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The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (Ukrainian: Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", romanized: Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna"), referred to as Batkivshchyna (Ukrainian:[ˌbɑtʲkʲiu̯ˈʃtʃɪnɐ]ⓘ), is a political party in Ukraine led by People's Deputy of Ukraine,[22] former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.[1] As the core party of the former Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Batkivshchyna has been represented in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) since Yulia Tymoshenko set up the parliamentary faction of the same name in March 1999.[23][24][25] After the November 2011 banning of the participation of blocs of political parties in parliamentary elections,[26] Batkivshchyna became a major force in Ukrainian politics independently.[27]
In the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Batkivshchyna took part under the banner "United opposition Batkivshchyna" and other parties allied with Batkivshchyna. The list won 62 seats and 25.55 percent of the vote under the (nationwide) proportional party-list system (down from 30.71 percent in 2007 for the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc),[28] and another 39 in constituencies, thus a total of 101 seats.[29] On 15 June 2013 the parties "Front of Changes" and "Reforms and Order" finally merged with the Batkivshchyna by self-liquidation. By 31 December 2013, the parliamentary faction Batkivshchyna had 90 deputies.[30][27][31][32][33]
In the snap parliamentary election of 2019, Batkivschyna received 8.18% of the votes and 26 MPs (two elected in constituencies).[40] In the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the party went into opposition.[41][42] According to the results of the local elections in 2020, the Batkivshchyna received 12.39% votes of voters, and became one of the leading parties in the local elections in Ukraine.[43] Batkivshchyna maintained a social-democratic image until it joined the European People's Party in 2008.[44] It is in favor of Ukraine's integration into the EU and joining NATO.[45]
History
Early history
The predecessor of today's party is the Association of Peace-loving Forces "Batkivshchyna" that was founded in 1995 by Volodymyr Prisnyakov, a rector at Dnipropetrovsk National University.[25] In 1998, Yulia Tymoshenko was elected a people's deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the Bobrynets constituency (number 99) in Kirovohrad Oblast. In spring 1999, Tymoshenko created a parliamentary group called "Batkivshchyna" as a breakaway group of Hromada.[46] On 14 September 1998 the General Prosecutor of Ukraine accused Hromada leader Pavlo Lazarenko of embezzlement, and the following March Tymoshenko established the "Fatherland" parliamentary group.[47][24] On 9 July 1999, based on the parliamentary group and smaller party, a new political party – All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" – was founded its constituent congress.[25] On the same day, the Charter of the party was approved. According to which the party is entrusted with the main duties to protect the interests of the Ukrainian people in their struggle for the independence of Ukraine, the preservation of national identity, the European future of the country and a decent life for all its citizens.[48] The first party chairman was elected Viktor Drachenko, a former Communist Party secretary from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.[25] The party was registered by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 16 September 1999 under certificate no. 122.[28] At the second congress, held on 18 December of the same year, Yulia Tymoshenko was elected chairman of the party, replacing Drachenko.[25]
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc
In the 2002 parliamentary elections, the party was the main constituent of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.[28] The bloc obtained 22 seats in the parliament, all on the party list. Thirteen of them were allocated to "Fatherland".
After losing several seats in 2002 and 2003, the bloc had grown to 40 members by September 2005.[52] In March 2005, the Yabluko party merged with Batkivshchyna.[25] However, in March 2007 Yabluko became the Party of Free Democrats and withdrew from Batkivshchyna.[25] In late 2005, the United Ukraine party also merged with Batkivshchyna.[25] In the 2006 and 2007 parliamentary elections the party was part of the Tymoshenko Bloc,[28] which won 129 of 450 seats in 2006 (22.29 percent of the total vote) and 156 of 450 seats (30.71 percent of the total vote) in 2007.[28]
In 2009, "Fatherland" put Tymoshenko forward as a candidate for the presidency of Ukraine. After its defeat in the elections, the parliamentary coalition ceased to exist, and Tymoshenko's cabinet was dismissed. Tymoshenko stated on 22 February 2010 that she would go into opposition.[55][56] During the 2010 Ukrainian local elections party (political blocs were not permitted to compete in the election)[57][58] was defeated by the rival Party of Regions in nearly all regions of Ukraine, although it remained the main opposition party.[59] Although Batkivshchyna won seats in 19 of 24 regional parliaments, it did not win a seat in the Supreme Council of Crimea.[60] In Lviv Oblast and Kyiv Oblast as well as in Ternopil the party did not participate in the elections cause it was unable to register its candidates. Yulia Tymoshenko claimed that "fraudulent Batkivshchyna party organisations were registered on orders from Viktor Yanukovych".[61][62][63]
Batkivshchyna – United Opposition
