Voice
Голос
LeaderKira Rudyk
Vice leaderInna Sovsun
Faction leaderOleksandra Ustinova
FounderSvyatoslav Vakarchuk
Founded16 May 2019 (2019-05-16)
Preceded byPlatform of Initiatives[1]
HeadquartersKyiv, Ukraine
Membership (2021)c. 500 [nb 1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[8]
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe[9]
International affiliationLiberal International (observer)
Colours  Orange
SloganThe party of real changes
Verkhovna Rada
20 / 450
Regions[10]
335 / 43,122
Website
goloszmin.org

Holos (Ukrainian: Голос), translated as Voice or Vote, is a liberal and pro-European political party in Ukraine, which was led by Ukrainian musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk until March 2020.[11] The party won 20 MPs in the 2019 parliamentary election[12] and became part of the opposition in the current Ukrainian parliament.[13][14] The party split late July 2021 and seven MPs were expelled from the party.[15] As of September 2021, only nine of the party's 20 seats in the Verkhovna Rada are held by MPs who are loyal to the party; the remaining 11 are held by MPs who have formed a breakaway group called Justice (Ukrainian: Справедливість; Spravedlyvist).[16]

Name

The name of the party has two meanings in the Ukrainian language: voice and vote. The founder of the party, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, said that the name of the party was chosen because this word characterizes Ukrainian voters and their desire for change in the country:[17]

It has two meanings, and both are very important to us. <...> Because Voice is their [the voters'] voice, by which they demonstrate a desire for change, it is their voice of change. On the other hand, it is their vote, that they can cast [in elections]. <...> The voice, in fact, characterizes Ukrainian voters and their desire for change. What else, if not the voice?

History

Establishment and entry to parliament

The party was presented to the public on 16 May 2019 in Kyiv and announced it would run in the upcoming July 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[18] Legally, Holos is an "upgraded" version of the party "Platform of Initiatives" that was founded in 2015 to take part in the 2015 Ukrainian local elections.[1] The creation of the party marks Vakarchuk's second venture into politics – he previously served as an MP for almost a year after being elected in the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[19]

The party was first featured in the opinion polling carried out from 16 to 21 May 2019, its rating was 4.6%.[20]

The party held its first congress on 8 June 2019, at which part of its party list for the forthcoming elections was announced.[21][22] The top 10 candidates were as follows: 1) Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, 2) Yulia Klimenko, 3) Kira Rudyk, 4) Yaroslav Zheleznyak, 5) Oleksandra Ustinova, 6) Oleh Makarov, 7) Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, 8) Serhiy Rakhmanin, 9) Solomiya Bobrovska, and 10) Olha Stefanyshyna. Prior to the congress, the Ukrainian Galician Party and Voice agreed to cooperate, Ukrainian Galician Party members ran as Voice candidates in single-member constituencies and were added to Voice's national electoral list.[23][24] On 12 June, the party withdrew two of its constituency candidates because they had "affiliated with or co-operated with pro-Russian forces", namely Ukrainian Choice and the Opposition Bloc.[25] Party leader Vakarchuk had assured on 19 May 2019 that no incumbent MPs would be on the party's list for the 2019 parliamentary election. However, such deputies, whose political views coincided with the party's ideology, were allowed to be elected by majority constituencies.[26] In the election, four incumbent MPs stood as candidates for the party in majority constituencies: Victoria Voytsitska, Pavlo Rizanenko, Victoria Ptashnyk, and Leonid Yemets.[27] None of them were elected.[12]

In the 2019 parliamentary election, Voice finished with 5.82% of the vote, 17 MPs elected nationwide and three MPs elected in a constituency.[12][28] 47.6% of the party's elected deputies are women.[29]

On 11 March 2020, Vakarchuk stepped aside as head of the party. Voice selected Kira Rudyk as its new leader.[14] Vakarchuk left parliament in June 2020, stating that his "mission" (bringing new people with new politics into parliament) was complete.[30][31][32]

Voice candidates for the 2020 local elections in Lviv

The party was admitted to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) on 18 November 2020.[9]

In the October 2020 Ukrainian local elections, Voice had some local success, having led its factions to the Lviv Oblast Council, to the city councils of Kyiv, Lviv, Cherkasy, and a number of other city councils, including even in the Donbas.[33] The party's mayoral candidate made it to the second round of the election in Cherkasy, which he lost.[33][34] The party failed to get into the Top-10 of parties that won the most seats in the election (10th place on this list was the Radical Party of Oleh Liashko who won 1.62% of the available seats, which was 535 seats).[35] The party's mayoral candidate for Kyiv, showman Serhiy Prytula, failed to win in the city, coming third with less than 8% of the vote.[36] In June 2021, he quit the party, claiming it had "moved so far away from our initial principles."[37]

