On May 21st Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree dissolving the parliament, after vowing to do so on the previous day, during his inauguration speech. The date of the snap elections was set as July 21st.
The reason he gave was that the MPs weren’t attempting to solve the people’s problems, but rather they were the problem.
“Allow me to quote one American actor who has become a great American president: “The government does not solve our problems. The government is our problem.”
I do not understand our government that only shrugs and says: “There is nothing we can do.” Not true. You can. You can take a sheet of paper and a pen and free your seats for those who think about the next generations and not about the next election! Do it and people will appreciate that.
Your applause is pretty light…I guess not everyone likes what I’m saying? Too bad, since it’s not me, but the Ukrainian people who is saying that.”
In the upcoming elections, Zelensky’s new party “Servant of the People,” with his campaign manager Dmytro Razumkov as its head would interview possible candidates for MPs, who need to be “highly moral.”
Razumkov, the director of a political consulting company, got his start in politics as a member of the former Party of Regions of Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted from power by the Maidan Coup in 2014.
The contenders in the upcoming elections are several:
- Zelensky’s Servant of the People platform;
- Opposition Platform – For Life;
- European Solidarity – the rebranded Petro Poroshenko Bloc;
- All-Ukrainian Union – Fatherland, whose main contender is former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko;
According to recent opinion polls by IAP, SM & UICD, Rating between May 16th and 29th, Zelensky’s leading the race with approximately 40%, with the Opposition Platform lagging behind with approximately 12%, and European Solidarity behind with about 9%. Following them is Tymoshenko’s Fatherland with about 9%, too.
Apart from the main contenders, the Strength and Honor Civic Movement, led by Col. General Ihor P. Smeshko and other intelligence officials has an opinion poll around the entry point of 5%.
The same goes for Anatoliy Hrytsenko’s Civic Position, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk’s Voice and Oleh Lyashko’s Radical Party.
The People’s Front, formed by former Fatherland members, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleksandr Turchynov were completely unmentioned, despite being the second biggest party in the Ukrainian parliament following the 2014 coalition, behind the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.
That is also probably due to the Party challenging Zelensky’s decision to dissolve the parliament in the Ukrainian Constitutional court.
MPs from the People’s Front faction Andriy Teteruk and Ihor Alekseyev submitted a motion to challenge the decision.
“The legal position on the unconstitutionality of the presidential act is set out in a constitutional motion. It came to the Constitutional Court today. Sixty-two deputies signed the motion. We expect the court to first determine a reporting judge who will prepare all the documents as part of this case, and then the court will continue to consider this case on the merits,” Alekseyev said.
Separately, on May 24th the Petro Poroshenko Bloc was rebranded as European Solidarity, and its first congress was to be held on May 31st.
“At the party congress, scheduled for May 31, we will take into account most of the ideas that will be voiced today at the Solidarity of Communities forum, and these positions will definitely be included in the program documents of the renewed party,” former President Petro Poroshenko posted on Twitter.
На великому з’їзді партії, який відбудеться 31 травня, ми врахуємо більшість думок, які сьогодні будуть озвучені на форумі «Солідарна Справа Громад», і ці позиції точно увійдуть у програмні документи оновленої партії pic.twitter.com/y661D2jk5W
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) May 24, 2019
On May 31st, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc was officially rebranded as European Solidarity, which is presumably a “modernized, contemporary and cool party,” with “new faces, young active leaders.”
‘A young active leader’ Petro Poroshenko was voted as its leader.
"Європейська солідарність" – модернізована, сучасна, класна партія!
Це партія нових облич, молодих активних лідерів. Однак, люди з досвідом теж потрібні, і тому, всупереч моді, досвідчені політики теж будуть у нашій команді. Це – наша принципова позиція. @Euro_Solidarity pic.twitter.com/EFoNubO9eo
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) May 31, 2019
The biggest election promise was for Ukraine to continue “moving towards the EU and NATO,” and that Poroshenko would continue defending Ukraine from “Russian aggression.”
Ми йдемо, щоб Україна продовжила рух до ЄС та НАТО.@Euro_Solidarity йде на вибори не за посадами. Ми йдемо, щоб захистити досягнення останніх 5 років і не лише у питаннях мови, армії, віри. Ми йдемо, щоб не допустити російського реваншу.
Разом захистимо країну! pic.twitter.com/ohvTxJ1Hc7
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) June 1, 2019
Petro Poroshenko’s assistance in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine’s tomos also brings in support from that side, but it’s dubious how effective it would be. Since the situation was not much different in the presidential elections and he lost by a landslide.
Rather than to make things easier on the Ukrainian people, the autocephaly rather exacerbated the situation. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) notes a significant deterioration in the situation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in connection with the provision of autocephaly of the Orthodox Church Of Ukraine (OCU).
This was further exacerbated when on May 24th the Holy Synod of the OCU announced that clerics from the autocephalous church could become deputies of local governments. Essentially, OCU priests can take part in the election and be elected as local representatives.