On 16 November 2010, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc in the Verkhovna Rada was renamed the Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivshchyna.[64] During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, several criminal cases were opened against Tymoshenko. On 5 August 2011 Tymoshenko was arrested. On 11 October she was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of abuse of power and official authority when entering into gas contracts with Russia in January 2009. The Danish Helsinki Committee, observing the trial, came to the conclusion that it was politically motivated and included gross violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2010–2013, the European Parliament adopted six resolutions in which the persecution of Tymoshenko was named "politically motivated selective justice".[1][65]
On 17 November 2011, party blocs were again banned in parliamentary elections.[26] The following month, Batkivshchyna and the People's Self-Defense party announced that the latter would merge with the former,[66][67] and on 28 December first deputy head of the party Oleksandr Turchynov said, "I believe that other political forces will join us".[68]
On 6 June 2012, Vyacheslav Kutovy and Volodymyr Kupchak left the party;[72] Kupchak he had been threatened by party leader Yatsenyuk and the party had "betrayed Yulia Tymoshenko, who had sparked the protest movement Rise up, Ukraine!".[73] In July 2012, Batkivshchyna agreed with the Svoboda party on the distribution of single-member district candidates in the 2012 parliamentary elections.[74] Two weeks before 28 October election, Batkivshchyna withdrew 26 parliamentary candidates in favour of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR); UDAR withdrew 26 of its single-seat candidates in favour of Batkivshchyna candidates, attempting to maximise the opposition vote.[75]
Results of the 2012 elections
Batkivshchyna was a de facto umbrella party in the election, whose election list included members of the Reforms and Order, People's Movement of Ukraine, Front for Change, For Ukraine!, People's Self-Defense, Civil Position and Social Christian parties.[76][77][78][79] In July 2012, members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People joined the list, known as the Fatherland United Opposition.[80] Front for Change leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk headed the list, because Tymoshenko was imprisoned.[32][71] The list won 62 seats and 25.55 percent of the vote under the proportional party-list system (down from 30.71 percent in 2007 for the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc[28]), and another 39 in simple-majority constituencies.[29] Competing in 152 of 225 constituencies,[81] they won a total of 101 seats, 22.67 percent of the 450 seats in the Verkhovna Rada.[29][82] The party lost about two million votes, compared with the results of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc in the previous election.[27] Yatsenyuk was temporarily elected leader of this parliamentary faction on 12 December 2012.[83] On 19 October 2012, Batkivshchyna and Svoboda signed an agreement for "the creation of a coalition of democratic forces in the new parliament".[84] The party also coordinated its parliamentary activities with UDAR.[85]
In early April 2013, four lawmakers left the party in protest of Yatsenyuk's leadership style, and Roman Stadniychuk was forced to replace Serhiy Vlasenko's parliamentary mandate.[86][87] The following month, Batkivshchyna, UDAR and Svoboda pledged to coordinate for the 2015 Ukrainian presidential election.[88]
2013 unification
In December 2012, the parties which aligned with Batkivshchyna in the 2012 parliamentary elections considered forming a single party.[89] On 15 June 2013, the Reforms and Order Party and the Front for Change merged with Batkivshchyna.[90] A portion of the People's Movement of Ukraine (including former chairman Borys Tarasyuk)[91] also merged. The remainder of the party had merged with the Ukrainian People's Party the previous month.[92][93] During the same congress, the party also approved Tymoshenko's nomination as its candidate for the 2015 Ukrainian presidential election,[2] with all 482 delegates supporting the candidature of Tymoshenko.[94]
Euromaidan and return to government
The party played a substantial role in the anti-government Euromaidan protests, which began in late November 2013 and culminated on 21 February 2014 impeachment of President Viktor Yanukovych after the February 2014 Ukrainian revolution, during which Tymoshenko was released from jail and officially rehabilitated.[95][96] Immediately after the revolution, the Ukrainian Supreme Court closed the case and found that "no crime was committed".[34] The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg acknowledged political persecution and torture and stopped studying the criminal cases against Yulia Tymoshenko dated 2011–2014.[97] After Yanukovych's ousting, and return of the 2004 Constitution, a ruling coalition was formed, which included Batkivshchyna, UDAR and Svoboda. This coalition put together a coalition government headed by Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
Yulia Tymoshenko began to reform the party following the revolution. In early August 2014, Batkivshchyna expelled more than 1,500 members, including more than 700 deputies, in a lustration campaign.[98]
On 22 September 2014, the Central Election Commission made the decision to register Batkivshchyna in a nationwide multi-member constituency at the extraordinary elections to the Verkhovna Rada. Batkivshchyna garnered 894,837 votes (5.68%) in the elections, which meant that it was admitted to the 8th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with 17 seats on party lists, and two seats in majority constituencies.[102] Following the elections the party became a member of the coalition supporting the current second Yatsenyuk Government and had one minister in this government.[103][102]
