A year after Euromaidan: pro-European forces wins the new parliament.

• Author: Haran, Olexiy
• Position: COMMENTARY

Mass protests in Maidan, the central square of Kyiv, during the bitter cold winter of 2013-2014, known as 'Euromaidan' or 'Revolution of Dignity' were non-violent for more than two months. The demonstrations began when, under Russian pressure, former President Viktor Yanukovych abruptly resisted in signing the long promised Association Agreement with the EU. However, when President Yanukovych, reputed for his corruption and authoritarian style, responded to the peaceful protests by violent repression, Euromaidan quickly moved beyond its initial slogans and demanded the president's resignation. In February 2014, after security forces started to shoot protesters, Ukraine became one of the only countries in the world where a hundred people died "under the EU flags" defending democracy and the European choice. In this context, according to the agreement signed on February 21, 2014, between the opposition and President Yanukovych, the parliament returned to the 2004 constitutional reform and, consequently, combined a parliamentary-presidential form of government. The 2004 constitutional

reform had previously been unconstitutionally abolished by President Yanukovych in 2010 and its restoration was among the main demands of the Euromaidan.

Yanukovych violated this agreement: he did not sign it and fled to Russia. Immediately, the early presidential elections were scheduled by the parliament for May 2014. However, prospects for a successful resolution of these domestic problems were threatened by external factors: the annexation of Crimea by Russia (it is the first case of an annexation in Europe occurring since the end of World War II (1)), and the subsequent Russian military infiltration (2) in Donbas (the two eastern regions of the country). The need to quickly elect a legitimate and internationally recognized President and the need to resist Putin's attempts to split Ukraine largely determined both the spirit of the electoral campaign and its results. Petro Poroshenko, one of prominent 'Maidan' supporters, a businessman and the owner of the opposition TV Channel 5, won a clear cut victory in the first round with 54% of the votes. (3)

No Alternative to Early Parliamentary Elections

First of all, "reset of power" was a popular slogan of the 'Maidan' movement. But the new cabinet led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the Maidan leaders, had to rely on an unstable majority in the Ukrainian parliament (the Rada), elected in 2012 under the previous regime. This majority had to be created with a large number of defectors from the 'Party of Regions,' previously headed by Yanukovych. It was clear that the old composition of the parliament no longer reflected the real picture of the public's attitudes and electoral preferences.

Second, MPs from the previous majority (Party of Regions and the Communists) voted on January 16, 2014, for the so-called 'draconian laws,' in a way which violated all the procedures and regulations, as well as the Constitution. These laws sharply restricted independent mass media, civil society activists, think tanks, and NGOs. In fact, it de-facto legalized large-scale repression against all who were opposed to Yanukovych. According to the views of the absolute majority of Ukrainians, these MPs had neither the legal nor the moral right to retain their seats. Thus, the dissolution of the parliament was supported by 60% of the protesters in Kyiv in February 2014. (4) Moreover, the anti-democratic nature of the Party of Regions and the Communists was only strengthened when the new facts revealed their support for the Russian-backed separatists in Donbas and the annexation of Crimea.

Finally, early parliamentary elections were favorable for a number of political forces, including the new ones, which were in the process of forming after the Maidan demonstrations. Although Poroshenko, received tremendous support in the presidential elections, to effectively govern, he needed his own majority in the parliament. Once the 2004 constitutional reforms were reinstated, the President, whose powers were limited by the new mixed form of government, was looking to a loyal cabinet formed on the basis of a parliamen tary coalition. To obtain this political goal, it was advantageous to have early elections before the President's popularity had a chance to wane under the pressures and decline owing to the difficult economic conditions in times of war. Still, the problem remained that Poroshenko did not have his own political party. Thus, he had no automatic political and parliamentary majority. He had to negotiate with UDAR ("Strike"), led by Vitali Klitschko--the famous world champion boxer and now mayor of Kyiv as well as other political forces. A new pro-presidential political party called "Petro Poroshenko Bloc" (which UDAR joined) was formed.

At the same time, a split emerged within 'Batkivshchyna' (the 'Motherland' party); previously the main force of the opposition to Yanukovych, who imprisoned Yulia Tymoshenko the charismatic party's leader, on politically motivated charges. The new wing of the party was now headed by Oleksandr Turchynov and Arseniy Yatsenyuk. They became, respectively, speaker of...