1The alliance contained different political groups with diverging ideological outlooks[8]
The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc[9] (Ukrainian: Блок Юлії Тимошенко, БЮТ; Blok Yuliyi Tymoshenko, BYuT) was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of blocs of political parties in parliamentary elections was banned.[10] The core party of the alliance, Batkivshchyna, remained a major force in Ukrainian politics.[11][12]
BYuT had intended to include more representatives from the education sector into its voting lists. According to Tymoshenko: "Certain branches and sectors have powerful lobbies. And there are only three to four lobbyists who represent the spheres of education and health care in the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament]. Therefore some sectors lack financing, while others have excessive funding".[23]
According to Tymoshenko, representatives of business had no dominant influence on decision making in her political force. "Business is represented in the parliament, but it doesn't shape politics this is what distinguishes my political force from the Party of Regions for instance."[24] Several billionaires have been members of the BYuT faction in the Verkhovna Rada.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe noted at the time that there were physical assaults and harassment of candidates and campaign workers associated with the BYuT, and other opposition parties leading up to the March 2002 election.[34] The BYuT itself complained of campaign-related violations including "an informal 'media blackout,' [and] negatively slanted coverage".[34]
At the parliamentary elections on 30 March 2002, the alliance comprised the following liberal and nationalist member parties:[35][36]
The bloc won 7.2%[37] of the popular vote and 22 out of 450 seats. This result was better than expected,[38] because BYuT had limited access to the media and limited support from local authorities.[39][40]
The party had lost a few seats in 2002 and 2003, but doubled to 40 members of parliament in September 2005.[43]
Electoral breakthrough
Map showing the results of BYuT (% of total national vote) per region for the 2006 parliamentary election (above) and the 2007 parliamentary election (below).
It was widely expected that a coalition between supporters of the Orange Movement would form Ukraine's next government, but after three months of negotiations and a failure to reach an agreement the proposed coalition collapsed following the decision of the Socialist Party of Ukraine to support the formation of the "anti-crisis coalition" with Party of Regions and the Communist Party of Ukraine.
In the parliamentary elections on 30 September 2007, the bloc won 156 of 450 seats (and thus 30.71% of the total votes[37]), securing an additional 1.5 million votes (8.24%) in comparison with the 2006 election.[37][46] Most of this vote swing came as a result of consolidation in regions where BYuT had already been the leading party. Statistics published by Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission[47] indicate that most of the swing came from minor parties with some voters turning away from the Socialist Party and to a lesser extent Our Ukraine.
On 15 October 2007, Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc agreed to form a majority coalition in the new parliament of the 6th convocation.[48] On 29 November, a coalition was signed between the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc (OU-PSD) which together had received 45% of the national vote.[47] On 18 December 2007 Yulia Tymoshenko, with a margin of two votes, was elected Prime Minister.[49]
During the 2008 Ukrainian political crisis the BYuT–OU-PSD coalition faltered. There were negotiations between BYuT and Party of Regions to form a coalition[50] but after Volodymyr Lytvyn was elected Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on 9 December 2008, he announced the creation of a coalition between his Lytvyn Bloc, BYuT and OU-PSD.[51] Following negotiations,[52][53] the three parties officially signed the coalition agreement on 16 December.[54] It was unsure if this coalition would stop the snap election[55][56][57] although Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn predicted that the Verkhovna Rada would work until the next scheduled elections in 2012.[58]PresidentViktor Yushchenko's decree to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) – made during the 2008 Ukrainian political crisis – was never put into action.[59]
On 3 July 2009 the Verkhovna Rada terminated the mandate of BYuT deputy Viktor Lozinskyi. At the time there was a criminal proceeding against Lozinskyi who was suspected of deliberately inflicting grave bodily harm causing death; the Prosecutor-General's Office had applied to the Verkhovna Rada for permission to arrest Lozinskyi. 416 out of 444 deputies registered in Parliament, including 133 deputies of the BYoT, voted for removal of the Lozinskyi's parliamentary immunity.[60][61]
On 16 March, a shadow government including BYuT was established.[71]
It late May 2010, BYuT deputies had to submit new applications for faction membership.[72] On 26 June 2010 the Political Council Presidium of All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" expelled Oleksandr Feldman, a Verkhovna Rada deputy of the BYuT faction, from the party because he had joined the coalition supporting the Azarov Government the previous month.[73] On 21 September 2010, another 28 members of the faction were officially expelled because they had joined the majority coalition.[74]
On 16 November 2010, the ByuT faction was officially renamed "Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivschyna".[75]
By late 2010 the BYuT faction consisted of 113 lawmakers of the original 156 elected in September 2007. Most who left BYuT had become members of the "Stability and Reforms" coalition supporting the Azarov Government (17 of these became founding members of Reforms for the Future in February 2011[76][77]).[78] Four joined the Party of Regions faction in October 2010 (followed by five others in March 2011).[79][80][81] In early February 2011 seven more deputies were expelled from the faction.[82] On 2 February 2011 party-leader Tymoshenko claimed members of the "Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko-Batkivschyna"-faction had been offered money and places in the election list of the Party of Regions and have been blackmailed into voting for laws introduced by the Azarov Government.[83] In 2011, the faction of BYuT lost 11 more deputies.[84] On 29 December 2011, it consisted of 102 deputies.[84]
Constitutional reform – BYuT proposed a national referendum on the system of governance (Presidential or Parliamentary) and the adoption a new constitution.
