United Centre

For the Chicago indoor sports arena, see United Center.
United Centre
Leader Viktor Baloha[1]
Founded September 24, 1999 (1999-09-24) (Party of Private Property) / March 27, 2008 (2008-03-27) (United Centre)
Headquarters Kiev, Ukraine[2]
Political position Centre[3]
International affiliation None
Colours Yellow
Verkhovna Rada
0 / 450
Regions (2010)
75 / 3,056

[4]

Website
http://www.edc.org.ua/

United Centre (Ukrainian: Єдиний Центр, Yedynyi Tsentr) is a Ukrainian political party. It is an offspring of Our Ukraine.[5] Legally United Centre is the successor of the Party of Private Property (Ukrainian: Партія приватної власності; Partija Privatnoi Vlasnosti), registered with the Ministry of Justice on September 24, 1999.[6] The party changed its name to United Centre in March 2008.[6]

The party won 3 seats in the Ukrainian parliament in the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election;[7] but in February 2013 its member Pavlo Baloha was deprived of his deputy seats by the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine because it had established that the election results in the single-member districts in which he was elected had been "unreliable".[8] In the 2014 parliamentary election the party won no parliamentary seats.[9] [10]

History

Party of Private Property

The Party of Private Property was registered with the Ministry of Justice September 24, 1999.[2][6] At the 1999 Ukrainian presidential election the party endorsed incumbent President Leonid Kuchma.[11]

During the Ukrainian parliamentary elections 2002 it was part of the electoral alliance Team of Winter Generation.[2][12] Team of Winter Generation won 2.0% of the popular vote and no seats.[2][13]

Party of Private Property did not participate in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections of 2006 and 2007.[2]

The merger of United Centre with the Democratic Party of Ukraine failed to materialize prior to the first ever congress of United Centre.[14]

United Centre

Viktor Yushchenko Presidency (2008-2009)

In February 2008 several prominent members left Our Ukraine.[15] Viktor Baloha, Head of the President's Secretariat resigned on February 15 (to lift the issue of the correlation between the authorities as the President's Chief of Staff and as a member of the OU-PSD presidium).[16] Roman Bezsmertny, high ranked party official, along with people's deputies, Mykhaylo Polyanchych, Ihor Kryl, Viktor Topolov, Oksana Bilozir and Vasyl Petevka resigned on February 20, in a joint statement the declared that: "some of the leaders of the party play their own game, coming from personal interests and it has nothing to do with responsibility, pluralism and norms of democracy."[17]

At the sixth Party Congress of the Party of Private Property, held on 20 March 2008, the party decided to change its name too United Centre.[6] At this time the parties goals where: "assisting President Viktor Yushchenko to realize its program of actions"[5] and "to unite Eastern Ukraine and Western Ukraine".[5]

On March 27, United Centre held the founding meeting in Kiev.[5] On July 8, Presidential Secretariat's Chief Baloha entered the United Centre party.[5][18] On July 12, 2008 United Centre re-elected Verkhovna Rada deputy Ihor Kril of Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense bloc as its leader.[5] The merger of United Center with the Democratic Party of Ukraine failed to materialize prior to the congress.[14][19] Administrative pressure by governors upon state employees to sign up to United Centre is said to be ongoing.[14][18] Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defence Bloc did complain that members of its regional branches are being poached by United Centre.[18]

In October 2008 Social Christian Party merged with United Centre.[20]

On October 21, 2008 the presidium of People's Union Our Ukraine decided not to team up with any other party then the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc for the 2008 snap parliamentary poll and called the idea of teaming up with United Centre "impossible".[21][22] On 20 November 2008, the United Centre leader Ihor Kril said the party will participate independently in the next parliamentary elections and that he "fully support the view that the format of Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc, as it exists now, is not realistic or effective. Every political force should take responsibility for their actions before the electorate".[23]

According to UNIAN, the People's Union Our Ukraine and United Centre parties was to carry out a unifying congress on January 17, 2009. The People's Democratic party was reported to join the move.[24] However nothing like this happened.

