Ukraine

Since 1994, the International Republican Institute (IRI) has been actively supporting democracy in Ukraine. Through a broad spectrum of programs, IRI is helping Ukrainian people learn the skills needed to build a strong, stable democracy.

Political Party and Candidate Development

As political parties mature in Ukraine, IRI has begun to focus on building national parties which represent the needs of the people on national issues. To ensure Ukraine has vibrant political parties responding to the concerns of their constituents, IRI conducts trainings on party structure and organization, coalition building, campaign techniques and member recruitment. IRI also works with parties to encourage them to create issue-based agendas and avoid personality-based politics.

IRI is currently conducting trainings designed to strengthen political parties at the grassroots level. IRI trains political party activists on the latest get-out-the-vote techniques as well as helps political parties formulate their platforms and target messages by identifying priority issues to Ukrainian voters through nationwide surveys. IRI also provides training to political party-nominated poll watchers on their rights and responsibilities on election observation.

Local Elected Officials Program

Democracies are not defined by elections alone. How a government governs in the interim periods is equally as critical to the success of democracy. To ensure Ukraine's elected officials are representing the citizens of Ukraine, IRI provides substantive training to newly-appointed staff members at all levels of the Ukrainian government.

Since the March 2002 parliamentary elections IRI has conducted trainings for oblast and city deputies who have been re-elected and deputies who have been elected for the first time. These trainings include instruction on the budget process, local government structure, coalition building, rights and responsibilities of deputies and working with constituents. The level of the educational programs depend on the experience levels of the deputies. IRI also works with local level deputies, providing instruction on how to maximize their ability to solve specific local community problems by exercising their rights and responsibilities as provided by the Law on Local Self-Government of Ukraine.

Public Opinion Research

IRI has conducted numerous nationwide surveys in Ukraine to provide political parties information and analysis on the opinions of voters. Successful survey programs were conducted by IRI ahead of the 2002 parliamentary, 2004 presidential and 2006 parliamentary elections. Poll results were used by the parties to further develop their messages to voters. In addition, IRI shares its polling and analysis work with the government of Ukraine, enabling it to identify important areas of policy reform and governance.

While polling reveals the quantitative aspects of public opinion, focus groups reveal the qualitative aspects. In the run-up to the 2006 parliamentary elections, IRI conducted a series of focus groups that assisted IRI in targeting its programs and helped political parties develop their campaign messages. IRI conducts focus groups on a regular basis and uses the findings to assist Ukraine's leadership in developing economic and legislative policies and implementing reforms that are democratic in nature and responsive to the public's needs.

Election Monitoring

Election monitors have proven critical to ensuring open and transparent elections. To continue this tradition, IRI conducts poll watcher training to coincide with Ukraine's local, parliamentary and presidential elections. Participants learn the purpose and duties of poll watchers as well as the rights specified for poll watchers in Ukraine's election law.

In the lead-up to the 2004 presidential election, IRI provided a grant to the Center for Political Education to conduct regional poll watcher training seminars for members of any political party who were designated by their parties to be poll watchers. As a result of this training, poll watchers were instrumental in highlighting serious problems in the November 2004 run-off, which Ukraine's Supreme Court agreed with when they nullified the results and set a date for a second run-off election.

IRI also has solid experience directing international election observation missions in Ukraine. IRI has deployed delegations to observe every parliamentary and presidential election since Ukrainians voted for independence in 1991. In 2004, IRI sponsored international election observation missions for the October 31 first-round, November 21 run-off and December 26 repeat run-off presidential election. IRI observers found numerous instances of fraud and intimidation in the first two rounds of voting.

IRI also deployed election monitors for the 2006 parliamentary and local elections in Ukraine. More than 130 observers from the United States and former Soviet Union countries monitored as Ukrainians voted for parliamentary and local representatives under a new election system and elected a parliament with expanded powers. IRI observers found that 2006 election reflected the will of the Ukrainian people and was the most open and transparent in Ukraine's post-Soviet history.

During pre-term parliamentary elections in Ukraine that took place on September 30, 2007, IRI’s 28-member international election observation delegation experienced calm and peaceful environment on Election Day. IRI found that during the campaign period, parties and candidates were allowed to campaign freely and had access to media outlets. Journalists were allowed to cover the campaign without undue interference, and parties were able to purchase time on television, radio and in newspapers without restriction. Importantly, the use of administrative resources during the campaign was limited. IRI also stated that parliamentary elections in Ukraine broadly met international standards.

Youth Development Program

IRI’s youth program is designed to increase the professional skills of young adults in politics and works directly with youth auxiliaries of political parties to help facilitate a common goal of attracting more young people to the democratic process in Ukraine.

By conducting regular seminars on the oblast (state) level, IRI provides young political activists with the knowledge necessary to increase structural development within their organizations and new member recruitment. At IRI seminars participants also learn how youth can get involved in the local self-government process, strategy and tactics of communication and the basics of working with mass media. A special session is devoted to the development of internal as well as external leadership skills.

