Ukraine reports results for seven parliamentary seats

Most of the votes in the July 17 elections for seven parliamentary seats have been tallied, reported on July 19 the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Of the seven seats, two were won by the populist Fatherland party, two were gained by the Ukrop party fielded by oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, and were gained by independent candidates reported to be aligned with the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. Tallies have yet to be completed for the seventh seat representing a district in the Luhansk region, where serious violations were reported. However, the candidate from the populist Our Region party enjoyed a significant lead.

Zenon Zawada: The results confirm recent poll results that the Poroshenko Bloc and Fatherland parties are among the most supported. Kolomoisky’s party is competitive at the local level but has yet to establish itself nationally, failing to qualify for parliament in recent polls.

What’s more revealing is that violations could have been serious enough to cast doubt on the results of three of the seven elections, as reported by the Committee of Voters of Ukraine. The election-observing organization cited alleged vote-buying as the biggest problem. It’s not encouraging news for the Ukrainian government.