Election 2012 in Kharkiv Oblast: Intellectual Sparring Awaiting Berezhna
In Kharkiv Oblast, the Party of Regions was the first one to start preparing for the parliamentary election. Right according to the political science textbook — no later than a year before. Running of the campaign component on the electorate has been far-sightedly launched early this year when acting people's deputies of the Party of Regions — potential FPP candidates Valerii Pysarenko, Vitalii Khomutynnik, and Iryna Berezhna — became frequent visitors in Kharkiv and started appearing in public at all more or less mass celebrations. The election campaign of the pro-government political force has been brought into an active stage back in early April, when Kharkiv residents and the residents of certain raions of the oblast — veterans and people born in the time of war — for the first time massively benefited from grocery packages, coincided with the Victory Day, from the pro-government, then yet potential, FPP candidates.
In Kharkiv Oblast, the Party of Regions was the first one to start preparing for the parliamentary election. Right according to the political science textbook — no later than a year before.
Not all the pro-government „landing “candidates who came down to Kharkiv land with presents made it to the official start of the campaign. Among 14 election districts created in Kharkiv Oblast, they have kept only two though at the start of the informal stage, there were four. An acting people's deputy, Vitalii Khomutynnik was the first one to lose district 174 (Kominternivskyiand Chervonozavodskyi Raions of Kharkiv). Another widely known acting people's deputy of the Party of Regions Vasyl Hrytsak, who has launched wide information and charitable activities in district 177 (Kupyansk, Borivskyi, Shevchenkove, and Izium Raions of the oblast), was replaced by a more decent candidate directly during the oblast party convention in late July.Meet the „Paratroopers“ Bringing Presents
The electoral fate of the „landing“ candidates of the Party of Regions in the election districts 168 (Dzerzhynskyi Raion of Kharkiv) and 169 (Kyivskyi and a part of Moskovskyi Raions) — Valerii Pysarenko and Iryna Berezhna — is fundamentally different. The acting Mayor of Kharkiv, being also the Head of Kharkiv City Organisation of the Party of Regions, is personally, systematically, and tirelessly taking care of their „residence permit“ in Kharkiv.
Presentational efforts of Hennadii Kernes and the absence of strong competitors has created good chances for the victory in district 168 for Valerii Pysarenko. Iryna Berezhna in this regard is less fortunate. District 169, where she is nominated, turned out to be probably the most competitive of the election 2012 in Kharkiv Oblast. In the mainly „intellectual“ district, she has to survive an intellectual sparring with two recognised professionals as a minimum. One is a self-nominated candidate of the United Opposition — a well-known economist and long-term expert of public activities Oleksandr Kirsh. The other is the representative of the People's Party, the acting Head of the Territorial Administration of the Chamber of Accounts of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava Oblasts — Stanislav Kosinov, who already won in this district at the parliamentary election in 2002.
The Team of Kernes and Dobkin
The acting Mayor of Kharkiv pays all the sufficient attention to create a significant campaigning competitive advantage also for the other five pro-government FPP candidates of the oblast centre: acting people's deputies — Dmytro Sviatash (E.D.170), Iryna Horina (E.D.171), Oleksandr Feldman (E.D.174), and acting deputies of Kharkiv City Council — Volodymyr Mysyk (E.D.172) and Anatolii Denysenko (E.D.173). The whole Kharkiv „seven“ regularly „materialises“ next to the local administration at all the city celebrations, and presents itself at the ceremonial and congratulatory events in the city council. At their disposal, there are, among the others, the official website of Kharkiv Mayor and Head of the City Council as well as the state run medium — Kharkovskie Izvestiia, which combines a newspaper, a news agency, a website, and informs the residents of Kharkiv on daily activities of the candidates of the Party of Regions to the benefit of voters. Indeed, there are many of them. Together with the acting Mayor, being also a member of the same party (who, in turn, is accompanied by directors of the core departments of the City Council, heads of public utility companies and services, who implement orders of the Mayor on the spot) and separately, candidates meet with the residents of their districts, listen to problems, report on their solutions, open parks, gardens, kindergartens and playgrounds, school stadia... Again, as in the times of Kuchma, the hit of the campaign season is the forgotten word „patronage“.
Having hooked the electorate on pre-election „feed“, the pro-government team is clinging to the monopoly for campaigning patronage, created by a practically endless possibility to administer the funds of local budgets and administrative and government resource
Having hooked the electorate on pre-election „feed“, the pro-government team is clinging to the monopoly for campaigning patronage, created by a practically endless possibility to administer the funds of local budgets and administrative and government resource as well as financed from the budget of state and local programmes („school bus“, „school stadium“, refurbishment of recreation areas, hospitals, kindergartens, etc).The situation is similar with pro-government FPP candidates in the oblast's raions, where the leaders of Oblast and Raion State Administrations are promoting them to the electoral crowds together. Meanwhile, the acting Head of KOSA, being also the Head of the Oblast Organisation of the Party of Regions, Mykhailo Dobkin radiates almost„Donetsk“ confidence that the nominees of the Party of Regions will win in all the 14 first-past-the-post districts of Kharkiv Oblast, and in the proportional part will get 55% of the votes here.
Unintentional Team Play
Clearly, with those resources that the pro-government political force has monopoly on and disposes of the opposition — even united — can't measure swords with. Obviously, it's not even trying. In particular, in early September, in one of the interviews, the head of the election campaign of the United Opposition in Kharkiv Oblast Arsen Avakov refused to name the number that the UO will spend on the election campaign, and practically admitted that a minimum of funds will be put out for it.
The economy option of the election campaign of the United Opposition, under the conditions of the team style of campaigning of the pro-government candidates, determines the need for it to follow the same scenario. However, when in their own team play the FPP candidates of the Party of Regions get organisational support from the government and administration structures the opposition has to rely on organisational structures of the party.
Meanwhile, the current state of the local party organisations which comprise the structure of the United Opposition is quite far from electoral capacity. It seems this is where these modest ambitions concerning electoral results announced by Arsen Avakov come from. According to his September statement, the United Opposition has planned to win in 2 or 3 districts but „it may be 4 districts, or 5“. In the proportional part of the election, it is expecting to get between 25 and 28% of votes in Kharkiv Oblast.
The District of Two Heroes
One of the few districts of Kharkiv Oblast where the United Opposition is reasonably counting for victory is 177 (Kupyansk, Bor, Shevchenkove, and Izum Raions), with a centre in Kupyansk. It's expectations are almost entirely associated with a figure of the candidate nominated in this district — the well-known among the locals head of the successful SK Vostok Agricultural Company, the Hero of Ukraine Andrii Rovchak. From the Party of Regions, the Head of the Southern Rail, also a Hero of Ukraine, Viktor Ostapchuk confronts him. Also — an unemployed self-nominated candidate, Serhii Rochniak.
The Communist Party of Ukraine, the UDAR of Vitalii Klychko Party, and the Ukraine - Forward Party of Nataliia Korolevska in Kharkiv Oblast seem to be focused on getting results on the national list. Almost all nominated by them FPP candidates are „dark horses“ for local electorate, and election campaigns are structured mainly in the party team style. The only exception, which only proves this trend, is an acting people's deputy, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Committee of the CPU, Alla Aleksandrovska standing for the election in the election district 170 (part of Moskovskyi Raion of Kharkiv). In a duel with the nominee of the Party of Regions Dmytro Sviatash, she has a significant chance of winning supported, according to unofficial information, with the informal agreement between her and the local leaders of the Party of Regions.
Viktoriia Shevchuk, Election Programmes Coordinator of the Civil Network OPORA in Kharkiv Oblast