On 11 December 2014 parliament supported Yulia Tymoshenko's initiative calling for the release of Nadiya Savchenko.[104] On 25 May 2016, Savchencko was exchanged in a prisoner swap for two Russian GRU officers[105] captured by Ukraine.[106] (Technically, she was granted a pardon by president Vladimir Putin.[107])
On 17 February 2016 Batkivshchyna withdrew from the Second Yatsenyuk Government following a vote in the Rada to remove Yatsenyuk from his position, which was rejected by a majority.[39]
The party did not join the coalition that supports the Groysman Government, which was installed on 14 April 2016.[108]
On 15 December 2016 Batkivshchyna expelled the number 1 on its 2014 parliamentary election list, Nadiya Savchenko, from its parliamentary faction in response to her earlier meeting with separatist leaders Aleksandr Zakharchenko (of the Donetsk People's Republic) and Igor Plotnitsky (of the Luhansk People's Republic).[110][111] The party saw this meeting as "negotiations with terrorists" and "adamantly opposed" it.[110]
2015 local elections
According to the Central Election Commission, the results of local elections in 2015 resulted in the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" party placing second in Ukraine. "Fatherland" will be represented 8016 deputies in local councils, and by 369 deputies as heads of villages, towns and cities. In comparison to the 2014 parliamentary elections, "Fatherland" was able to increase its representation by 250%.[112][113][114]
2016–2017 local elections
In 2016–2017 Ukraine held local elections in united territorial communities. According to the results of four big local elections "Batkivshchyna" took premier place among political parties (number of local deputies elected to local councils).
According to Central Electoral Committee of Ukraine on elections to local councils held on 11 December 2016, "Batkivshchyna" got 14.34% of votes (120 deputies);[115] on 18 December 2016 – 16.17% (515 deputies);[116] on 30 April 2017 – 17.99% (197 deputies);[117] on 29 October 2017 – 20.33% (901 deputies).[118]
2019 presidential election and parliamentary election
In the July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election the top 5 of the party list were Tymoshenko, Serhiy Taruta, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Serhiy Sobolyev and Olena Kondratyuk.[120] In early June, Tymoshenko announced that the party will not be part of opposition to President Zelensky if it is not included in the ruling coalition formed after the next elections.[121] In the snap parliamentary election of 2019 Batkivschyna slightly improved its performance, scoring 8.18% (1,196,303) and electing 26 MPs.[40] The party abstained from the confidence vote to the new Honcharuk Government, but ensured it would support the government from outside. However, on 13 November 2019, the party went into opposition.[41]
Parliamentary activity in the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation (2019 – present)
The "Fatherland" faction in the Verkhovna Rada of the ninth convocation has 24 deputies. The head of the faction is Yulia Tymoshenko, the first deputy is Sergei Sobolev. The faction was created on 29 August 2019.[122]
On the first day of the 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, Tymoshenko's faction supported the bill on lifting parliamentary immunity.[123]
On 3 September 2019, the "Fatherland" supported the referral to the Constitutional Court of a bill to reduce the number of deputies.[124]
In November 2019, after the parliament passed a bill to lift the moratorium on land sales, the leader of the "Fatherland" faction Yulia Tymoshenko announced her transition to opposition to the ruling Servant of the People party.[125]
On 18 November 2019, Tymoshenko appealed to the Constitutional Court to immediately consider the petition for the bill on the "land market".[126]
In December 2019, Tymoshenko united more than 40 political and public organizations that oppose the sale of land in the National Headquarters for the Protection of Native Land. On December 15, 2019, the National Headquarters approved demands to President Volodymyr Zelensky that it be necessary to postpone the adoption of "land laws", extend the moratorium and announce a referendum. The National Corps also joined the all-Ukrainian protest action initiated by the National Headquarters for the Protection of the Motherland.[127][128]
On 19 December 2019, Yulia Tymoshenko and Batkivshchyna deputies addressed the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine with a statement pointing to conflicts of interest and corruption in the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian Policy during the consideration of the law on land sales.[129]
On 11 January 2021, Tymoshenko called on the authorities to provide Ukrainians with gas at a price no higher than the purchase price. According to Tymoshenko, the price of gas should not exceed ₴3, in this regard, "Batkivshchyna" registered a bill in parliament No. 1177.[130]
On 29 January 2021, the Batkivshchyna faction registered in the Verkhovna Rada a draft law "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Natural Gas Market" (regarding the direction of natural gas accumulated during the unheated period and domestic production for the needs of the population)"[131]
In November 2020, Tymoshenko's party supported the all-Ukrainian SaveFOP campaign by registering Bill 3853-2 to simplify the taxation system for small businesses. Tymoshenko signed a memorandum of cooperation with the public movement SaveFOP.[132]
On 27 January 2021, Tymoshenko initiated a referendum on five issues: the supply of Ukrainian gas and nuclear electricity to the population with a 30% profitability; on the sale of agricultural land; on the sale of strategic property; the issue of legalization of cannabis; about the gambling business. At the same time, Zelensky criticized Tymoshenko's referendum, although he himself initiated a nationwide poll on 5 issues, as well as the strengthening of democracy in Ukraine.[133][134]