IRI youth seminars are open to all political forces irrespective of their ideology. Through trainings led by young politicians, local elected officials and high ranking state officials, youth activists learn leadership skills that will help them bring together young people of different ideologies to work together as a team.

Development of Nongovernmental Organizations

IRI’s work in Ukraine is not limited to political parties and elected officials. Non¬governmental organizations (NGO) also play an active role in the formation and development of a democratic society. IRI Ukraine works directly with NGOs which encourage civic involvement and political awareness.

The program conducted for NGOs helps to develop the professionalism of the organizations, increase their management skills and assist them in becoming eligible for international funding. NGOs are selected for participation based upon their proven abilities to promote social change democratically. In 2004, 2006 and 2007, these NGOs collaborated on joint activities such as poll watcher training, election monitoring and youth voter turnout activities.

IRI assisted these qualified NGOs in creating regional Youth Political Leadership Schools (YPLS). In these schools, young people are taught the skills of effective political leadership in five month courses. They hear from foreign and Ukrainian political experts and are required to develop and manage their own civic project in their community during the course of their study in these classes. Many of the YPLS’s graduates have gone on to become more active in promoting and participating in politics.

Women's Initiatives

IRI has worked with Ukrainian women's groups over the past several years to increase their participation in the political process. As a result, many Ukrainian women are increasingly at the forefront of issue advocacy in their communities and are taking on leading roles in Ukraine's national government.

IRI conducts a number of women-focused trainings to increase participation in civic life and to introduce Ukrainian women to their peers in other countries. IRI hosted a two-day conference on the role of women in promoting civic reforms. Women from across Ukraine had an opportunity to hear from international delegates from Iraq, Moldova, Sweden, Russia and Azerbaijan on their experiences as advocates for issues important to them, their families and their communities. Conferees also attended sessions on election campaign planning, coalition building negotiation techniques, engaging women in politics and working with media for politically-active women.

For more than 70 years, Ukrainians suffered under the repressive yoke of communism. In the late 1980s, as the winds of freedom began to spread across Eastern Europe, and in response to failures of the Soviet state to address the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, the People's Movement of Ukraine began to protest demanding independence.

As the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine declared its independence and on December 1, 1991, the government of Ukraine officially voted to become an independent sovereign state. Over the next decade, the Ukrainian people worked to build a democratic country. They wrote a constitution that enshrined the basic principles of democracy and began to reform institutions weakened by years of Soviet rule. However, Ukraine's first decade of independence was marked by government corruption and infringements on human rights and media freedoms. As a result, the Ukrainian people became increasingly disillusioned with the ruling government and began to demand change.

Rampant election fraud and the government's refusal to obey the rule of law brought the Ukrainian people into the streets following the November 21, 2004, re-run of the presidential election. Using the power of the government to coerce and intimidate voters, outgoing President Leonid Kuchma stole the election for his chosen successor, then-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Knowing that opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko had won, the Ukrainian people refused to accept these results and took to the streets throughout the country to demand a new election. For the next month, the world watched hundreds of thousands peacefully protested the election results in what came to be known as the Orange Revolution – their motto, "together we are many, we cannot be overcome."

On November 21, Ukraine's Supreme Court declared the election invalid and set a new election for December 26. On December 26, Yushchenko was declared the winner and sworn in as the country's third president since independence.

In March 2006, the Yushchenko government conducted parliamentary and local elections that, according to Western observers, met the international standards and were carried out in accordance with Ukrainian election law. Increases in transparency and fairness in the election process provided an atmosphere which allowed citizens to freely exercise their right to vote, without fear or intimidation and contributed to the consolidation of democracy in Ukraine.

On April 2 2007, President Yushchenko issued a decree dissolving parliament calling for pre-term parliamentary elections in Ukraine. These snap elections were conducted on September 30, 2007. Once again, President Yushchenko oversaw the conduct of a generally free and fair election, as noted by Western observers.

During 2008, Ukraine was able to avoid numerous calls for snap parliamentary elections, and thus currently anticipates presidential elections in late 2009 or early 2010. However, while Ukraine continues to demonstrate improvements in various aspects of election administration, reports of inaccuracies persist. Problems with the voter lists continue to undermine confidence in elections and the ability of the judicial system to act as an equal and independent branch of government is another concern. Doubts of the judiciary’s impartiality and its inability to make decisions in a timely manner calls into question its ability to resolve election disputes.

Despite some shortcomings, Ukraine has achieved significant progress in democratization since 1991, and particularly since 2004 and the Orange Revolution. All elections held since 2004 have been internationally recognized as free and fair. There is extensive freedom of the press in Ukraine, and it also enjoys a vibrant and burgeoning civil society.

Political Overview

Chief of State: President Viktor A. Yushchenko, Our Ukraine

Head of Government: Yulia Tymoshenko, Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko

Type of Government: presidential-parliamentary

Suffrage: universal, age 18

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: political party and candidate development, public opinion research, voter education initiatives, election monitoring, youth leadership development, governance initiatives, civil society initiatives and women's initiatives

Funding Source: United States Agency for International Development