The 2010

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

local elections took place on 31 October 2010,Yanukovych's Party Looks To Victory Amid Claims Of Election Fraud
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (November 01, 2010) two years before the 2012 general election. The voter turnout across Ukraine was about 50%, which is considered low in comparison to previous elections. The ruling

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...

won clear majorities in most regions and big cities throughout Ukraine (except in the west of the country), leaving

Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", translit=Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna") referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by Pe ...

far behind. The

Ukrainian nationalist Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...

ic party Svoboda achieved notable success in

Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia ( uk, Східна Галичина, Skhidna Galychyna, pl, Galicja Wschodnia, german: Ostgalizien) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil), having also essential h ...

while Our Ukraine, a major force in

Ukrainian politics The politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic and of a multi-party system. A Cabinet of Ministers exercises executive power (jointly with the president until 1996). Legislative power is vested in Ukraine's pa ...

in the early 21st century, met with total failure. The results were contested by opposition politicians and the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

Rescheduling of election date

On February 16, 2010 the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(the parliament of Ukraine) cancelled all Ukrainian local election dates original set for May 30, 2010. A new date was not set but

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

expected new local elections in the spring of 2011. On April 2, 2010 the Verkhovna Rada set early local elections in a number of cities, towns and villages for June 20, 2010.Rada schedules snap local elections for June 20
''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

'' (April 2, 2010) According to opposition lawmaker

Mykola Katerynchuk Mykola Dmytrovych Katerynchuk ( uk, Микола Дмитрович Катеринчук) is a Ukrainian politician and lawyer, a PhD in Law (Candidate of Juridical Sciences), a former member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). The ...

(

Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc ( uk, Блок Наша Україна–Народна Самооборона, ''Blok Nasha Ukrayina-Narodna Samooborona'', NUNS; until 2007 named Our Ukraine Bloc) was an electoral alliance active in ...

faction) the voting results proved that the

intends to extend its influence over local government bodies, as the faction did not support elections in any of those regions where they already had a majority. In late April 2010,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

expected local elections in Ukraine to take place in 2011. In late May 2010, Yanukovych stated that local elections would be held the following autumn. Yanukovych also called for these elections to be based on the majority representation system and stressed the need to adopt the relevant laws.Yanukovych wants local elections to be held in autumn
''

'' (May 24, 2010) On July 1, 2010, the Verkhovna Rada scheduled the election for Sunday, October 31, 2010.Parliament sets elections to local councils for October 31
''

'' (July 1, 2010) On July 11, lawmakers approved the bill on the procedure for holding the elections.Parliament passes law on local elections
''

'' (July 12, 2010) A total of 259 out of 485 MPs registered voted to pass the bill. Before voting, the

Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc ( uk, Блок Юлії Тимошенко, БЮТ; Blok Yuliyi Tymoshenko, BYuT) was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of bloc ...

faction walked out of parliament in protest against consideration the bill without taking into account the faction's proposals. The party is planning to challenge the law on local elections under a majority-proportional system at the

Constitutional Court of Ukraine The Constitutional Court of Ukraine ( ua, Конституційний Суд України) is the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine interprets the Constitution of Ukraine in terms of l ...

. This was done by the

Front of Changes Front for Change ( uk, Фронт Змін) is a Ukrainian public organization and a former political party in Ukraine, both led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk.Front for Change calls on Constitutional Court to strike down new election law
''

'' (August 6, 2010) Besides Front of Changes and Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko Deputy Prime Minister

Sergei Tigipko Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko ( uk, Сергій Леонідович Тiгiпко; born 13 February 1960) is a Ukrainian politician and finance specialist who was Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. Tihipko was Minister of Economics in 2000 and subse ...

Strong Ukraine Strong Ukraine ( uk, Сильна Україна ''Syl'na Ukrajina''); formerly the Labour Party Ukraine
Database DATA ( ...

party also stated the law violates the Constitution.

