Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2002
Encyclopedia
Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2002 took place on March 31. Half of the deputies to Verkhovna Rada
(parliament of Ukraine
) were elected on proportional basis, while the other half were elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies. In order to gain any (proportional) seats in Verkhovna Rada a party needed to receive at least 4% of the popular vote.
The other blocks and parties collected in total 24% votes, but didn't pass the 4% barrier. Four (4) more parties managed to obtain representation in the single-mandate constituency. Among other major factions were Nataliya Vitrenko
Block with 3.22%, "Women for the Future" Political Union with 2.11%, and "Team of Winter Generation" block with 2.02%. The final election results differed greatly from the final opinion poll
. The 2002 parliamentary elections were the first that substantially reduced fragmentation of the Verkhovna Rada
and laid groundwork for consolidation of political views in the parliament.
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine
gathered most of its support from western and central regions of Ukraine, including the city of Kiev
. The Communist Party received most of its votes from eastern and southern regions, as well as from Crimea
. For United Ukraine
block, which included Victor Yanukovych's Party of Regions, got most of its votes from eastern regions of Ukraine. Donetsk Oblast
was the stronghold of the block, where it received more than twice the number of votes (36.83%) compared to the next highest supporting region: Sumy Oblast
with 17.05% of the region's voters. Yulia Tymoshenko
's block's
support came predominantly from western regions, while the Socialists were most supported in the central regions. While the Tymoshenko block received more of the national vote compared to the Socialist Party, it did not gain a plurality in any of the regions, while the Socialist Party managed to secure plurality of votes in Poltava Oblast
with 22.05%.
left there (original) fraction to join another fraction.
|-
|style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Parties and alliances
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Number of seats on May 15, 2002
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|Number of seats on January 2, 2003
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|
|-
|align=left|Viktor Yushchenko Bloc Our Ukraine
|valign=top|119
|valign=top|102
|valign=top| 17 seats
|-
|align=left|Communist Party of Ukraine
|valign=top|64
|valign=top|60
|valign=top| 4 seats
|-
|align=left|For United Ukraine
|valign=top|175
|valign=top|191
|valign=top| 16 seats
|-
|align=left|Electoral Bloc Yuliya Tymoshenko
|valign=top|23
|valign=top|18
|valign=top| 5 seats
|-
|align=left|Socialist Party of Ukraine
|valign=top|22
|valign=top|20
|valign=top| 2 seats
|-
|align=left|United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine
|valign=top|31
|valign=top|40
|valign=top| 9 seats
|-
|colspan=5 align=left|Source: Virtual Politics - Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World, Andrew Wilson
, Yale University Press
, 2005, ISBN 0-300-09545-7
|}
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
(parliament of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) were elected on proportional basis, while the other half were elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies. In order to gain any (proportional) seats in Verkhovna Rada a party needed to receive at least 4% of the popular vote.
Election result by popular vote
Out of 33 political parties and blocks, which participated in the election, 6 parties passed the required 4% barrier, and reserved seats in the parliament:- Viktor YushchenkoViktor YushchenkoViktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
Block "Our UkraineOur UkraineThe Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc is an electoral alliance active in Ukraine, associated with former President Viktor Yushchenko. Since 2005, the bloc has been dominated by a core consisting of the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party and five smaller partner parties.The Our Ukraine Bloc is...
" 23.57% - Communist Party of UkraineCommunist Party of UkraineThe Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
19.98% - United Ukraine Block 11.77%
- Yulia Tymoshenko BlockYulia Tymoshenko Electoral BlocThe Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc is the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko. In Verkhovna Rada the party's faction is led by Ivan Kyrylenko. On 16 November 2010 this faction was officially renamed “Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivschyna”...
7.26% - Socialist Party of UkraineSocialist Party of UkraineThe Socialist Party of Ukraine is a Socialist political party in Ukraine and part of the Verkhovna Rada from 1994 to 2007.It is one of the oldest parties and was created by the former members of the Communist Party of Ukraine in late 1991 when the Communist Party was banned...
6.87% - United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine 6.27%
The other blocks and parties collected in total 24% votes, but didn't pass the 4% barrier. Four (4) more parties managed to obtain representation in the single-mandate constituency. Among other major factions were Nataliya Vitrenko
Nataliya Vitrenko
Nataliya Mikhailivna Vitrenko is a Ukrainian politician and scientist. She has a Ph.D in Statistics and Dr. of Social Sciences. She is a mother of three children.-Presidential candidacy:...
