Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko

For the party that was called the Ukrainian Radical Party and founded in October 1890, see Ukrainian Radical Party.
Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko
Leader Oleh Lyashko[1]
Founded 28 September 2010 (2010-09-28)[1]
Headquarters Mykolaiv
Ideology Civic nationalism[2]
Radicalism[3]
Populism[4][5][6]
Pro-Europeanism[2][7][8]
Agrarianism[9]
Political position Left-wing[10]
European affiliation None
International affiliation None
Colours           Red, White
Verkhovna Rada[11]
21 / 450
Regions (2015)[12]
2,533 / 158,399
Website
liashko.ua

The Radical Party (Ukrainian: Радикальна Партія) is a political party in Ukraine.[13] It was registered in September 2010.[1] Its official name is the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko (Ukrainian: Радикальна Партія Олега Ляшка).[1]

The party won 22 seats at the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[14][15] At the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election it won 1 seat.[16]

History

Ukrainian Radical Democratic Party

The party was established at the founding congress in Mykolaiv on 18 August 2010 and was then named the Ukrainian Radical-Democratic Party (Ukrainian: Українська демократично-радикальна партія).[17] Under this name it was registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 28 September 2010.[1][17] At the time, the party was led by Vladislav Telipko.[8][17]

Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko

Results in the 2012 elections

On 8 August 2011, during its third party congress, Oleh Lyashko was elected the new party leader.[17] The same day the party changed its name to the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko.[18]

At the 2012 parliamentary election the party won 1.08% of the national votes and 1 constituency (it had competed in 28 constituencies[19]) for its leader Lyashko[20] who did not join a faction in the Verkhovna Rada.[21] The party was most successful in Chernihiv Oblast, where it received 10.69 percent of the vote, finishing fifth.[8] The constituency that Lyashko won was also located in Chernihiv Oblast.[8]

According to political scientist Tadeusz A. Olszański mid-September 2014 the party was "a typical one-man party, centred around Oleh Lyashko; its real organisational potential remains a mystery".[2]

Results in the 2014 elections

At the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election the party's list was led by Lyashko. In third place was Serhiy Melnychuk, commander of the Aidar Battalion. In fourth place was the singer Zlata Ognevich. And in fifth place was Yuri Shukhevych, son of the military leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Roman Shukhevych.[22] At the election the party won 22 seats.[15] It received support from rural and regional voters who had previously supported Fatherland.[23]

On 21 November 2014 the party became a member of the coalition supporting the current second Yatsenyuk Government and sent one minister into this government.[24][25]

On 3 June 2015 parliament stripped the party's MP Melnychuk of his parliamentary prosecutorial immunity rights; he was accused of forming a criminal gang, abductings and threatening people.[26]

Radical Party left the second Yatsenyuk Government coalition on 1 September 2015 in protest over a vote in parliament involving a change to the Ukrainian Constitution that would lead to decentralization and greater powers for areas held by pro-Russian separatists.[27] According to party leader Lyashko the party “can’t stay in the coalition after anti-Ukrainian changes to the constitution, initiated by the president, were approved against the will of three parties of the coalition”.[27] (He was referring to his own party, Self Reliance and Fatherland.[28])

Ideology and stances

The party is centered on Lyashko, who is known for his populism and highly combative behavior. The Radical Party advocates a number of traditional left-wing positions (lower salary taxes, a ban on agricultural land sale and eliminating the illegal land market, a tenfold increase in budget spending on health, setting up primary health centres in every village [29]), and mixes them with strong nationalist sentiments.[30] Anton Shekhovtsov of University College London considers Lyashko's party to be similar to left-wing populist and nationalist.[31]

The party supports increased taxation for products manufactured by oligarchs, a crisis tax on oligarchs to balance the Ukrainian budget and alleviate inflation.