On 1 March 2021, the Batkivshchyna party demanded that the Government stop importing electricity from Russia and Belarus to Ukraine and launch an investigation into the matter. According to Tymoshenko, the import of Belarusian and Russian electricity threatens the national security of the country.[135]
On 16 June 2021, Batkivshchyna appealed to the president at an all-Ukrainian veche, in which they called for a referendum on the land issue. The appeal contains a demand to abolish and not enact the already adopted legislative acts on the circulation of agricultural land, as well as to introduce a moratorium on the adoption of such legislation – until the appropriate decision of the referendum. The party opened a "hot" telephone line to help citizens in matters of the "land market".[136] The party opened a "hot" telephone line to help citizens in matters of the "land market".[137]
On 21 July 2021, the Batkivshchyna party developed a draft of the new Constitution of Ukraine, which provides for the division of powers into four branches – legislative, executive, judicial and control.[138]
On 28 September 2021, the Batkivshchyna faction registered in the Verkhovna Rada a draft resolution on the creation of an interim commission of inquiry to investigate the activities of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine and to investigate the critical situation in the field of tariff setting, which arose as a result of the actions of officials of this company.[139]
On 18 October 2021, the Batkivshchyna faction announced a demand for the authorities to declare a state of emergency in the energy sector and proposed an urgent plan to avoid the crisis and calmly pass the heating season for.[140]
On 24 January 2022, the Batkivshchyna Party proposed the creation of a Government of National Unity in Ukraine to overcome the economic crisis in the country.[141][142]
On 27 January 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution initiated by MPs from the Batkivshchyna faction to establish a Temporary Commission of Inquiry to investigate possible corruption, which caused significant losses to the state budget, including NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine. The leader of the Tymoshenko faction became a member of this TSC.[143]
On 1 March 2022, during the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, took custody of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital. Tymoshenko donated medicines and essentials to the institution.[144] Tymoshenko also helps to take sick children out of Kyiv and the region to continue treatment and medical care abroad and in the western regions of the country.
On 18 March 2022, Yulia Tymoshenko created the Center for Humanitarian Aid in the all-Ukrainian association "Batkivshchyna" to help vulnerable groups of the population and the Ukrainian military.[145]
On 19 July 2022, at a closed meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, the Batkivshchyna faction prevented the consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of bills on the allocation of 264 billion budget hryvnias for Naftogaz of Ukraine. Speaking from the rostrum of the parliament, Tymoshenko published information confirming the corruption component of the package of government bills 7427 and 7429 submitted for consideration, which introduced an opaque scheme for the purchase of natural gas by Naftogaz.[148] After that, the Verkhovna Rada sent these initiatives for a second second reading.[149]
29 July 2022 the Verkhovna Rada voted for the legislative initiative of Tymoshenko on the creation of a Temporary Special Commission to Investigate the Crisis in the Energy Market of Ukraine.[150]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 30 June 2023, the "Batkivshchyna" faction did not vote for Law No. 8401, which cancels tax benefits for small and medium-sized businesses and introduces fines for working without cash registers.[151]
On 6 July 2023, the "Batkivshchyna" team, led by leader Yulia Tymoshenko, announced the creation of a volunteer program to provide the Ukrainian military with new medical aid vehicles.[152]
On 7 July 2023, the "Batkivshchyna" faction called on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt a resolution on the introduction of a moratorium on any changes to the borders of the Chernobyl zones.[153]
On 12 July 2023, the "Batkivshchyna" faction registered in the Parliament a draft law «On adoption of a decision on the cultivation/production (cultivation) and other circulation of cannabis plants in Ukraine exclusively through an all-Ukrainian referendum».[154]
On 15 July 2023, "Batkivshchyna" is the only faction in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that did not vote for draft law No. 7457 on the legalization of marijuana. Tymoshenko said that this law will turn Ukraine into a plantation for the drug business.[155]
18 July 2023 Yulia Tymoshenko from the Batkivshchyna party handed over to military doctors a modern resuscitation vehicle for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
[156]
On 1 August 2023, the "Batkivshchyna" faction registered draft law No. 9550 in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which will allow to triple the allocation of funds for the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers.[157]
In September 2023, Batkivshchyna created a Temporary Special Commission (TSC) on the conditions of treatment of wounded soldiers, headed by Yulia Tymoshenko.[158]
On 15 November 2023, "Batkivshchyna" was accepted into the international association of political parties of the Centrist Democrat International.
