9 December 2011
Yesterday President Viktor Yanukovych signed the new election law passed by parliament on November 17, according to the presidential website. The law makes three main changes to existing election system: (1) dual mandate voting: 50% of deputies will be elected 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 stacks the rules in favor of the Party of Regions as history has shown that Ukraine’s contingent of independent constituency-voted lawmakers have drifted to the party in power. We believe there will be few challenges to the Regions’ stranglehold on power next year, particularly with the population so disenchanted and the opposition so far unable to put a kink in the decision-making machine.