Opposition Bloc (2019)
Opposition Bloc (Ukrainian: Опозиційний блок), formerly called Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development (Ukrainian: Опозиційний блок — Партія миру та розвитку) until June 2019, is a Ukrainian political party that was founded in 2019.
Opposition Bloc Опозиційний блок | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Evgeny Murayev |
| Deputy Leader | Oleksandr Vilkul |
| Chairman | Borys Kolesnikov |
| Parliamentary Leader | Vadym Novynskyi |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Merger of | Founders:[1][2][3][4]
Additional members:
|
| Headquarters | Kyiv |
| Ideology | Russophilia[9][10][11] Decentralization Regionalism Social conservatism Centrism |
| Political position | Centre[12] |
| Colours | Blue White |
| Verkhovna Rada | 6 / 450
|
| Website | |
opposition | |
The creation of the party was the result of a schism in the Opposition Bloc party, a party of the same name founded in 2014. By January 2019, two wings of this party had nominated two different candidates for the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.[13][14][15] Yuriy Boyko was nominated by the party wing called Opposition Platform — For Life,[16] while a competing party wing wanted to nominate Oleksandr Vilkul as its candidate. The party wing supporting Vilkul formed a new party, Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development. That new party proceeded to nominate Vilkul as its presidential candidate.[13] In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the new party won six single-seat constituencies, and its nationwide list won 3.23% of the votes, failing to overcome the 5% election barrier.[17]
Legally, Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development is the successor of the Industrial Party of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Індустріальна Україна),[13] founded in 2014.[18]
Party leaders
- Evgeny Murayev (chairman and leader of electoral list)
- Oleksandr Vilkul (co-chair)
Political Council
Fraction in Verkhovna Rada leader
History
In 2014, six parties that did not endorse Euromaidan merged into a new party called Opposition Bloc.[19][20] In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party won 29 seats, predominantly in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, and Kharkiv oblasts.[21][22]
According to Ukrayinska Pravda, in the summer of 2018, negotiations began regarding the unification of the parties For Life (which had split from Opposition Bloc in 2016) and Opposition Bloc.[15] Ukrayinska Pravda reported that these talks were instigated by Serhiy Lyovochkin, who, along with Dmytro Firtash, controlled one of the wings of Opposition Bloc;[15] Rinat Akhmetov controlled the other wing of Opposition Bloc.[15] In early November 2018, the party members loyal to Akhmetov decided to pause the negotiations.[15]
On 9 November 2018, Opposition Bloc chairman Boyko and Vadim Rabinovich's party For Life signed an agreement for cooperation in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election and the parliamentary election of the same year, and created the alliance Opposition Platform — For Life.[23][24] The same day, Opposition Bloc leading members Vadym Novynskyi and Borys Kolesnikov claimed that the agreement was a "personal initiative" of Boyko and that the party had not taken any decisions on cooperation with For Life.[25] On 17 November 2018, Opposition Platform — For Life nominated Boyko as its candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.[24] The same day, Opposition Bloc member Party of Development of Ukraine joined the Opposition Platform — For Life alliance.[24] On 20 November 2018, Boyko and Serhiy Lyovochkin (the leading member of the Party of Development of Ukraine[26]) were excluded from the Opposition Bloc faction because they "betrayed our voters' interests", according to the faction co-chairman, Vilkul.[27]
On 17 December 2018, an Opposition Bloc congress nominated Oleksandr Vilkul as their candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.[28] A Ukrainian court had ruled three days before (in response to a lawsuit filed by People's Deputy of Ukraine for Opposition Bloc Serhiy Larin) that Opposition Bloc's congress, at which Vikul was to be nominated, could not "reorganize the party by any means".[29] On 18 December 2018, the website of Opposition Bloc stated that therefore all of the decisions made at the congress were invalid.[30] On 20 December 2018 the website of Opposition Bloc was down.[31] Vilkul was nominated for the presidency again by Opposition Bloc — Party of Peace and Development (the recently renamed Industrial Party of Ukraine) on 20 January 2019.[13] According to Liga.net, Rinat Akhmetov had renamed Industrial Party of Ukraine to Opposition Bloc — Party of Peace and Development solely to circumvent the court's injunction of 20 December 2018 (which prohibited any changes to the statute of the Opposition Bloc party).[13] The Industrial Party of Ukraine was registered by the Ministry of Justice on 13 June 2014, and Rostyslav Shurma was then the chairman of that party.[18] Shurma was at the time General Director of Zaporizhstal,[18] part of the industrial complex owned by Rinat Akhmetov.[18]
In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, an alliance was formed between Rinat Akhmetov's wing in the Opposition Bloc party and Borys Kolesnikov's and Oleksandr Vilkul's Party of Peace and Development. The alliance was later joined by Revival, Nashi, and Trust Deeds; the alliance selected Evgeny Murayev as leader of the united party list.[32][33] In the election, the mayors of Kharkiv (Hennadiy Kernes) and Odessa (Gennadiy Trukhanov) were placed in the top ten of the nationwide party list.[34]
In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party won six single-seat constituencies; the nationwide list, with 3.23% of the votes, did not overcome the 5% election barrier, so those six seats were the only seats that the party won in the election.[17]