Restrictions for political parties

Parties that have been established less than a year before the election and

political blocs This is a list of political groups by country. A political group also known as a political alliance, coalition or bloc, is cooperation by members of different political parties on a common agenda of some kind. This usually involves formal agreem ...

were at first not permitted to compete in the election. This meant that parties like

Strong Ukraine Strong Ukraine ( uk, Сильна Україна ''Syl'na Ukrajina''); formerly the Labour Party Ukraine
Database DATA ( ...

and

Front of Changes Front for Change ( uk, Фронт Змін) is a Ukrainian public organization and a former political party in Ukraine, both led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk.Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc ( uk, Блок Юлії Тимошенко, БЮТ; Blok Yuliyi Tymoshenko, BYuT) was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of bloc ...

(which won 156 out of 450 seats in the 2007 parliamentary elections) announced it would not participate in the elections but its main component, the

All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", translit=Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna") referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by Pe ...

, will. On August 30, 2010 the Verkhovna Rada approved Party of Regions leader Oleksandr Yefremov's amendments to the law on the election extends the opportunity to participate in local elections to all parties, not only those registered more than a year before the elections. Similar bills submitted by lawmakers Lev Biriuk (Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko) and Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense) had failed to collect the necessary number of votes to pass.

Electoral issues

Initially parties that had been established less than a year before the election and

were not permitted to compete in the election;Ukraine changes election rules before key vote
''

'' (July 28, 2010)Batkivschyna Party eyes landslide in Kyiv region polls
''

'' (July 27, 2010) but on August 30, 2010 this restriction was abandoned by the Verkhovna Rada.Law: All parties registered in Ukraine will be able to participate in local elections
''

'' (August 30, 2010) Self-nomination for the post of mayor was not allowed. Half of the total number of local council deputies were to be elected from the lists of political parties in a multi-mandate constituency. The other half was elected under a majority system in single-mandate

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. The elections were held with closed lists.Parliament rejects bill on local elections under open lists
''

'' (July 1, 2010) The election campaign started on September 11, 2010. Running up to the election a number of opposition parties complained about violations of election legislation by election commissions across the country. A number of territorial election commissions contained members who although expelled by their party were appointed under the quota of the party they were expelled from. Owing to the anomalies in the electoral law some parties, such as

, were unable to register their candidates in several districts and provinces.Westerners, local observers rip Oct. 31 elections as undemocratic

(November 5, 2010) Batkivshchyna-leader

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

Regional exceptions

Except the election of Kyiv mayor, the Next Kyiv local election and the elections to Ternopil Regional Council elections will be conducted in all local authorities.Verkhovna Rada adopts law on local elections
, Inter-Media, ForUm (July 12, 2010) The elections in rural councils are held under a simple plurality voting system based on single-member constituencies; the elections of mayors of cities, towns and villages are held under a plurality voting system in single-member constituencies that lie within the boundaries of the relevant city, town or village. Parties or candidates themselves can propose to run election in rural areas and for the posts of rural areas heads; only local parties can propose candidates for the post of city mayors.Law on local election (extended)
''

'' (July 31, 2010) The

Supreme Council of Crimea Verkhovna Rada of Crimea or the Supreme Council of Crimea, officially the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea ( uk, Верховна Рада Автономної Республіки Крим, Verkhovna Rada Avtonomnoï Respubl ...

decided to hold the

2010 Crimean parliamentary election The 2010 Crimean parliamentary election were held on 31 October 2010 as a part of the general 2010 Ukrainian local elections. Unlike the previous election to the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea, they were conducted on the mixed member proportional rep ...

simultaneously with the Ukrainian local elections on August 4, 2010.Ukraine’s Crimea to hold parliamentary elections on October 31

ITAR-TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

(August 4, 2010)

Costs

Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission The Central Election Commission of Ukraine ( uk, Центральна виборча комісія України, commonly abbreviated in Ukrainian as ЦВК (''Tse-Ve-Ka''); sometimes referred to as the Central Electoral Commission of Ukrai ...

estimated the cost of holding local elections at 3.1 million Hryvnya in May 2010 and over 1 billion Hryvnya in July 2010. The Ukrainian Finance Ministry and the Central Election Commission signed a joint protocol, which envisaged a provision of 1.024 billion Hryvnya of budget funds the elections on September 14, 2010.

