Parliament approves election law favoring Party of Regions

Ukraine’s parliament approved a new law last night that will regulate parliamentary elections, including next October’s. There are three main changes to existing election system: (1) dual mandate voting: 50% of deputies will be appointed from party lists and 50% from constituencies, (2) the barrier for entry for one party was increased from 3% of the overall vote to 5% and (3) blocs of political parties were banned from participating in an election.  International observers including the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission and American nonprofits National Democratic Institute and International Republic Institute criticized the drafting process for excluding input from the opposition and civil society. Brad Wells: The law was unilaterally drafted by the ruling Party of Regions and gives them an advantage in maintaining control of parliament next year. Without these changes to the election law, it did not look like the Party of Regions would have been able to secure enough votes as a standalone party to form a majority coalition in parliament. We believe there will be few challenges to the Regions’ stranglehold on power in the next year, with the October election as the only potential major flashpoint in which the opposition can change the situation.