In the 2020 Ukrainian local elections the party gained 206 deputies (0.48% of all available mandates).[35]
Election results
Verkhovna Rada
| Year | Popular vote | % of popular vote | Overall seats won | Seat change | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 443,200 | 3.03 | 6 / 450 |
 6 |
Opposition |
Presidential elections
| Year | Candidate | First round | Second round | Won/Loss | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Rank | Votes | % | |||
| 2019 | Oleksandr Vilkul | 784,274 | 4.15% | 8th | Eliminated | Loss | |
Notes
- Rinat Akhmetov's wing members
- Borys Kolesnikov's & Oleksandr Vilkul's party members
See also
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Ukraine |
| Constitution |
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References
- (in English) Opposition Bloc, Peace And Development Party, Ours, Revival, Trust The Deeds Parties Unite To Run For Parliament, Ukranews (7 June 2019)
- (in Ukrainian) Оппозиционный блок, “Наши”, “Відродження”, “Доверяй делам”, Партия мира и развития объединились для участия в парламентских выборах больше читайте тут:, Gordon.ua (7 June 2019)
- (in Ukrainian) Квартири дружин Мураєва: чим володіє лідер "Опозиційного блоку", Channel 24 (18 July 2019)
- (in Ukrainian) Odd-man-out. Why Leovochkin and Medvedchuk are preparing for the election without Akhmetov, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 December 2018)
- Parties of Opposition Bloc, Peace and Development, Vidrodzhennia, Ours and Trust Deeds declare unification to participate in Rada snap elections, Interfax-Ukraine (7 June 2019)
- https://ua.korrespondent.net/ukraine/3943533-dobkin-stvoryv-partiui-khrystyianski-sotsialisty
- https://m.zn.ua/POLITICS/dobkin-sozdal-partiyu-hristianskih-socialistov-276076_.html
- https://photonew.ukrinform.com/stock-photo/forum-obyednanih-opoziciynih-sil-quotdoviryay-dilamquot-316601.html
- (in German) Selenskyjs Triumph birgt ein hohes Absturzrisiko, Wiener Zeitung (22 July 2019)
- (in German) Ukraine: Präsident Selenskij steuert auf seinen zweiten Wahlsieg zu, Tageblatt (21 July 2019)
- (in German) Kiew in der Hand der „Diener des Volkes“, Schwäbische Post (23 July 2019)
- Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Ukraine". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- (in Ukrainian) Presidential elections: Kivu, Vilkul and Hnapa have been nominated, Korrespondent.net (20 January 2019)
(in Ukrainian) Kiva and Vilkul surrendered to the Central Election Commission, Ukrayinska Pravda (22 January 2019) - (in Ukrainian) Opposition split. How Boyko and Vilkul divide the legacy of "regionalists", Ukrayinska Pravda (18 December 2018)
- (in Ukrainian) "Odd-man-out. Why Leovochkin and Medvedchuk are preparing for the election without Akhmetov", Ukrayinska Pravda (20 November 2018)
- (in Ukrainian) Boyko began registering as a presidential candidate, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 November 2018)
(in Ukrainian) The association of Boyko-Rabinovich was determined with the presidential candidate, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 November 2018) - https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/07/22/7221609/
- (in Ukrainian) PARTY "INDUSTRIAL UKRAINE" HEADS "MAN AKHMETOV", 5 Kanal (26 August 2014)
- Opposition Bloc chooses top ten candidates for parliamentary elections, Interfax Ukraine (23 September 2014)
Allies of Yanukovych trying for parliament, Kyiv Post (21 September 2014)
Party Of Regions Will Not Contest Snap Parliamentary Elections Independently Archived 2014-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrainian News Agency (14 September 2014) - Opposition Bloc boosts rating by distancing itself from Yanukovych era, Kyiv Post (Oct. 24, 2014)
Development party of Ukraine, 'Ukraine – Forward!' and four more political forces team up in Opposition Bloc, Kyiv Post (Sept. 15, 2014)
Ukraine’s Elections: The Battle of the Billionaires, The Daily Beast (10.25.14)
(in Ukrainian) Non-Maidan parties united into the Opposition Bloc. Radio Liberty. 14 September 2014 - Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, Ukrinform (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) - (in Ukrainian) "OPPOSITION BLOCK", Civil movement "Chesno" (2018)
- Two Russia-friendly parties join forces for presidential election, Kyiv Post (9 November 2018)
- (in Ukrainian) The association of Boyko-Rabinovich was determined with the presidential candidate, Ukrayinska Pravda (17 November 2018)
- (in Ukrainian) Boyko's decision to merge with Rabinovich does not concern the "Opposition" – Novinsky, Ukrayinska Pravda (9 November 2018)
- (in Ukrainian) The Party of Lyovochkin considers Ukrainian soldiers "punitive" and does not notice the annexation of the Crimea, UNIAN (11 August 2014)
- Boiko, Loovochkin excluded from Opposition Bloc faction for betraying voters' interests — Vilkul, Interfax-Ukraine (20 November 2018)
- Oleksandr Vilkul to be nominated as candidate for president, Kyiv Post (1817 December 2018)
- (in Ukrainian) Split "Opoploko": the court imposed restrictions on the party before the congress, Ukrayinska Pravda (14 December 2018)
- "В партии "Оппозиционный блок" заявили, что Вилкул не сможет выдвинуться от нее в президенты". gordonua.com. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- "http://opposition.org.ua Server Status Check". isitdownrightnow.com. Retrieved 20 December 2018. External link in
|title=(help) - https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/592347.html
- https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/592883.html
- https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2019/06/10/7217688/
- "Results of the 2020 Ukrainian local elections on the official web-server of the". Central Election Commission of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 12 January 2021.