[161]
Local elections 2020
Fatherland billboard in Kyiv during the 2020 local elections: "Team Batkivshchyna is your only hope!"
According to the results of the CEC, Tymoshenko's party the Batkivshchyna which received 4093 deputy mandates (12.39%), became one of the party leaders in the 2020 Ukrainian local elections.[43] 7.24% of the elected mayor of a village, town or city was a member of Batkivshchyna.[162]
Ideology and stances
A comparative analysis of Batkivshchyna's election programs between 2002 and 2012 reveals some changes. However, the overall political orientation can be identified as weakly articulated, with a slight dominance of the "left" vector due to "left" statements belonging to the sphere of "social policy".[163]
The party manifesto archived in 2016 claims that it seeks to instill in Ukraine national, democratic, and Christian values, held together through reformation, spirituality, patriotism, national solidarity, responsibility, rights and freedoms. The party advocates transforming Ukraine into a competitive nation-state based on a western Europe model of justice and welfare.[164]
According to the party, only citizens of Ukraine will have the right to private ownership of land, but that "high concentration of land ownership by one person" will be forbidden.[165]
The party wants to prosecute "Law enforcement involved in political repression".[169]
The party is in favor of party-list proportional representation elections with open lists.[165][169][172]
It Tymoshenko initiated a referendum on five issues: the supply of Ukrainian gas and nuclear electricity to the population with a 30% profitability; on the sale of agricultural land; on the sale of strategic property; the issue of legalization of cannabis; about the gambling business.[133][134]
The party also states that government grants should[173] be awarded to graduates who successfully passed testing for studies at Ukrainian universities.[165]
It proposes a health system that has mandatory health inspections and gradual development of a voluntary health insurance system funded by employers.[165]
The party wants to introduce jury trials into the Ukrainian law system and wants to "depoliticise" the process of appointment of judges.[165] It also wants an independent judiciary that will increase the role of the Supreme Court of Ukraine.[169]
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine, "which has compromised itself with decisions that were ordered (by the Yanukovych administration)" should be liquidated.[169] It wants the criminal code to be "Europeanized" and law enforcement brought under civil control.[169]
On 15 May 2016, "Fatherland" prepared a statement in the name of the new Prosecutor General in connection with offenses in the activities of the National Commission, which performs state regulation in the energy and utilities relative to the unjustified increase of gas prices for the population.[175]
On 23 May 2016 All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" launched a website called "Fair rates", which promotes the idea of establishing fair gas tariffs for the population.[176][177]
In the parliament, Batkivshchyna advocates ban on agricultural land[178] sales. The party also insists on adopting laws on development of Ukrainian agriculture. On 31 March 2016, Parliament adopted the law on family farms[179] initiated by the party Batkivshchyna.
One of the party's priorities is improvement of social security of people, increasing of social standards.
The party advocates decreasing of tariffs on housing and utility services for people, because they are set up too high artificially. On 21 April 2015 Yulia Tymoshenko initiated a working group to check the validity of utility tariffs.[180] "Fatherland" party has made the reduction of tariffs for housing and communal services.[181]
Batkivshchyna advocates strengthening the struggle against corruption, namely deoffshorization[182] and independence of anti-corruption government bodies.[183]
The party is also against selling and privatization of the state's strategic objects.[184][185]
On March 1, 2021, the "Fatherland" party in the Verkhovna Rada demanded to submit to parliament a draft law banning the import of electricity from Russia and Belarus. According to Tymoshenko, imports of Belarusian and Russian electricity threaten the country's national security.[186]
The Young Batkivshchyna is the youth wing of the party. It was established in 2007, has cells in all regions of Ukraine and is a member of the International Union of Young Democrats (since 2009) and the youth of the European People's Party (since 2011). The head of the organization was Sergey Mitrofansky as of September 2021.[187][non-primary source needed]
See also
Category:All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" politicians
^"Youtube". Youtube: Yulia Tymoshenko elected Prime-Minister (in Ukrainian). 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
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