Ukraine Politics
Ukraine is a parliamentary democracy with separate executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Ukraine has a parliamentary-presidential system of government with separate executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Ukraine's presidency was initially the pre-eminent post in the Ukrainian government and economic and legal reform was primarily dependent on the president's support. The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and may veto legislation. The 450-member parliament (Supreme Rada) initiates legislation, ratifies international agreements, and approves the budget. Its members were elected to four-year terms in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006.
Initially the prime minister was appointed and dismissed by the president, although his/her appointment is subject to parliamentary approval. The prime minister nominated and the president appointed the members of the Cabinets of Ministers. The prime minister can also be removed by a majority vote in the Verkhovna Rada. Should the prime minister be removed, the entire Cabinet of Ministers resigns.
Amendments to the Constitution that took effect January 1, 2006, shifted significant powers from the president to the prime minister and Supreme Rada. The constitution was amended to transfer power, especially with respect to appointment of ministers, from the president to the prime minister. Beginning in 2006, a majority of deputies in the 450-member unicameral parliament (Supreme Rada) forms a coalition, which then names the prime minister, who in turn nominates other ministers. The president nominates the defense and foreign ministers, and the Prosecutor General and Chief of the State Security Service (SBU), each of whom must be confirmed by the parliament.
2006 - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych
Ukraine held parliamentary and local elections on March 26, 2006. International observers noted that conduct of the Rada election was in line with international standards for democratic elections, making this the most free and fair in Ukraine's history. Unlike the first rounds of the 2004 presidential election, candidates and parties were able to express themselves freely in a lively press and assembled without hindrance. There was no systemic abuse of administrative resources as there had been under the previous regime.
The Party of Regions and the bloc of former Prime Minster Tymoshenko (BYuT), whose government the President dismissed in September 2005, finished ahead of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc. Other parties passing the 3% threshold to enter parliament were the Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Communist Party of Ukraine. According to final election results, five parties in the chamber were: the pro-Russian opposition Regions Party with 186 seats in the legislature, Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc with 129, President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine with 81, the Socialists with 33 and the Communists with 21.
No party held the majority of Rada seats needed to form a government. Following four months of difficult negotiations, the Anti-Crisis Coalition was formed by Party of Regions, the Socialists, and the Communists. The new coalition formed a government, confirmed August 4, 2006, led by Prime Minister Yanukovych. This, the first government formed after the extensive constitutional amendments brokered as part of the Orange Revolution, saw the Prime Minister's influence and power growing, often at the expense of the President.
2007 - Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko
President Yushchenko dissolved the Rada on April 3, 2007 and called for preterm elections. Months of political stalemate followed, with the Anti-Crisis Coalition continuing to hold Rada sessions, even after opposition parties Our Ukraine and BYuT resigned their seats and deprived the parliament of a constitutional quorum. On May 27, President Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yanukovych, and Rada Speaker Olexandr Moroz reached a political agreement on new elections that were held on September 30, 2007. International observers judged this vote to be in line with international democratic standards in an open and competitive environment. Party of Regions finished in first place with 34.3%, and ByuT came in second with 30.7%. BYuT and Our Ukraine, which came in a distant third (14.1%), garnered enough votes to form a thin three-seat majority. The Communist Party and Bloc Lytvyn, headed by Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, also crossed the 3% threshold.
The new coalition formed on December 18, 2007 nominated Yuliya Tymoshenko as Prime Minister; she was confirmed December 18, 2007. The cabinet was split 50-50 between representatives from BYuT and Our Ukraine (which is now called Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense). For most of February 2008, there was a deadlock within the Rada due to objections by opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions to Ukraine’s request for a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The Rada experienced a deadlock again during summer 2008 due to the defection of two BYuT members of parliament (MPs), resulting in the party’s loss of the majority. In July, Yuliya Tymoshenko’s government survived a vote of no confidence.
Mutual recriminations between president Yushchenko and prime minister Tymoshenko quickly surfaced again in 2008. In September 2008, the coalition between Tymoshenko and Yushchenko’s parties collapsed. On September 2, a majority of OU-PSD MPs voted to leave the coalition with BYuT, charging that BYuT was actively working with Party of Regions to weaken the presidency. On October 8, president Yuschenko the Rada and called for pre-term Rada elections blaming BYuT for the collapse of the coalition. PM Tymoshenko opposed pre-term elections, citing the unfolding domestic economic crisis as requiring political continuity and stability. The Rada did not pass necessary legislation to fund pre-term elections. A new coalition was formed between the former Orange allies, along with the Lytvyn Bloc, at the beginning of December 2008; however, this new coalition had not resolved disagreements between the President and Prime Minister. The Rada voted to have presidential elections on October 25, 2009, but the Constitutional Court ruled this date unconstitutional. In late November, Yushchenko rescinded his decree dissolving the Rada. On December 16, 2008, a new coalition was formed between BYuT, a majority of OU-PSD and Volodymyr Lytvyn's bloc, with Lytvyn as Rada Speaker.
Ukraine elections were scheduled on 27 January, 2010. On 19 ctober 2009 Ukraine officially launched the presidential election campaign, the first since the 2004 "orange revolution" that swept Viktor Yushchenko to power. Yushchenko was running for reelection, but with poll ratings in the low single digits is unlikely to win the January contest. Opinion polls pointed to Viktor Yanukovych, the president's opponent in the 2004 race, as a leading contender, along with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Analysts predict both will go into a runoff vote. Ukrainians hope the election will end several years of political infighting, which has complicated decision-making in the country.
