Right-wing nationalist parties dominate Ukrainian parliamentary elections

[newthinking]

Right-wing nationalist parties dominate Ukrainian parliamentary elections
By Andrea Peters
27 October 2014

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine Sunday delivered victories to a number of right-wing nationalist parties in a vote that was boycotted by the vast majority of the electorate in the country’s east. Exit polls indicate that the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, obtained 23 percent of ballots cast, followed by the People’s Front of current Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, which garnered upwards of 21 percent. Trailing behind these two blocs was the Self Help Party, which reportedly got just over 13 percent of the vote.

Polls closed at 8:00 pm local time, and as of this writing, turnout is estimated at about 40 percent, with large differences between the east and west of the country. If accurate, this would represent a major decline in the overall level of voter participation compared to previous elections. In Ukraine’s 2012 parliamentary race, 57.4 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, according to data available from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

It is estimated that between three and five million eligible voters concentrated in the east and southeast of the country—between ten and twenty percent of the total electorate—did not participate in the elections. Elections were not held in Donetsk or the Luhansk People’s Republic, which declared the October 26 vote a “farce” and scheduled their own votes for early November.

Even in areas under the central government’s control, turnout was low in regions with widespread popular hostility towards the Kiev regime. The Central Election Committee estimated voter participation in the southwestern city of Odessa at just 13.2 percent, and in Donetsk and Luhansk at 14.6 and 13.1 percent respectively. In May, dozens were killed in Odessa when pro-Kiev fascist forces trapped anti-government protesters in the local trade union building, massacring them and then setting the building alight.

President Poroshenko has said he is prepared to form a government with the all of the “parties of the Maidan,” referring to those political forces that backed the right-wing coup that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych last February. In addition to his own bloc, the People’s Front, and the Self Help Party, this includes the far-right Radical Party of Oleh Lyaschko, the ultra-nationalist Svoboda Party, and the Fatherland Party of oligarch Yulia Tymoshenko, which respectively won 6.4 percent, 6.3 percent, and 5.6 percent of the vote, according to early estimates.

Full Story:
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/10/27/elec-o27.html

[Duckhunter935]

1. What bull pucky that is

The 27 October preliminary results indicated that the Petro Poroshenko Bloc had won the most seats (132 seats) in the election (because of its lead in single-seat constituencies) with the People's Front (who gained more votes than the Petro Poroshenko Bloc on the nationwide party list[23]) coming second with 82 seats.[23][24] 100 independent candidates seemed to win a seat in single-seat constituencies.[24] Self Reliance seemed to have won 33 seats, the Opposition Bloc 29 seats, the Radical Party 22 seats, Fatherland 19 seats, Svoboda 6 seats, Right Sector 1 seat, Strong Ukraine 1 seat, Volia 1 seat, and Zastup also 1 seat.[24] These preliminary results indicated that for the first time since Ukraine's 1991 independence Communists would have no parliamentary representation.[24][23][25] Voter turnout in the election appeared to be 51.2%.[21] This would be less than the 57% turnout in the previous 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[26]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_parliamentary_election,_2014

wow, 7 whole seats to the far right some have been saying dominate the Ukrainian government. Barely enough over the 5% threshold to even get a seat.

That is a huge majority. not to mention the international observers that certified it free and fair. So will the pro-Russia side live up to the Minsk agreement or break it and have illegal elections and better yet will international observers be there to observe?

KYIV, 27 March 2006 - The 26 March parliamentary elections in Ukraine further consolidated the breakthrough in the conduct of a democratic election process that began less than a year and a half ago. Overall, fundamental civil and political rights were respected. This enabled voters to make informed choices between distinct alternatives and to freely and fairly express their will, concludes the International Election Observation Mission in a statement released in Kyiv today.

The mission deployed over 900 observers, including 200 members of parliaments, from 45 countries to observe the elections.

"These elections can only be described as free and fair, and so it is the Ukrainian people who are the real winners," said OSCE PA President Alcee Hastings, appointed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office as the Special Co-ordinator for the short-term observers.

http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/47195

[newthinking]

2. I know reality is inconvenient to the narrative coming from Kiev

There is no denying that "People's Front" is far right - Heck, it was formed with neo-nazi leaders who left other groups (Svoboda, Right Sector, "Patriot Party", UNA-UNSO )

Kiev is being advised by western PR companies and knows very well that they needed to make it appear like the more familiar names have been marginalized.

Brilliant strategy to form a new party under the PM for cover. Only problem is it is difficult to keep that under wraps in the era of the internet.

From the Kyiv Post:

Turchynov, Avakov, Parubiy and commanders of special battalions included in military council of People's Front

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/turchynov-avakov-parubiy-and-commanders-of-special-battalions-included-in-military-council-of-peoples-front-364326.html

Parubiy is one of the heads of "Svoboda". This alliance also includes Andriy Biletsky, the head of the “Azov” battalion, the most openly fascist of the paramilitary battalions. Biletsky is also the leader of the Social-National Assembly of Ukraine and it’s paramilitary wing Patriot of Ukraine, (essentially the most violent and militant of the neo-nazi groups in Ukraine).


From wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_of_Ukraine)

"The Patriot of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Патріо́т Украї́ни is a Ukrainian nationalist organization with racist and neo-Nazi political beliefs. It constitutes a paramilitary wing of the Social-National Assembly of Ukraine (S.N.A.), an assemblage of neo-Nazi organizations and groups founded in 2008 that share the social-national ideology and agree upon building a social-national state in Ukraine. Both the “Patriot of Ukraine” and the S.N.A. engage in political violence against minorities and their political opponents. The leader of the “Patriot of Ukraine” and of the Social-National Assembly is Andriy Biletsky."

Patriot Party:



UNA-UNSO logo

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. Dude, it's written by Andrea Peters, from World Socialists. Nobody takes them seriously.

[Nitram]

4. It would be more accurate to characterize Putin's politics as right-wing nationalism

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. Sure, if you classify everyone as "right wing nationalists", they did.

Are these parties "right wing nationalists" if they reject Russian intervention and meddling in Ukrainian affairs? I'm guessing that's where the author of this piece is insinuating.

The fact though is for all the screaming about ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis, there was only one party who even crossed the threshold for eligibility in leadership that could be classified as such, that being Lyaschko's Radical Party. And with only 7% of the vote, I doubt the Petrosheko Block and People's Front would need them for their coalition, so I don't think we'll be seeing them in the Cabinet at all.

Svoboda and Right Sector, the paper tigers that they are amongst the pro-Russian separatist crowd, didn't even manage to cross the 5% threshold. So they won't be a part of the Cabinet.

The parties that dominated in the election--the Petroshenko Block and People's Front--are considered centrist but pro-Western. I'm sorry if it irks some people that the Ukrainian people took a decidedly pro-Western turn in this election, but that's exactly what they did.

This piece is so heavy with the bullshit it's pathetic.

[GGJohn]

6. It definitely irks the OP,

I've yet to see anything from this person postive about the Ukranian govt or anything negative about Putin.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. The elections failed to produce actual ultra-nationalist/neo-Nazi leadership, so......

[newthinking]

9. They only nickname themselves the "Party of War" because they are "liberals". Hillarious!

This is the head of the "Radical Party", who's party also did well and will be joining the ruling collation. They are not nazi's, they are just your typical violent extremist Right wingers. So I guess for democrats that means they are comfortable supporting rightests as long as they are in other countries....

This member of parliament had Amnesty International warning Ukraine about his activities.

But I think you know this. The question is... why are you trying so hard to cover this stuff up?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. There's been no announcement that the Radical Party will be part of the ruling coalition.

All that's happened is that the Radical Party received enough votes to be eligible to be part of the ruling coalition. Barely.

My guess is between the Poroshenko Bloc, People's Front and Self-Reliance, there will be no need to include the Radical Party in a ruling coalition. The numbers are already there.

[newthinking]

8. You didn't even read. If you won't read and learn of course you will remain without understanding

Svoboda (and Right Sector) split and leaders and many in the party joined with Yatsunek. They are being advised by westerners. They know how they are viewed here. Not just Svoboda and Right sector leaders, the commanders of the Neo-Nazi battalians, the neo-nazi "patriot" party, and others like them assimilated into People's front.

I have been saying for a while that there are a lot of neo-nazi's that came out of the woodwork during maidan, but they were divided by different "branding". Yatsunek understood that if he could bring them all under one umbrella it would add up. He was right.

Have to admit it was a smart strategy except you can't hide this kind of thing on the internet. And certainly much of the population is aware of it.

For goodness sakes.. you folks are so naive... The press made it sound like huge numbers voted. But even in Kiev it was barely over 50%. In Oddessa, which is **not** in the east, only 13% voted! Moderates did not participate because they felt defeated already (and some felt very threatened).

Good luck trying to keep the false narrative alive. The truth is understood by many at this point. Most understand that the black and white narrative is not accurate.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

10. The numbers for Svoboda and Right Sector were along the same lines as the May presidential election

Last edited Fri Oct 31, 2014, 11:40 AM - Edit history (1)

And those elections only featured a singular candidate for each party.

So the problem isn't as you claim where ultranationalists from Svoboda and Right Sector abandoned their own parties and infiltrated the moderate parties. It's that those parties were never particularly popular in Ukraine in the first place.

In other words, fringe politics remain fringe politics. It's folks like you who want to try to distort the situation for your own ends.

Also, you are way off on your voter turnout numbers. Turnout was 40% in Odessa, not 13%. In areas of Donetsk and Luhansk where the Ukrainian government still controls the territory, turnout was 32%. Overall, turnout was 52%, which was close in line with US elections, except that the US doesn't have large portions of its territory controlled by separatists or annexed by foreign countries and therefore people in those regions weren't even able to vote.

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21629375-poll-results-were-promising-future-ukraine-dauntingly-difficult-good-voters

[newthinking]

12. I did quote the wrong number for Odessa - 40% is still dismal

And it is you that are distorting the very real presence of neo-nazi's. I have provided the proof already multiple times. The Patriot party was fully brought into the People's Front -and the leadership is made up of extremists, right sector and Azov personalities.

You simply do not align with prominent Neo-Nazi's unless you share the same values.

[Tarheel_Dem]

13. Uh, nope!!!

[newthinking]

14. It is rare here that people admit when they misquote a number. It is called HONESTY.

I have no shame in doing so.

Nice try though.

[Tarheel_Dem]

15. Either that, or you hoped no one would notice the difference between 13% & 40%. Who knows?

What we do know is that you have a very definite agenda, and not many takers.

[newthinking]

16. Have anything human to say?

Or is hate/nasty all you got?