- consists of the President and the chairmen of committees and political groups, all of whom serve five-year terms
- meets once weekly
- constitutes a collegial presidency
- official car
- secretariat
- additional staff
- bodyguards
- organizes the debates and sets speaking time
- examines the admissibility of bills and amendments
- refers texts to a committee for study
- examines the admissibility of requests for setting up committees and/or committees of enquiry, proposes or decides on the setting-up of such committees with the agreement of the Presidium
- ensures respect for provisions of the Constitution and Standing Orders
- makes announcements concerning the Parliament
- takes disciplinary measures in the event of disturbance, and lifts such measures
- establishes the list of speakers, gives and withdraws permission to speak
- establishes the order in which amendments are taken up and selects which amendments are to be debated
- calls for a vote, decides how it is to be carried out, verifies the voting procedure and cancels a vote in the event of irregularities
- checks the quorum
- authenticates the texts adopted and the records of debates
- interprets the rules or other regulations governing the life of the Parliament
- has discretionary power to give the floor outside the agenda and thus organizes impromptu debates with the agreement of the Presidium
- recruits, assigns and promotes staff
- appoints the Secretary General
- organizes the services of the Parliament
- plays a specific role in supervising foreign affairs or defence matters
- is responsible for relations with foreign Parliaments
- is responsible for safety, and in this capacity, can call the police in the event of disturbance in the Parliament
- provides guidelines for interpreting or supplementing the text under discussion
- takes part in voting
- proposes bills or amendments
- intervenes in the parliamentary oversight procedure
- verifies the constitutionality of laws
· Procedure (Art. 81 (2), No. 1 and (3) of the Constitution)
· Authority competent to accept the resignation: the Parliament
- Verdict of guilt or decision of a court declaring the MP incompe-tent or missing (Art. 81 (2), No. 2 and 3 of the Constitution, Art. 3 (4) and (6) of the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the People's Deputies of Ukraine)
- Loss of eligibility (Art. 81 (2), No. 4 of the Constitution, Art. 3 (5) of the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the People's Deputies of Ukraine)
- Death (Art. 81 (2), No. 5 of the Constitution)
- General procedure (Art. 81 (3) of the Constitution)
(b) Loss of mandate by judicial decision: incompatibilities (Art. 8 (2), and 81 (4) of the Constitution, Art. 3 (8) of the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the People's Deputies of Ukraine)
(c) Refusal to take the oath (Art. 79 (5) of the Constitution, see also Start of the mandate)
1. The President
2. The First Vice-President
3. The Vice-President
4. The Chairpersons of the committees
· Basic salary (Art. 33 (1) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine): + Additional allowance:
· No exemption from tax (Resolution of the Parliament N 256/94 of 29.11.1994)
· Pension scheme (Art. 32 (16), (17) and (20) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine)
· Other facilities:
(a) Assistants (Art. 35 (1) and (2) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine, Resolution on the Assis-tant-Adviser of the People's Deputy of Ukraine): up to ten assis-tant-advisers + assistants working on a public (non-payment) basis
(b) Travel and transport (Art. 34 (3) and (4), and 39 (1) and (2) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine)
· Parliamentary non-accountability is limited to words spoken or written by MPs and votes cast within Parliament.
· Derogations: insult or defamation (Art. 80 (2) of the Constitution); offence or insult (Art. 4.1.9. of the Rules of Procedure of the Par-liament of Ukraine, see Discipline)
· Non-accountability takes effect (on the day when the mandate be-gins) and offers (. It does not offer), after the expiry of the man-date, protection against prosecution for opinions expressed during the exercise of the mandate.
· It applies only to criminal proceedings, covers all offences and protects MPs from arrest and from being held in preventive cus-tody, from the opening of judicial proceedings against them and from their homes being searched.
· No derogations are foreseen.
· Parliamentary inviolability does not prevent MPs from being called as witnesses before a judge or tribunal.
· Protection is provided for the period of elections (Art. 27 (4) of the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the People's Deputies of Ukraine) and from the start to the end of the mandate (Art. 26 of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine). It does not cover judicial proceedings instituted against MPs before their election (Art. 76 (3) of the Constitution, Art. 27 (4) of the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the People's Deputies of Ukraine).
· Parliamentary immunity (inviolability) can be lifted (Art. 80 (3) of the Constitution):
- Competent authority: the Parliament
- Procedure (Art. 91 of the Constitution): motivated decision by the majority of the constitutional composition. In this case, MPs can be heard (Art. 28 (5) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the Peo-ple's Deputy of Ukraine). They do have means of appeal (Art. 28 (3) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine).
· Parliament cannot subject the prosecution and/or detention to cer-tain conditions.
· Parliament cannot suspend the prosecution and/or detention of one of its members.
· In the event of preventive custody or imprisonment, the MPs con-cerned cannot be authorised to attend sittings of Parliament.
· Penalties foreseen in case of failure to fulfil this obligation:
- Exclusion from the Committee or Special Commission (Art. 17 (2) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine)
- Reduction of salary (Art. 17 (3) and 34 of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine)
- Publication in newspapers of Parliament and of local authorities in whose territory the constituency of the Deputy concerned is situ-ated (Art. 17 (4) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine)
· Body competent to judge such cases/to impose penalties:
· Disciplinary measures foreseen (Art. 3.8.4. of the Rules of Proce-dure of the Parliament of Ukraine):
- Call to order
- Order to withdraw
- Suspension
· Specific cases:
- Offence or insult (Art. 4.1.9. of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Ukraine): call to order, strict call to order following the promulgation in the newspaper "The Voice of Ukraine"
· Competent body to judge such cases/to impose penalties:
- Call to order: the President
- Order to withdraw: the President, after decision of the Parliament
- Suspension: the Parliament
- Offence or insult:
· Procedure (S. 3.8. and Art. 4.1.9. of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Ukraine)
· Penalties foreseen for violation of the rules of conduct:
- Loss of mandate (Art. 8 (2), and 81 (4) of the Constitution, Art. 3 (8) of the Law of Ukraine on the Election of the People's Deputies of Ukraine; incompatibilities)
- Other penalties (Art. 6 (1) of the Law of Ukraine on the Status of the People's Deputy of Ukraine; violation of parliamentary ethics)
· Competent body to judge such cases/to impose penalties:
- Loss of mandate:
- Other penalties: the Parliament, on recommendation of the Com-mittee on the Mandate and Ethics of Deputies
· Procedure:
- Loss of mandate:
In this case, MPs have (no) means of recourse.
- Other penalties (Art. 4.1.9. (1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Ukraine): decision, after brief discussion, by the ma-jority of MPs, recorded in the Minutes.
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
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