Results

The ruling

won clear majorities in most regions and big cities throughout Ukraine (except in the west of the country);Local government elections in Ukraine: last stage in the Party of Regions’ takeover of power
,

Centre for Eastern Studies The Centre for Eastern Studies ( pl, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, OSW) is a Warsaw-based think tank that undertakes independent research on the political, economic and social situation in Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and Centra ...

(October 4, 2010) it is the biggest party in two-thirds of all cities.ПР отримала мерів майже в половині областей

BBC Ukrainian BBC News Ukrainian ( uk, BBC News Україна) is the Ukrainian service of the BBC which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Ukraine and the world. It started broadcasts in 1992.

(November 8, 2010) It was followed by

. The

ic party Svoboda achieved notable success in

, the party of the previous

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Our Ukraine, the party of previous

Yushchenko, met with total failure.

Strong Ukraine Strong Ukraine ( uk, Сильна Україна ''Syl'na Ukrajina''); formerly the Labour Party Ukraine
Database DATA ( ...

gained about 6 percent of the votes nationwide. Ukraine's Central Election Commission has declined to publish nationwide results, citing, "these are local elections and traditionally we don't do that". Opposition politicians and the

У Криму комуністи і партія «Союз» вимагають перерахунку голосів
, Дзеркало тижня (November 3, 2010) have complained of irregularities in the election. According to a survey of 2,000 people conducted in October 2010 by two Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations, the Democratic Initiatives Fund and OPORA, one in five Ukrainians were willing to sell his or her vote in the upcoming local elections. OPORA stated on November 1, 2010 that “there have been so many violations that we cannot say that he electionwas democratic, transparent and open.” But according to Prime Minister

Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov ( uk, Мико́ла Я́нович Аза́ров, ; né Pakhlo; Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was t ...

"The elections were absolutely without the use of administrative resources, naturally. Nobody interfered with our citizens." According to

"there were no systematic violations. This is emphasized by international observers and the police”.

International reactions

The Council of Europe uncovered a number of problems in relation to a new electorate law approved just prior to the elections. International observers of the

CIS Interparliamentary Assembly The Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) is a parliamentary assembly for delegations from the national parliaments of the member countries of the CIS. The IPA CIS was established on 27 ...

stated the local elections in Ukraine were organised well.EU will not condemn the local elections in Ukraine
,

Razumkov Centre Razumkov Centre ( uk, Центр Разумкова), or fully the Ukrainian Centre for Economic and Political Studies named after Olexander Razumkov ( uk, Український центр економічних і політичних дослі ...

(3 November 2010) The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

repeated the criticisms of the Council of Europe and stated the election "did not set a new, positive standard".European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2010 on Ukraine

(25 November 2010) According to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton "the electoral framework and the administration of the elections undermined public confidence in the electoral process and in the further consolidation of democracy in Ukraine". The Obama administration criticised the conduct of the elections, saying they "did not meet standards for openness and fairness."Ukraine's Ballot Flawed, U.S. Says

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

(November 4, 2010) The National Democratic Institute stated on November 2, 2010: “The environment surrounding Ukraine’s October 31 local elections has deteriorated compared to the situation during the presidential election earlier this year.”

References

External links

Results of the elections, preliminary data, on interactive maps
by

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...

(November 8, 2010)
Local Elections in Ukraine Analysis and Perspectives
by

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

{{Ukrainian Elections 2010

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

Ukrainian local elections

Rescheduling of election date

Restrictions for political parties

Electoral issues

Regional exceptions

Costs

Results

International reactions

See also

References

External links