In January 2021, the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) blocked the payment of state funds to the party's accounts.[38] The NAPC found agreements and acts of work performed by contractors and the payment of rent for three offices to be illegal.[38]

Disunion

In June 2021, 10 of the party's 20 MPs announced that they would create a separate association named Justice (Ukrainian: Справедливість; Spravedlyvist) and expressed their lack of confidence in faction leader Yaroslav Zhelezniak.[39] In addition, three of the party's regional branches called on party leader Kira Rudyk to resign and demanded that the party hold a congress to select a new leader.[40] The party responded by admitting that it was "going through a difficult period" and announcing a congress at which the conflict within Voice will be addressed.[41] The split was triggered by the decision of five of the party's MPs (including Rudyk and Zhelezniak) to vote in favour of the ruling party's initiative to delay the introduction of Ukrainian language quotas for the country's film industry; the dissenting MPs called this "betrayal" and a "vote for Russification".[42]

In late July 2021, a group made up of 11 of the party's MPs attempted to replace faction leader Yaroslav Zhelezniak with his deputy, Roman Kostenko, as acting head of the faction.[43] This move failed because for the faction leader to be replaced, firstly two-thirds of the faction have to vote (in this case, 14 MPs), and secondly such a decision can only be made at a faction meeting.[44] A statement countering the attempt was signed by the remaining MPs, including Zhelezniak and Kostenko.[44]

At the party congress of 29 July 2021 it was decided to expel seven of the party MPs.[15] Five of the expelled MPs had already written statements to leave the party.[15] The expelled members were dissatisfied with, according to them, the "cementing of Kira Rudyk's control over the party."[15] At the same meeting, 86% of the delegates expressed their confidence in Rudyk as the party leader.[45]

As of September 2021, only nine of the party's 20 seats in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's national parliament) are held by MPs who are loyal to the party; the remaining 11 are held by MPs who are part of Spravedlyvist.[16]

On 15 December 2021, Voice lost its appeal to the Supreme Court of Ukraine to roll back the January 2021 blocking of the payment of state funds to the party's accounts by the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC).[38] The court verdict remanded the case for retrial, but allowed the NAPC to continue blocking the funds.[38]

Criminal case

On 2 February 2022, party leader Kira Rudyk stated that a criminal case had been opened against the party regarding its economic activities.[46] In comments on the party's official site Rudyk stated that the case was politically motivated, and that Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation was "systematically attempting to muzzle those who criticise the government while ignoring cases involving 'Ze-friends'".[47][48]

Political positions

The party declares a democratic approach, supporting the separation of money from politics.[49][50] In economic matters, the party is in favor of introducing a tax on withdrawn capital, a land market, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and the fight against illegal customs and tax schemes.[51]

Party leader Vakarchuk stated on 10 June 2019 that the party wants to abolish the current Ukrainian election constituencies (in which 225 seats are elected in constituencies with a first-past-the-post electoral system in one round),[52][53] instead favoring a shift to full open list proportional representation.

According to the analysis of human rights activist Volodymyr Yavorsky, the party's program pays great attention to human rights, while there are no populist statements in it.[54]

According to experts from the Center for Economic Strategy Dmytro Yablonovsky and Daria Mikhailishin, the program focuses on combating corruption through de-oligarchization and by increasing the efficiency of the state through the introduction of modern technologies.[55]

In November 2019, the party's parliamentary faction stated that because Ukraine could not regain control of separatist Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic and Russian annexed Crimea it should "freeze the conflicts", abandon the Minsk Agreements and focus on strengthening its own positions.[56][13]

In October 2020, the party claimed that Russia must pay $500 bln in reparations to cover the damage it has caused to the Donbas since 2014.[57]

Leadership

Party Leaders

No. Image Name Start Date End Date Time
1. Svyatoslav Vakarchuk 16 May 2019 11 March 2020 300 days
2. Kira Rudyk 11 March 2020 Incumbent 3 years, 305 days

Faction Leaders

No. Image Name Start Date End Date Time
1. Serhii Rakhmanin 29 August 2019[13] 28 December 2020 1 year, 121 days
2. Yaroslav Zheleznyak 28 December 2020[58] 17 December 2021 354 days
3. Oleksandra Ustinova 17 December 2021[59] Incumbent

Prominent party members

A number of prominent party members were excluded from the party in July 2021 due to their disagreement with the party's leadership.[65][16]

