Electoral Manipulation in Volhynia: Colourful Opposition

Volhynian candidates for People's Deputy appeal to their voters in different ways. However, the most effective campaigning is outdoor advertising, with the help of which they manipulate perception of a voter.

From the start of the election race, every candidate and every party is trying to attract the attention of a voter in the most various ways, and convince him that he is the one who deserves to get into the parliament. In particular, identification of a candidate as nominated by the opposition, which people always favour more during the election in Ukraine, has gained special popularity among the participants of the electoral process. When the authorities have something to be criticised for, the opposition offers something new that will be disapproved only in future. Therefore, candidates benefit from introducing themselves as opposition.

In Volhynia, several candidates rushed to declare being “oppositional” before the voters. Indeed, the nominees of the All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland positioning themselves as approved candidates of the United Opposition started to use the “opposition” brand  They are, in particular, Roman Karpyuk, Ihor Huz, Petro Kravchuk, and Anatolii Hrytsiuk. An “approved opposition candidate” is also Yevhen Melnyk, who stands for the election from the All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda.

However, there are plenty of other candidates who gladly use the “opposition” brand, or try to evoke association with the oppositional parties from the voters. Among them are such candidates as Olena Holieva, Vasyl Baitsym, Borys Zahreva, Yevheniy Nedyshchuk, Hennadii Chastiakov, and Sehii Slabenko.

Indeed, a self-nominated candidate Borys Zahreva placed billboards on which he calls himself “true opposition” in the electoral district No.20.

The candidate of the European Party of Ukraine in the electoral district No.22 Olena Holieva uses the colouristics of the United Opposition in her election campaign.  On 25 September, she placed this board next to the History Department of Lesia Ukrayinka Eastern European National University.

Vasyl Baitsym — a self-nominated candidate in the electoral district No.21 — decided to use his past party achievements in the election campaign. Indeed, in Kovel, he placed billboards with Yuliia Tymoshenko's letter of acknowledgement for significant advances in professional activities and active work in the Fatherland Party. However, the candidate has been recently expelled from the party for joining the pro-governmental deputy group New Volhynia in Volhynian Oblast Council.

A candidate in the electoral district No.19 Hennadii Chastiakov introduces himself as a candidate from the “people's opposition” and uses the colouristics of the United Opposition i.e. Fatherland and the All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda.

A candidate in the same district, Yevheniy Nedyschuk ,on the leaflets printed with violations of the law (as we have reported earlier), declares that he is a candidate of all the oppositional forces, beyond the fact that only Ukrainian People's Party supports him.

Recently, in the same district No.19, leaflets of the self-nominated candidate Serhii Slabeno , who presents himself as a representative of the “unified opposition”, have been distributed.

It is worth mentioning that similar manipulations with the “oppositional status” are also used in another way. In particular, the candidate of the UDAR Party in the electoral district No.19 Oleksandr Kyrychuk repeatedly stated that his political force was negotiating with other oppositional parties concerning support of the single strongest candidate in the district, apparently having hoped this would be him. Another, rather clearly pro-government, self-nominated candidate in the ED No.22 Ihor Palytsia , at the meetings with staff of various institutions within his election campaign, constantly declares that he will vote for UDAR Party or the All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda, beyond the fact that before the electoral campaign, in all public events he had been officially supported by the Head of Volhynian OSA, member of the Party of Regions Borys Klimchuk.

All the abovementioned candidates use the “opposition” brand and try to “tie” themselves to the higher-ranking oppositional political force in order to gain more loyalty of voters. The use of such range of colours and positioning themselves as oppositional candidates is, in fact, tricking the voters, and confuses them.

However, representatives of the United Opposition in Volhynia don't really worry about it yet, and even take such facts rather ironically. “We take it because, today, the United Opposition is popular and someone wants to come under the warmth of love for the United Opposition,” commented on such facts Head of the oblast headquarters of the All-Ukrainian Union Fatherland Hryhorii Pustovit.