У Києві під головуванням Митрополита Київського і всієї України Епіфанія відбулося засідання священного Синоду УПЦ. Дивіться брифінг за підсумками зустрічі.
Posted by ТСН on Friday, May 24, 2019
“At the local level, with the blessing of one or another bishop, a priest has the right to take part in elections to the city council, village or territorial community. That is, with the blessing of the bishop, he can occupy only a position that is not a permanent position,” Metropolitan Epiphanius said.
The clergy of the OCU cannot be deputies in the Ukrainian parliament, the head of the OCU said. “The clergy have no right to participate directly, to be candidates,” he said.
This split decision about the participation of the OCU in Ukrainian elections is logical if one looks at a wider background:
- One of the key goals, if not the main one, of the OCU creation was an attempt to seize properties and churches of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. This plan was supported by then President Petro Poroshenko. He saw the creation of the OCU as a useful PR step and a tool to fuel anti-Russian tensions;
- By now, the OCU has achieved only limited results in its plans to seize all christian property in the country. A split within the OCU and the low popularity of Poroshenko’s bloc are among the key reasons. At the same time, the OCU has no deep ties with new President Zelenksy, at least now;
- In the established situation, the OCU is seeking additional political tools and opportunities to expand its influence and achieve own economic goals. On the country level, it’s strongly associated with Poroshenko. This fact may do a disservice to the OCU. So, the local level remains the obvious point to employ efforts. The increasing OCU presence in local administrations would also allow the entity to continue seizing orthodox property under various pretexts, thus increasing wealth of the OCU leaders.
Polls showed that 52% of people said that they would not vote for the European Solidarity party under any circumstance.
Furthermore, according to polls there is a growing demand for radical changes in the country, with 87% wanting to change things completely, with only 5% wanting to bring stability to the current situation and only 6% wanting to return to the past status quo.
More than 70% of respondents support the idea of dissolving parliament and holding early elections.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
I wouldn’t be surprised that come the next presidential elections Ukraine is such a mess that Poroshenko will re-emerge as the new savior of the fatherland, riding a new electoral high. Such seems to be the mercurial state of mind of the Ukrainian electorate. Swing swing swing.
In search of the source of their woes, the good people of Ukraine have looked in every direction–except inward. Small wonder they never get it quite right.
Not just the good people of the Ukraine I’m afraid.
‘In the upcoming elections, Zelensky’s new party “Servant of the People,”with his campaign manager Dmytro Razumkov as its head would interview possible candidates for MPs, who need to be “highly moral.”
Here we go – Zelensky’s patron, the international criminal and oligarch, Kolomoisky wants complete power in Ukraine, and is taking the electoral gamble that by dissolving the current parliament he can finance and promote more candidates, under Zelensky, to gain control of parliament.
Some parallels also here with Macron. He rode his image as a New&Improved president to a parliamentary majority. Once he had thus consolidated his power, he was in a position to tell French voters what he really thought of them.
I would also say Trump as these are the answers to growing populism proffered up to assuage the masses – interesting how close assuage sounds to Asange.
I paste my response to the article here as I reference your comment
——————— An interesting read and the article had some substance to it.
Bob and Ma_Laoshi have nailed it.
One set of elites replacing another set of incompetent elites – so drain the 120 proof Khortytsa swamp to make room for Zelensky… I mean Kolomoisky’s 80 proof Khortysa swamp which will show Poroshenko the proper way to loot Ukraine in not quite so much of a drunken stupor.
Lastly, the poll numbers are interesting as they show very high dissatisfaction among Ukrainians – 52% never vote for Poroshenko under any circumstances!!! What I would like to know is what changes the 87% of the Ukrainian people want given the article does not say.
But not surprising, in Western style democracy, what the people want is a problem to overcome and let us keep the unwashed masses desires out of the headlines, especially if it is so high a percentage as 87% – the higher the %, the higher the risk democracy will be subverted, that is, the people actually get what they desire. That catastrophe must never happen as democracy must be vigorously defended (for the 1% residing in any country but Ukraine)
An interesting read and the article had some substance to it.
Bob and Ma_Laoshi have nailed it.
One set of elites replacing another set of incompetent elites – so drain the 120 proof Khortytsa swamp to make room for Zelensky… I mean Kolomoisky’s 80 proof Khortysa swamp which will show Poroshenko the proper way to loot Ukraine in not quite so much of a drunken stupor.
Lastly, the poll numbers are interesting as they show very high dissatisfaction among Ukrainian – 52% never vote for Poroshenko under any circumstances!!! What I would like to know is what changes the 87% of the Ukrainian people want given the article does not say.
But not surprising, in Western style democracy, what the people want is a problem to overcome and let us keep the unwashed masses desires out of the headlines, especially if it is so high a percentage as 87% – the higher the %, the higher the risk democracy will be subverted, that is, the people actually get what they desire. That catastrophe must never happen as democracy must be vigorously defended (for the 1% residing in any country but Ukraine)
It seems to me that ‘nice’ moral people in Ukraine do not last very long, and the ones representing oligarchs with powerful militia run the show, especially when the show’s producer is exceptional.