Electoral performance

Results of the 2019 elections

Verkhovna Rada

Year Leader Popular vote  % of popular vote Position Overall seats won +/- Government
2019 Svyatoslav Vakarchuk 849,085 5.82 5th
20 / 450
 New Opposition

See also

  • Category:Voice (Ukrainian political party) politicians

Notes

  1. ↑ According to the party leader Kira Rudyk in February 2021.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 (in Ukrainian) The Ministry of Justice registered the party of Vakarchuk, Lb.ua (May 21, 2019)
  2. ↑ (in Ukrainian) Interview of Kira Rudyk, Obozrevatel (15 February 2021)
  3. ↑ Levenson, Michael (2022-08-02). "Zelensky says Ukraine's government may allow civil partnerships for same-sex couples". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  4. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan (2022-06-12). "Ukraine fears western support will fade as media loses interest in the war". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  5. ↑ Bowdler, Neil (2019-06-25). "Rock Star Gives Voice To Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Party". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  6. ↑ Romaliyska, Iryna (2022-06-04). "'Highly' Likely Russia Will Launch Second Attack On Kyiv, Says Ukrainian Commander". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  7. ↑ Baker, Aryn (2022-03-06). "Inside the Desperate Fight Against Russia". Time. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  8. ↑ "Holos". Liga (in Ukrainian). 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  9. 1 2 "Holos from Ukraine has just been accepted as a new full member of ALDE Party". Facebook. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  10. ↑ Обрані депутати місцевих рад. www.cvk.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Vakarchuk elected Holos Party head to replace Yulia Klymenko, Interfax-Ukraine (24 July 2019)
  12. 1 2 3 CEC counts 100 percent of vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections, Ukrinform (26 July 2019)
    (in Russian) Results of the extraordinary elections of the People's Deputies of Ukraine 2019, Ukrainska Pravda (21 July 2019)
  13. 1 2 3 4 (in Ukrainian) Serhiy Rakhmanin: Zelensky sees the Verkhovna Rada as an addition to the President's Office, Ukrainska Pravda (13 November 2019)
  14. 1 2 ""Голос" обрав нового керівника партії замість Вакарчука (відео)".
  15. 1 2 3 4 (in Ukrainian) "Voice" expelled 7 people's deputies from the party, Ukrainska Pravda (29 July 2021)
  16. 1 2 3 "Ще один нардеп перейшов з фракції "Голосу" до групи "Справедливість" – тепер вона в більшості". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  17. ↑ (in Ukrainian): Партія Голос: Вакарчук пояснив вибір назви для своєї політсили, NV (20 May 2019)
  18. ↑ Вакарчук заявив про створення партії і похід у Раду. pravda.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  19. ↑ For His Next Act, a Ukrainian Rock Star Looks to Politics, The New York Times (14 September 2018)
  20. ↑ "Моніторинг електоральних настроїв українців (16-21 травня 2019)". ratinggroup.ua. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  21. ↑ Goloszmin. "Партія "Голос" відкрила імена кандидатів, з якими йде на вибори". goloszmin.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  22. ↑ Голос Змін (2019-06-08), НАЖИВО: з'їзд партії "Голос", retrieved 2019-06-16
  23. ↑ Small biography on Ukrainian Galician Party, Civil movement "Chesno" (in Ukrainian)
  24. ↑ (in Ukrainian) Representatives of the Ukrainian Galician Party will run for the vote in seven constituencies of Lviv region, OPORA Lviv (7 June 2020)
  25. ↑ "Голос" відкликав двох кандидатів у депутати. Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  26. ↑ Вакарчук: У списку нової партії не буде діючих депутатів [Vakarchuk: There will be no acting deputies in the list of new party] (in Ukrainian). Ukrainska Pravda. 19 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  27. ↑ «Голос» країни. Кого Вакарчук взяв у свою команду (досьє). glavcom.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  28. ↑ "Центральна виборча комісія - Вибори народних депутатів України 2019". www.cvk.gov.ua. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  29. ↑ (in Ukrainian) The new Council has increased the number of women deputies, Ukrainska Pravda (23 July 2019)
  30. ↑ "Mission accomplished? Vakarchuk quits but his political party lives on". Atlantic Council. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  31. ↑ "Voice" took away Vakarchuk's deputy mandate, Ukrainska Pravda (26 June 2020) (in Ukrainian)
  32. ↑ The CEC recognized the new People's Deputy of the Voice instead of Vakarchuk, Ukrainska Pravda (8 July 2020) (in Ukrainian)
  33. 1 2 (in Ukrainian) Party measurement of the results of local elections in 2020, Ukrainska Pravda (23 November 2020)