Justice – The bloc advocated raising salaries for judges and abolishing the requirement for them to hear specific cases. They proposed legal aid schemes for poor citizens so that income would not be the final determinant of judicial representation and consideration.
Media – The bloc advocated for the creation of public broadcast television, greater transparency and disclosure of ownership of media interests, the establishment of agreements between owners of media outlets and journalists in order to facilitate open and honest editorial policy, and increased Internet availability.
Corruption – The bloc proposed implementing a systematic program to combat corruption.
Social reform – The bloc proposed to improve social welfare services while encouraging an expansion of the population. Specific plans included obligatory medical insurance, free state medical services for those in need, affordable medication, a rural doctor program, and increased payments for each newborn child. In addition, there were proposals for increased baby-care allowances and long-term low interest loans for young families.
Education – The bloc proposed to restore the status and raise the standards of the education system to stop the brain drain problem. Measures included incentives for investment in professional and higher education and in research and development.
Transit – The bloc proposed to build new oil and gas pipelines and expand public-private partnership investments to improve roads, railways and airports. They advocated a liberalization of the transit system.
Business – The bloc wished to address the imbalance between large enterprises, which dominate the business sector, and small enterprises by encouraging the growth of wealth-creating small- and medium-sized enterprises. They advocated a new tax code while expanding assessment, minimizing tax remissions, abolishing VAT, and overall simplifying the process to set up and administer businesses. They advocated lower business lending rates in line with European levels, and measures to liberalize banking and insurance services and encourage longer-term lending. Shareholder rights will be protected, the permit system reformed, and the governmental bureaucracy reduced.
Energy – The bloc sought to overturn the nation's dependence on monopolies for importing energy while strengthening collaboration and coordination of energy policy with the EU. Specific policies included integration with the European market for the supply and consumption of electricity, measures to reduce oil and gas consumption, an increase in utilization of brown coal and the production of synthetic fuel. They wished to complete the Odessa–Brody–Plotsk (Gdańsk) transit pipeline, build a gas transit pipeline linking the Caspian Sea (running through Azerbaijan and Georgia) and the Black Sea, and encourage domestic production both onshore and offshore in the Black and Azov Seas.
Investment – The bloc encouraged domestic and foreign investment by removing legal barriers and streamlining procedures, particularly for the technology and energy sectors. Other proposals included transparent and open privatization and tender processes and the establishment of a network of regional ombudsman to simplify processes for obtaining import certificates. All new legislation was to be in accordance with WTO practices.
Construction – BYuT proposed a system of mortgage lending with lower interest rates for house purchases along with government targets for public housing projects. Decentralization to the regional level would facilitate these targets for both housing and commercial facilities. Special tax incentives were envisioned for industrial projects to complement planning for investment described above.
Agriculture – The bloc advocated a stronger, more profitable and environmentally responsible agricultural sector. Crucial measures included the availability of development funds, agricultural exchanges, insurance funds and land-banks. Other initiatives involved the promotion of agricultural products to overseas markets. To facilitate a functioning land market, agricultural producers would have access to low-interest loans, with incentives for the development of cooperative banks and credit unions in rural areas.
Relationships with other parties
Late May was marked with another story on a boring subject – betrayal, conspiracy, coup d'état, the usurpation of power and other terrible things. This has already become a political characteristic of Ukraine.
Although unrelated to these developments,[relevant?] American analyst Ryan Renicker asserted that allegations of Tymoshenko's alleged wrongdoings are unsubstantiated and misguided. Official documents from both the European Union and the United States suggest Tymoshenko's prosecution and imprisonment were politically motivated.[129][130][131][132][133]
^Kononchuk, Svitlana; Yarosh, Oleg (2013). Ideological positioning of political parties in Ukraine. Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Research. p. 29.
^Passarelli, Gianluca (2015). The presidentialization of political parties : organizations, institutions and leaders. Springer. ISBN978-1-137-48246-4.
^Three revolutions : mobilization and change in contemporary Ukraine. Stuttgart. 2019. p. 115. ISBN9783838213217.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Haran, Olexiy; Burkovsky, Petro (2009), "In the Aftermath of the Revolution: From Orange Victory to Sharing Power with Opponents", Ukraine on Its Meandering Path Between East and West, Peter Lang, p. 96
^Lytvyn Predicts Rada’s Work Until 2012Archived 23 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrainian News Agency (13 December 2008) "I can reassure everyone that snap elections will not be held... If the Rada is working adequately and the public sees its efficiency, the Parliament will work next four-year", he said.