The party has promised to purify the country of oligarchs "with a pitchfork".[32] It has proposed higher taxes on products manufactured by oligarchs and a crisis tax on the latter.[29]

The party wants to re-arm Ukraine with nuclear weapons.[32] Concerning the War in Donbass the party advocates an end to the conflict by use of force.[2]

Election Results

Verkhovna Rada

Year Popular vote % of popular vote Overall seats won Seat change Government
2012 221,136 1.08
1 / 450
 Increase 1
2014 1,171,697 7.45
22 / 450
 Increase 22 Coalition government
(until September 2015)

Presidential elections

President of Ukraine
Election year Candidate # of 1st round votes % of 1st round vote # of 2nd round votes % of 2nd round vote
2014 Oleh Lyashko 1,500,377 8.32

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 (Ukrainian) Політична партія «Радикальна Партія Олега Ляшка», DATA
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tadeusz A. Olszański (17 September 2014). "Ukraine's political parties at the start of the election campaign". OSW: Centre for Eastern Studies. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ukraine's Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko: Facts and Details". RIA Novosti. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Rick Noack (14 August 2014). "Why Ukrainian politicians keep beating each other up". The Washington Post.
  5. ↑ Arsenyi Svynarenko (29 August 2014). "Ukraine's political landscape is shifting". Politiikasta.fi.
  6. ↑ Taras Kuzio (26 August 2014). "Ukraine is heading for new parliamentary elections, but the country still lacks real political parties". LSE EUROPP Blog.
  7. ↑ Artem Dzyubenko. "Pro-presidential party polling fifth for parliamentary vote". Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Ukraine's Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko: Facts and Details". RIA Novosti. 25 October 2014.
  9. ↑ http://liashko.ua/program
  10. ↑ "По социальной риторике – левый".
  11. ↑ (Ukrainian) Депутатські фракції і групи VII скликання Deputy fractions and Groups, Verkhovna Rada official website
  12. ↑ Кандидати, яких обрано депутатами рад. www.cvk.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Lyashko:No sponsors, tycoons or deputies on election list of Radical Party, Kyiv Post (8 August 2012)
  14. ↑ Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk’s parties maneuver for lead role in coalition , Kyiv Post (29 October 2014)
    New Verkhovna Rada, Kyiv Post (Oct. 30, 2014)
  15. 1 2 Poroshenko Bloc to have greatest number of seats in parliament, Ukrainian Television and Radio (8 November 2014)
    People's Front 0.33% ahead of Poroshenko Bloc with all ballots counted in Ukraine elections - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
    Poroshenko Bloc to get 132 seats in parliament - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (8 November 2014)
  16. ↑ Party of Regions gets 185 seats in Ukrainian parliament, Batkivschyna 101 - CEC, Interfax-Ukraine (12 November 2012)
  17. 1 2 3 4 (Ukrainian) Радикальна партія Олега Ляшка, RBK Ukraine
  18. ↑ (Ukrainian) Олег Ляшко офіційно перейменував свою партію, 24 News (14 december 2011)
  19. ↑ (Ukrainian) Candidates, RBC Ukraine
  20. ↑ (Ukrainian) Proportional votes & Constituency seats, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  21. ↑ (Ukrainian) National deputies of Ukraine:Oleh Lyashko, Verkhovna Rada
  22. ↑ Ukraine Votes On Oct. 26 To Elect New Parliament, Kyiv Post (Oct. 24, 2014)
  23. ↑ Olszański, Tadeusz A. (29 October 2014), A strong vote for reform: Ukraine after the parliamentary elections, OSW—Centre for Eastern Studies
  24. ↑ Rada supports coalition-proposed government lineup, Interfax-Ukraine (2 December 2014)
    Rada approves new Cabinet with three foreigners, Kyiv Post (2 December 2014)
    (Ukrainian) Rada voted the new Cabinet, Ukrayinska Pravda (2 December 2014)
  25. ↑ Five political forces sign coalition agreement, Interfax-Ukraine (21 November 2014)
    Ukraine's parliamentary parties initial coalition agreement, Interfax-Ukraine (21 November 2014)
  26. ↑ Ukrainian Parliament strips two MP's of their immunity from prosecution, Ukraine Today (3 June 2015)
  27. 1 2 Ukraine Radical Party Quits Ruling Coalition After Deadly Clash, Bloomberg News (1 September 2015)
  28. ↑ Departure of nationalists unlikely to break up Ukrainian ruling coalition and will improve likelihood of decentralisation, Jane's Information Group (3 September 2015)
  29. 1 2 The Communist Party May Be on Its Last Legs, But Social Populism is Still Alive, The Ukrainian Week (23 October 2014)
  30. ↑ "With Stunts and Vigilante Escapades, a Populist Gains Ground in Ukraine". The New York Times.
  31. ↑ "Ukraine's presidential election and the far right".
  32. 1 2 Ukraine election: What to look for, BBC News (24 October 2014)
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