After Viktor Baloha resigned as Head of the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine he claimed he resigned from this post as he is totally against President Yushchenko's decision to run for president for a second term, the second reason behind his resignation was nepotism. "I'm confident that you have no moral right to participate in the presidential elections. I'm not your supporter here," Baloha said in a statement made available from the United Centre party's press service to Interfax-Ukraine on May 19, 2009.[25][26]

Viktor Yanukovych Presidency (since 2010)

The party did not join the parliamentary coalition which supported the Azarov Government in March 2010 because the Communist Party of Ukraine was a part of that coalition.[27]

A March 2010 poll predicted that the party would get 0.2% of the vote at the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.)[28]

Early August parliamentarian Kyrylo Kulykov joined the party, thus as of August 2010 6 United Centre members are lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada.[29] Kulykov had switched from Yuriy Lutsenko's People's Self-Defense.[30] This was 9 too short to form a United Centre faction in the Verkhovna Rada.[31]

In the 2010 local elections the party won a few representative in regional parliaments but achieved a stunning victory in the Zakarpattia Oblast.[32]

On November 12, 2010 President Viktor Yanukovych appointed party leader Viktor Baloha Minister of Emergencies and Minister of the Protection of the Population from the Chernobyl disaster .[33] According to Baloha this did not mean his party would join the coalition Government.[1] According to Ukrayinska Pravda the United Centre deputies in parliament already quietly voted with the Party of Regions (the main component of the Azarov Government).[34] Deputy Lesya Orobets left the party after Baloha's appointment because the party never informed her about it.[35]

According to Ukrainian media Strong Ukraine party leader Serhiy Tyhypko personally prevented an merger of United Centre with Party of Regions in March 2012.[36]

The party did not take part in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election nationwide proportional party-list system;[37] instead nine members of the party tried to win a seat in nine of the 225 local single-member districts.[38][39] The party won 3 constituencies (all in Zakarpattia) and thus parliamentary representation.[40] These seats where won by Viktor Baloha, Vasyl Petiovka and Pavlo Baloha.[41] Pavlo Baloha joined the faction of Party of Regions in December 2012, while Viktor Baloha and Petiovka did not join any faction.[42] Pavlo Baloha left the Party of Regions faction mid-April 2012 to become an unaffiliated lawmaker too.[43]

Pavlo Baloha was deprived of his deputy seats on 8 February 2013 by the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine because it had established that the election results in the single-member districts in which he was elected (single-member districts number 71 in Zakarpattia Oblast) had been "unreliable".[8] On 7 July 2013 Pavlo Baloha's mandate was officially cancelled.[44]

In the 2014 parliamentary election the party did not compete on the nationwide party list and also did not win a constituency seat and thus no parliamentary seats.[9] [10]

Stances

The party rejects any possibility of joining a parliamentary coalition with the Communist Party of Ukraine.[27][45]

