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The EU and Ukraine: Hapeless but Not Hopeless

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The EU and Ukraine: Hapeless but Not Hopeless >> POLICY BRIEF ISSN: 1989-2667 Nº 141 - NOVEMBER 2012 The EU and Ukraine: hapless but not hopeless Natalia Shapovalova and Balazs Jarabik Since his democratic victory in 2010, Ukrainian President Viktor >> Yanukovych has asserted his control over Ukraine’s political system by arresting leaders of the opposition, restricting freedom of assembly and HIGHLIGHTS speech and allegedly enriching himself and his close circle in the process. This has jeopardised Ukraine’s declared goal of European integration and • The October polls exposed has pushed the country into greater isolation from the West. Ukraine's corrupted political Last October’s parliamentary elections were meant to be a litmus test for system, but also the democracy in Ukraine. Amidst allegations of fraud in some districts, the resilience of Ukrainian polls exposed the abuse of power and corruption present in Ukraine's society to an illiberal political political system. However, the results also demonstrated some level of regime. resilience against an illiberal political regime. The opposition did better • The incumbent Party of than expected and must now use its gains wisely to resist further regime consolidation by building on popular discontent with the ruling party. Regions will have to ally with The future is uncertain: the country's further democratisation is in the independent candidates to hands of Ukrainians. As for the EU, it is also facing its own litmus test in form a narrow majority in its relations with Ukraine. Its room for manoeuvre is squeezed between Parliament. the Ukrainian opposition’s calls for sanctions and the need for dialogue with the Yanukovych government. While the EU looks hapless in the • Ukraine's democratisation East, its relations with Ukraine need not be hopeless. The EU must find is in the hands of its citizens: a middle ground and position itself as a power broker before the 2015 the EU should enhance its presidential elections. engagement with civil society and support grassroots initiatives. UKRAINE'S RELATIONS WITH EUROPE Since mid-2010, when Ukraine's democratic regression under Yanukovych became evident to all, the EU has voiced its criticism, THE EU AND UKRAINE: HAPLESS BUT NOT HOPELESS 2 >>>>>> frozen its aid, downgraded the political dialogue dozen districts, candidates from Yanukovych’s and, most importantly, put the signature of the Party of Regions (PoR) tried to reverse the EU-Ukrainian Association Agreement on hold. electoral results by any possible means, from In May 2010, European leaders boycotted the delaying vote tabulation to annulling the summit of Central and Eastern European elections through court rulings and using police countries convened in Yalta. Many of them also force to oust observers, journalists and ignored the 2012 European football supporters to shield electoral fraud. While the championship held in Ukraine and Poland. central authorities merely watched, the prime Germany's Angela Merkel even called Ukraine ‘a minister was the only government official who dictatorship’ similar to Belarus. New member reacted, stating that the authorities had nothing states, such as Poland, have been critical too, to do with the troubled vote counting. while advocating continued dialogue for the sake of not ‘losing Ukraine’. Free and fair elections, The 2011 election law reintroduced the mixed redressing cases of selective justice against electoral system that existed before the Orange opposition leaders and reforming the judiciary revolution. Whereas the 2006 and 2007 were put forward as conditions to move towards parliamentary elections were based on the Association Agreement. proportional representation, in October half of the new Ukrainian parliament was elected But this approach does not seem to be working. through closed party lists in a single nationwide Ukrainian authorities have opened a new case constituency and the other half through first- against former premier Yulia Tymoshenko, while past-the-post contests in 225 single-mandate the appeal sentence in the case of former interior constituencies. The introduction of the majority minister Yuriy Lutsenko has increased his prison vote in single-mandate constituencies was seen term to six years. The Donetsk-grown elite seems to favour candidates from the ruling party and to be sending a clear message to Ukrainians and rich independent candidates. Moreover, not all the West: this is our country and we will govern parties received fair representation in the election it our way. committees. YANUKOVYCH’S JANUS FACE UKRAINE'S RESILIENCE The recent Ukrainian parliamentary elections In line with pre-election public opinion polls have shown the two faces of the current ruling and the six exit polls, five parties overcame the 5 class. The first face ensured a relatively peaceful per cent threshold to enter parliament. and calm election day, thus pleasing the West. Yanukovych's PoR received 30 per cent of votes. Election results for the party lists largely coincided The