General trends of the election campaign in the Kherson region

Rating chart of the most active parties in the region 

Long-term observers from the Committee of Voters of Ukraine [CVU] in partnership with the Prychornomorsk Centre for Political and Social Research and the Youth Centre of Regional Development have identified the following main trends of the current election campaign.

1.  Unlike the 2010 Local Elections, the current campaign is taking place when there is an extremely low level of trust among voters in the government and a sharp fall in the popularity rating of the Party of the Regions.

2.  The rating of the traditional opposition is also not high and they are virtually not applying any new ideas or actions which could change the situation in their favour.

3.   A significant increase in both the rating and the activity of the left who have begun a campaign to discredit the government they themselves belong to. The conflict between the Party of the Regions and the Communist Party in the region is more noticeable than that between the Party of the Regions and the united opposition.

4.  Despite the above, there is also a considerable part of the electorate in protest mode who are willing to vote for new political projects, such as “Udar” {Klichko) or Ukraina Vpered.

5.  Neither the government nor the opposition have charismatic and bright personalities who are well-known and respected in the region, and they therefore have problems putting forward candidates for the single-mandate electoral districts.

6.   For the moment among candidates for single-mandate electoral districts one is seeking a crisis of ideas. Lack of ideological content is compensated for either through attempts to bribe the voter with food parcels, expensive presents, concerts, or to influence them via their own image (billboards, material in the media).

7.   Administrative resources during these elections are totally concentrated in one force. However possibilities for their use are restricted by specific features of the election law (with candidates’ registration virtually impossible to remove; the electoral commissions being more independent) is  being virtually impossible to remove). At present they are only used in the form of campaigning and encouragement to support the Party of the Regions, however such use could have the opposite effect.

In terms of political activity the five top parties observed at the beginning of July were: Natalya Korolevska’s Ukraina Vpered in first place followed by Party of the Regions, then the Communist Party; Batkivshchyna and Udar.