Results

Parliamentary since 1994
(year links to election page)
Year Bloc Votes % Mandates
2002
Team of Winter Generation
525,025
2.10
0 (0)
2006
did not participate
2007
did not participate
2012
N/A
N/A
0 (3)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 (Ukrainian) Янукович зробив Балогу міністром, UNIAN (November 12, 2010)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 (Ukrainian) Єдиний Центр, DATA
  3. ↑ Nordsieck, Wolfram, "Ukraine", Parties and Elections in Europe, retrieved 5 November 2012
  4. ↑ (Ukrainian) Results of elections, Central Election Commission
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "United Centre Reelects MP Kril Of OU-PSD As Leader". Ukrainian News Agency. July 12, 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 (Ukrainian) "Партія Приватної власності" офіційно повідомила Мін’юст про зміну назви на "Єдиний центр", Ukrainian Ministry of Justice
  7. ↑ Party of Regions gets 185 seats in Ukrainian parliament, Batkivschyna 101 - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (12 November 2012)
  8. 1 2 Higher Administrative Court deprives two MPs of deputy seats, Kyiv Post (9 February 2013)
    (Ukrainian) ВИЩИЙ СУД ПОЗБАВИВ МАНДАТІВ ДВОХ ДЕПУТАТІВ Superior Court denied MANDATES two deputies, Ukrayinska Pravda (8 February 2013)
    (Ukrainian) В опозиції ініціюють звільнення суддів ВАСУ The opposition initiated dismissal Vasu, Den (11 February 2013)
  9. 1 2 Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, Ukrainian Television and Radio (8 November 2014)
    People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
    Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
  10. 1 2 Olszański, Tadeusz A. (16 October 2014), Before the parliamentary elections in Ukraine, OSW—Centre for Eastern Studies
  11. ↑ Партія приватної власності, party.civicua.org
  12. ↑ Electoral list of candidates for deputy from Election bloc of Political Parties "Team of Winter Generation", Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  13. ↑ (Ukrainian) Партія "Віче", sd.net
  14. 1 2 3 "YUSHCHENKO SWITCHES SUPPORT FROM OUR UKRAINE TO UNITED CENTER". The Jamestown Foundation. July 28, 2008.
  15. ↑ "OU lost one more member". ForUm. 2008-02-27.
  16. ↑ UNIAN - President`s Chief of Staff stops his membership of pro-presidential party
  17. ↑ UNIAN - Bessmertny, Kryl, Petyovka and others – six people left Our Ukraine
  18. 1 2 3 Personal blog by Taras Kuzio, adjunct professor in the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa
  19. ↑ ""United Center" Unites Parties. "Nasha Ukraina" Ready to Join it?!". Media International Group Ukraine. 12-09-2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ↑ (Ukrainian)Соціально-Християнська партія України cамоліквідувалася, z i k (October 16, 2008)
  21. ↑ "Our Ukraine officially refused to team up with United Center". UNIAN. October 21, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Our Ukraine Board defined the formatting of participation in elections". Our Ukraine official website. October 21, 2008.
  23. ↑ "United Centre party intends to participate independently in parliamentary elections, says Kril". Interfax Ukraine. October 21, 2008.
  24. ↑ Our Ukraine and United Center parties to unite, UNIAN (24 December 2008)
  25. ↑ Baloha says Yuschenko has no moral right to run for president again, Interfax-Ukraine (May 19, 2009)
  26. ↑ Both Tymoshenko and Yushchenko should quit Ukrainian power – Baloha, UNIAN (May 19, 2009)
  27. 1 2 (Russian) Балога: Мы много помогали на выборах Януковичу и не скрываем этого, Official party website (March 9, 2010)
  28. ↑ Party Of Regions, Tymoshenko bloc, Strong Ukraine, Front for Change and Communist Party would get into parliament, Kyiv Post (April 12, 2010)
  29. ↑ Kyrylo Kulykov heads Kyiv branch of United Center party, Kyiv Post (August 5, 2010)
  30. ↑ (Russian) Кирилл Куликов (biography), ЛIГА
  31. ↑ Rada Approves Cancellation Of Rule That Bans Deputies From Switching Factions, FINANCIAL (October 8, 2010)
  32. ↑ (Ukrainian) Results of the elections, preliminary data, on interactive maps by Ukrayinska Pravda (November 8, 2010)
  33. ↑ Yanukovych appointed Baloha Emergency Minister of Ukraine, UNIAN (November 12, 2010)
  34. ↑ (Ukrainian) Віктор Янукович готується перетрусити команду, Ukrayinska Pravda (November 24, 2010)
  35. ↑ (Ukrainian) Леся Оробець: Я з Інтернету дізнаюся про те, що Балога сидітиме за одним столом із Табачником, UNIAN (November 15, 2010)
  36. ↑ (Ukrainian) Тігіпко зажадав від "Регіонів" не брати Балогу, Ukrayinska Pravda (15 March 2012)
  37. ↑ (Ukrainian) Information on the registration of electoral lists of candidates, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  38. ↑ (Ukrainian) Єдиний Центр на з’їзді висунув кандидатів у народні депутати України United Center on Congress put forward candidates for people's deputies of Ukraine, Parties official website (31 July 2012)
  39. ↑ (Ukrainian) Candidates, RBC Ukraine
  40. ↑ (Ukrainian) Proportional votes & Constituency seats, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  41. ↑ Results of the vote count, Kyiv Post (9 November 2012)
  42. ↑ (Ukrainian) National deputies of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada
  43. ↑ (Ukrainian) "Dynamics" in the Party of Regions Verkhovna Rada faction, Verkhovna Rada
  44. ↑ Baloha, Dombrovsky no longer MPs, Ukrinform (3 July 2013)
  45. ↑ (Ukrainian) Оробець: При формуванні нової парламентської коаліції «фактор комуністів» і Конституція несумісні, Official party website (March 9, 2010)
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