united opposition Batkivshchyna with six exit polls shown across Ukrainian TV (Motherland) Party that had to run without its stations. International observers’ first reactions leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, obtained 25.54 per were cold but not devastating. The Office for cent. Led by world box champion Vitaliy Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Klitschko, the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance Organisation for Security and Cooperation in for Reforms (UDAR; means strike, punch) came Europe (ODIHR-OSCE) disapproved of the third with 13.96 per cent. The Communists and electoral campaign for being unfair, pointing to the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) Party got the lack of a level playing field, but considered the more votes than expected, with 13.18 per cent voting and counting process positively. and 10.44 per cent, respectively. The second and true face of the Ukrainian As predicted, the ruling party prevailed in the regime revealed itself after the elections. In a single-mandate constituencies, in which PoR POLICY BRIEF - Nº 141 - NOVEMBER 2012 3 candidates won 113 out of 225 seats. This gives The positive results for extreme left-wing and the PoR the largest parliamentary faction – 185 extreme right-wing parties can be partly mandates. The united opposition Batkivschyna explained by the protest mood among the Party now has 101 representatives; Klitschko's Ukrainian population. The Communists UDAR 40; Svoboda 37; and the Communists 32. improved their results in relation to the 2007 Fifty seats were won by independent and small elections due to the growing disappointment of party representatives. Five seats emanating from eastern and southern voters with the PoR and its the problematic single-mandate constituencies anti-social policies. Though the Communists will remain vacant. The Central Election joined a coalition with Yanukovych's party in Committee stated that it could not endorse the 2010, in October’s elections they managed to results due to violations of electoral standards and present themselves as an opposition party to the offered a re-run. current capitalist rule. Svoboda started to rise in the 2010 local elections, but its impact was UDAR and Svoboda are newcomers. Their suc - limited to Western Ukraine. Its success owes to a cess is mainly due to an increasing popular number of factors. First, it presented itself as a demand for new faces in politics. UDAR ran on traditional party with a clear ideology and party a liberal economic programme of strict anti-cor - activists (not rich businessmen) on its lists, and ruption policies, lower taxes and a better busi - seems to be free of oligarch funding (their ness climate for campaign spending was one of the lowest). small and medium Second, it is perceived as a more radical enterprises. The par - opposition, capable of standing against the Ukrainian ty owes its populari - strong hand of the PoR in parliament. Finally, society in both ty to its leader, voters reacted against PoR policies that favoured Vitaliy Klitschko, the Russian-speaking population and diminished the east and who entered the the status of the Ukrainian language. Whereas Kiev City Council the Communists are pro-Russian and support west of the country in 2006 and twice Ukraine's integration in the Moscow-led has shown a ran for mayor. As his Customs Union, the Svoboda is anti-Russian and personal popularity is against Ukraine's membership in the desire for gradually increases Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). some believe that he However, both parties have adopted leftist a different kind intends to run as the economic programmes. of politics main opposition candidate against On the positive side, this electoral campaign has and politicians Viktor Yanukovych proven that wealth is not enough to win votes. in the 2015 presi - While it can be said that the campaign was dential elections. largely a competition between rich pockets, with UDAR is the first spending estimated at around $2.5 billion, opposition party to score evenly in all regions Ukrainians are not easy to buy. The oligarch- (except in Donbass and Crimea), thereby easing sponsored political party of Natalia Korolevska, the East-West divide. However, dependence on 'Ukraine – Forward!', that spent around $150 strong personal leadership is UDAR’s main million on its campaign, gained only 1.58 per weakness as it lacks a clear political platform and cent of votes. In Kiev there was another surprise. may end up having the same fate as Yulia Despite the ruling party’s generous spending on Tymoshenko’s block. The latter lost every fifth political advertisement and gifts to voters, it was member of the Parliament since the former unable to win a single seat there. In contrast, the prime minister was defeated in the 2010 presi - opposition candidates that did not have access dential elections. to media and public spaces and had to rely >>>>>> THE EU AND UKRAINE: HAPLESS BUT NOT HOPELESS 4 >>>>>> mainly on door-to-door campaigning obtained population. The opposition did not win a good results.
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