July 30, when the Parliamentary elections officially started, is already a history. It was the time of first party congresses of the main political players, where the lists of candidates and the majoritarian candidates in the voting districts were announced. But even then according to the preliminary analysis of the announced candidates hinted on a fact that the United opposition, in some particular cases, has started its election campaign a little bit unsuccessfully
This idea can be proved even today, when the nomination of candidates finished. The registration of certain individuals as the candidates for Parliamentary elections, on the basis of party lists and single member constituencies, is also coming to the end. The party lists were analyzed both by the experts from government and from opposition, by journalists and average voters. But the situation is even more interesting with the lists of majoritarian candidates in Poltava region.
We know that the most important candidates from the Party of Region in Poltava oblast, who will run for the Parliament independently, are Oleh Nadosha from Kremenchuh, Oleksii Leliuk from Karlivka, a companions of the Mayor of Poltava Oleksandr Mamai - Volodymyr Makar, Oleksandr Zaluzhnyi, Oleh Kulinich, and Volodymyr Pylypenko. Who is able to compete with these candidates on behalf of oppositional and so called oppositional powers inPoltava?
In Kremenchuh a 71-years-old member of Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, a writer Viktor Teren will compete with a current People's Deputy from the Party of Regions Oleh Nadosha. Teren is also a current People's Deputy, who has already represented the city. But it was in the late 90s, and after that V. Teren lost his connection with the citizens of Kremenchuh. Even middle age voters do not remember him much. The organizational and financial resources of this candidate are also doubtful. It is interesting that this candidate appeared on the list only in the last moment, before it was approved during the party congress. Previously in the voting district # 146 we expected the candidacy of Mykola Nesen, who is a representative of the United opposition. Nesen is also the Deputy of Poltava oblast council from the Fatherland and the President of one of the best technical schools of Kremenchuh.
Nadosha will compete with an unknown entrepreneur Dmytro Bohodyst from the UDAR party. The candidate from N. Korolevska Ukraine-Ahead! party seems more interesting. The candidate is the Head of open joint stock company "Kremenchukmiaso", the Deputy of city council - Iryna Drozdova. She is a young, ambitious, and well known in the city both as an active civil activist and as a successful manager. Thus, a very interesting election intrigue is expected in the voting district #146.
If to talk about other districts, then probably opposition will face complicated situation in Karliv constituency, where the Party of Regions nominated the Head of State Reserve Agency of Ukraine, former Head of oblast organization of the Party of Regions - Oleksii Leliuk. The United opposition nominates against him the Head of Novosanzhar village and the Deputy of oblast council - Andrii Reka. Andrii Oleksandrovych is the member of the Front of Change party and the former Head of local rayon state administration (it was during the presidency of L. Kuchma). He is probably very familiar to the voters of Novosanzharsk, but it has to be underlined that the voting district #149 includes Mashiv, Kobeliaky and Chutiv rayons, where Leliuk and not Reka is very famous for his long lasting charity activity.
The UDAR party has nominated here citizen of Poltava Vasyl Kovalchuk, who in 2010 was a candidate for the Mayor of Poltava city from the All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda. Mr Kovalchuk is lawyer and is engaged in advocacy, thus, his candidacy was logical. But as it became known in the last moment, V. Kovalchuk did not submit the documents to the Central Election Committee and therefore was dismissed from registration. At the same time, he became an independent candidate (samovysuvanets) in Poltava city constituency #144. Thus, he became an opponent of the candidate from the UDAR party -S. Kaplin and the Head of faction of the Fatherland in oblast council, the candidate from the United opposition, D. Khrystov. The situation is complicated by the personality of the former Mayor of Poltava A. Matkovskyi, who is their competitor. Therefore, it is naturally, that the Party of Regions in this situation withdrew into the shadows and did not officially nominate its party candidate. In the near future we will see, whether it can be considered as carte blanche for the independent candidate O. Zaluzhnyi, who is a fellow of the current Mayor of Poltava.
Concerning the oblast organization of UDAR party - its Head and a famous politician in Poltava Petro Vorona will be nominated in Lubny voting district # 148, where his competitor from the Party of Regions will be the Deputy of oblast council, the Chief Physician of Lubny oblast hospital for the disabled war veterans - Viktor Kravetskyi. One of the players in these districts will be an independent candidate - a current People's Deputy, member of so called "Portnov's group" and another fellow of O. Mamai - Volodymyr Pylypenko.
In addition, we can note that the United opposition sent to Lubny a little-known member of the Front of Change party - Volodymyr Ivanov. Thus there is probably no need to talk that he will become a strong competitor for the aforementioned individuals. Also, he will mainly oppose the member of UDAR party P. Vorona, and not the candidate from the Party of Regions or the independent candidate, who is close to this political power.
Thus, it is easily seen that the candidates from the so called "Mamai's group", which is called after the surname of the Mayor of oblast center, who has recently joined the Party of Regions, are very active. It means that financial resource, owned by O. Mamai and his team-mates, was enriched by strong administrative resource just before the elections. We should not forget that in Myrhorod voting district #147 another representative of this group will be an independent candidate. Oleh Kulinich is the Deputy of oblast council, who is conducting large-scale charity activity in Myrhorod region for quite a long time. In this region he will compete with Yurii Kovalenko, who is a candidate from the United opposition and who will probably lack all kind of resources for a successful campaign. To some extent, by this time he has not presented any alternative activity to that of his possible competitor.
The same can be said about the opponents of Mamai group in another voting district. It is the constituency #145 in Poltava city, where V. Makar (another representative of this group) became the independent candidate. The district itself is left without formal majoritarian candidates from the Party of Regions and with their little-known political opponents. The United opposition left this constituency for Svoboda, whose candidate - the Head of Kovakivka village Yurii Bublyk is representing this district in the elections. It is still knot known whether this candidate will get the support of the citizens, although he is famous in certain circles.
It can be added that in some single member constituencies of Poltava region the situation is really strange. A good example can be the voting district #150 -Komsomolsk city, including a part of Kremenchuh city, Globyno and Kremenchyh rayons. Here the Party of Regions nominated a frankly speaking weak candidate - the Vice-Principal of Komsomol secondary school #2 - Iryna Mitina. From the United opposition there is no candidate at all. The UDAR party offered the voters a Gynecologist from Kremenchuh - Oksana Savytska, who is almost unknown in Komsomolsk city and rayon. Svoboda is also somewhat quiet. The independent candidate, Professor at Kremenchuh State University Hanna Kapustian can be considered its unofficial candidate.
A feeling of experts that everyone was expecting something in this district became a reality. In the last moment a famous Ukrainian oligarch Kostiantyn Zhevaho became a candidate in the constituency #150. He became a traditional in Poltava oblast independent candidate. However, the silence of opposition and dull game of the governing politicians in this region suggest an idea that, despite the fact that formally K. Zhevaho is a member of the Fatherland, if his candidacy was agreed on the top, it was absolutely expected.
Thus, all the aforementioned facts can indicate that the opposition in Poltava region either feel a significant lack of resources and personnel or is strangely unwilling because of objective and subjective reasons to take the full-fledged part in the election process. It seems that, in terms of receiving seats in the Parliament, opposition in Poltava region to a certain extent counts only on is party lists. Whether it is true or not, and whether this phenomena is present on the all-Ukrainian level we will see in the near future.
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