Block with 3.22%, "Women for the Future" Political Union with 2.11%, and "Team of Winter Generation" block with 2.02%. The final election results differed greatly from the final opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
. The 2002 parliamentary elections were the first that substantially reduced fragmentation of the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
and laid groundwork for consolidation of political views in the parliament.
Yushchenko's Our Ukraine
Our Ukraine
The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc is an electoral alliance active in Ukraine, associated with former President Viktor Yushchenko. Since 2005, the bloc has been dominated by a core consisting of the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party and five smaller partner parties.The Our Ukraine Bloc is...
gathered most of its support from western and central regions of Ukraine, including the city of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. The Communist Party received most of its votes from eastern and southern regions, as well as from Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. For United Ukraine
For United Ukraine
For United Ukraine was a political alliance and an electoral bloc in Ukraine founded in December 2001 to participate in the parliamentary election in held on March 30, 2002.-2002 parliamentary election:...
block, which included Victor Yanukovych's Party of Regions, got most of its votes from eastern regions of Ukraine. Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Donetsk. Historically, the province is an important part of the Donbas region...
was the stronghold of the block, where it received more than twice the number of votes (36.83%) compared to the next highest supporting region: Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast is an oblast in the northeastern part of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy.Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka....
with 17.05% of the region's voters. Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
's block's
Yulia Tymoshenko Electoral Bloc
The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc is the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko. In Verkhovna Rada the party's faction is led by Ivan Kyrylenko. On 16 November 2010 this faction was officially renamed “Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivschyna”...
support came predominantly from western regions, while the Socialists were most supported in the central regions. While the Tymoshenko block received more of the national vote compared to the Socialist Party, it did not gain a plurality in any of the regions, while the Socialist Party managed to secure plurality of votes in Poltava Oblast
Poltava Oblast
Poltava Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava.Other important cities within the oblast include: Komsomolsk, Kremenchuk, Lubny and Myrhorod.-Geography:...
with 22.05%.
Fraction changes after the election
After the new Parliament was installed numerous MPsMPS
MPS may refer to:* Robinson List, aka Mail Preference Service, direct mail opt-out system* Malmin Palloseura, association football club from Helsinki, Finland.* Marginal propensity to save* Master Production Schedule...
left there (original) fraction to join another fraction.
|-
|style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Parties and alliances
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Number of seats on May 15, 2002
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|Number of seats on January 2, 2003
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|
|-
|align=left|Viktor Yushchenko Bloc Our Ukraine
|valign=top|119
|valign=top|102
|valign=top|
17 seats|-
|align=left|Communist Party of Ukraine
Communist Party of Ukraine
The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine, currently led by Petro Symonenko.The party fights the Ukrainian national self-determination by identifying any Ukrainian national parties as the National-Fascist ones The Communist Party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine,...
|valign=top|64
|valign=top|60
|valign=top|
4 seats|-
|align=left|For United Ukraine
For United Ukraine
For United Ukraine was a political alliance and an electoral bloc in Ukraine founded in December 2001 to participate in the parliamentary election in held on March 30, 2002.-2002 parliamentary election:...
|valign=top|175
|valign=top|191
|valign=top|
16 seats|-
|align=left|Electoral Bloc Yuliya Tymoshenko
|valign=top|23
|valign=top|18
|valign=top|
5 seats|-
|align=left|Socialist Party of Ukraine
Socialist Party of Ukraine
The Socialist Party of Ukraine is a Socialist political party in Ukraine and part of the Verkhovna Rada from 1994 to 2007.It is one of the oldest parties and was created by the former members of the Communist Party of Ukraine in late 1991 when the Communist Party was banned...
|valign=top|22
|valign=top|20
|valign=top|
2 seats|-
|align=left|United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine
|valign=top|31
|valign=top|40
|valign=top|
9 seats|-
|colspan=5 align=left|Source: Virtual Politics - Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World, Andrew Wilson
Andrew Wilson (historian)
Andrew Wilson is a historian and political scientist specializing in Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine. He is a senior lecturer in Ukrainian studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London...
, Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
, 2005, ISBN 0-300-09545-7
|}
External links
Central Election Commission of Ukraine Relatively in-depth analysis of the election (PDF) by GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org
GlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...