Inside Ukraine: Ukraine is an electoral democracy! Now what?
Author: ICPS Director Olga Shumylo ICPS Senior Analyst Ihor Shevliakov ICPS Analyst Maria Gutsman
Publisher: International Centre for Policy Studies, Kyiv, Ukraine
13-A Pymonenka Str.
04050 Kyiv
Ukraine
Tel: +380 44 484 4400
Fax: +380 44 484 4402
http://www.icps.kiev.ua
(attached in English and Ukrainian)
The OSCE and other international observers have been unanimous in their conclusions: the first round of Ukraine’s Presidential election was both fair and transparent. Still, it’s not clear for what and why Ukrainian voters cast their ballots. What impact did the international community have on this election?
This month, Ukrainians went to the ballot box with heavy hearts. Most of them were making “a choice with no choice” among the 18 candidates running for president—most of whom have already been, or currently, are in power, from the Verkhovna Rada (VR) to local government. While nearly 85% of voters felt disenchanted with those in office and close to 60% had little faith that this election would bring positive change, a good two thirds, 67%, went to the polls.
The Orange Revolution showed Ukrainians that elections are virtually the only instrument they can use to influence politicians: however imperfect,
they at least offer some hope of change. Still, voting is a far cry from a panacea: 47% of voters believe that their participation in this election will not affect the future of the country, and a similar percentage expects it to have no major impact on politicians.
The battle for the top seat in the land has been heated. Despite the considerable constraints on presidential power, the main candidates still see the Presidency as the ultimate objective. The President’s veto power and ability to seize the Constitutional Court afford him/her considerable influence over the rest of government. The post also attracts politicians because of the President’s power to nominate candidates for important positions, namely those of Governor of the National Bank and of Prosecutor General, and to appoint oblast governors and heads of county state administrations.
Mere weeks before the ballot, voters’ expectations regarding the honesty of the process were not heartening: only 4.5% said they thought the election would be fair and free of violations. 41.4% saw potentially result-altering violations as possible, while 15.7% expected the vote to be rigged altogether. Meanwhile, politicians of all stripes fed voter distrust via mutual accusations. Charges of ill-will and abuse of “administrative resources,” i.e. the inappropriate use of public institutions, abounded.
As it happened, the optimistic expectations of the international community proved accurate. The election was fair and in line with both Ukrainian legislation and international standards. According to the OSCE election observation mission, “…the first round… was of high quality and showed significant progress over previous elections … [it] met most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments.”
Inside_Ukraine_UKR_4_Jan_2010.pdf (390.71 kB)
Inside_Ukraine_ENG_4_Jan_2010.pdf (416.30 kB)