  34. ↑ Результати виборів у Черкасах: чинний мер Бондаренко залишається на посаді [Results of elections in Cherkasy, incumbent mayor Bondarenko remains in office]. 24 Kanal (in Ukrainian). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  35. ↑ (in Ukrainian) The CEC showed the top 10 parties that won the most seats in the election, Ukrainska Pravda (18 November 2020)
  36. ↑ Vitali Klitschko wins in first round of Kyiv mayor election, Ukrinform (6 November 2020)
  37. ↑ "Притула покинув партію "Голос" через нове керівництво". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  38. 1 2 3 4 (in Ukrainian) NAPC won the cassation and blocked the state funding of "Voice", Ukrainska Pravda (15 December 2021)
  39. ↑ Gazeta.ua (2021-06-17). ""Голос" анонсував з'їзд і згадав про Вакарчука". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  40. ↑ "Ще 3 обласних осередки "Голосу" закликали Рудик скласти повноваження". Новини України - #Букви. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  41. ↑ Goloszmin. "Заява партії «Голос". goloszmin.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  42. ↑ Gazeta.ua (2021-06-15). "Частина "Голосу" підіграла "слугам" і вляпалась у скандал". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  43. ↑ "Голос» звільнив Железняка з посади голови фракції, він заперечує — політика України". racurs.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  44. 1 2 "Регламентний комітет Ради роз'яснив ситуацію із заявами про звільнення Железняка з позиції голови фракції "Голос"". LB.ua. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  45. ↑ Goloszmin. "Делегати з'їзду "Голосу" висловили підтримку Кірі Рудик". goloszmin.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  46. ↑ "Голову партії "Голос" Кіру Рудик викликають на допит до ДБР". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  47. ↑ "Голову партії "Голос" Кіру Рудик викликають на допит до ДБР". Діло. 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  48. ↑ Goloszmin. "ДБР закриває рота тим, хто критикує владу, але не чіпає справ, які стосуються Зе-друзів, — Кіра Рудик". goloszmin.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  49. ↑ "Святослав Вакарчук презентував нову партію "Голос": основні цілі та політична програма" [Svyatoslav Vakarchuk presented the new party "Voice": main goals and political program] (in Ukrainian). The direct channel. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  50. ↑ "Голос змін: Політична програма партії "Голос"" [Voice of Changes: The political program of the party "Voice"] (PDF) (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 13 June 2020. Держава для людини, а не громадянин для чиновника (p.11)
  51. ↑ Lesya Vyhovsky (15 June 2019). "Як топ-5 найрейтинговіших партій обіцяють змінити ситуацію в Україні" [How top 5 most rated parties promise to change the situation in Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). TV channel 24. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  52. ↑ Electoral dead-end for Rada, UNIAN (29 September 2016)
    "Parliament passes law on parliamentary elections". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
    "Ukraine: The Law on Election of the People's Deputies (Unofficial translation by IFES), 2011" (PDF). 17 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
    The Distorted Will of the People, The Ukrainian Week (5 November 2012)
  53. ↑ Вакарчук: "Голос" зробить усе, щоб мажоритарка зникла назавжди. Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  54. ↑ Volodymyr Yavorsky (10 July 2019). "Аналіз виборчих програм через призму прав людини: партія «Голос" [Analysis of electoral programs through the prism of human rights: the Party "Voice"] (in Ukrainian). Humanrights. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  55. ↑ Dmytro Yablonovsky (18 July 2019). "Що пропонує Голос. Економічні орієнтири партії Вакарчука" [What does the Voice offer? Economic Landmarks of the Vakarchuk Party] (in Ukrainian). NV business. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  56. ↑ (in Ukrainian) "Voice": Ukraine should withdraw from the Minsk agreements and freeze the situation in the Donbas, Ukrainska Pravda (8 November 2019)
  57. ↑ "Иск на $500 млрд: в Киеве потребуют от России восстановить Донбасс". Газета.Ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  58. ↑ (in Ukrainian) "Voice" elected a new head of the faction, Ukrainska Pravda (28 December 2020)
  59. ↑ ""Голос" змінив главу фракції". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  60. ↑ "Керівництво партії".
  61. ↑ "Вакарчук представив нових членів його партії".
  62. 1 2 "До партії Вакарчука приєднались правозахисниця та громадська активістка". 1NEWS.COM.UA (in Ukrainian). 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  63. ↑ "Вакарчук представив нових членів його партії". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  64. ↑ "Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України". itd.rada.gov.ua.
  65. ↑ "Партия "Голос" на съезде исключила сразу семь нардепов". APNEWS.COM.UA (in Russian). 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
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