| United Centre Єдиний Центр |
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|---|---|
| Leader | Viktor Baloha[1] |
| Founded | September 24, 1999 (Party of Private Property) / March 27, 2008 (United Centre) |
| Headquarters | Kiev, Ukraine |
| Political position | Centre |
| International affiliation | None |
| Official colours | Yellow |
| Website | |
| http://www.edc.org.ua/ | |
| Politics of Ukraine Political parties Elections |
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United Centre (Ukrainian: Єдиний Центр, Yedynyi Tsentr) is a Ukrainian political party. It is an offspring of Our Ukraine. It will participate in the next Ukrainian parliamentary election independently.[2][3] Legally United Centre is the successor of the Party of Private Property (Ukrainian: Партія приватної власності; Partija Privatnoi Vlasnosti), registered with the Ministry of Justice on September 24, 1999.[4] The party changed its name too United Centre in March 2008.[4] At this time the parties goals where: "assisting President Viktor Yuschenko to realize its program of actions"[5] and "to unite Eastern Ukraine and Western Ukraine".[5]
The party rejects any possibility of joining a parliamentary coalition with the Communist Party of Ukraine.[6][7]
Because Ukrainian law does not allow members of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) create a (new) parliamentary faction with less than 15 members[8] (United Centre was created after the 2007 parliamentary elections) there is no United Centre faction in the Verkhovna Rada; 5 United Centre members are part of the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc faction.[9][10]
Party leader Viktor Baloha was appointed Minister of Emergencies and Minister of the Protection of the Population from the Chernobyl disaster on November 12, 2010 by President Viktor Yanukovych.[11] According to Baloha this did not mean his party would join the coalition Government.[1]
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The Party of Private Property was registered with the Ministry of Justice September 24, 1999.[4] At the 1999 Ukrainian presidential election the party endorsed incumbent President Leonid Kuchma.[12]
During the Ukrainian parliamentary elections 2002 it was part of the electoral alliance Team of Winter Generation.[13] Team of Winter Generation won 2.0 % of the popular vote and no seats.[14]
Party of Private Property did not participate in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections of 2006 and 2007.[15]
In February 2008 several prominent members left Our Ukraine.[16] Viktor Baloha, Head of the President's Secretariat resigned on February 15 (to lift the issue of the correlation between the authorities as the President’s Chief of Staff and as a member of the OU-PSD presidium).[17] Roman Bezsmertny, high ranked party official, along with people’s deputies, Mykhaylo Polyanchych, Ihor Kryl, Viktor Topolov, Oksana Bilozir and Vasyl Petevka resigned on February 20, in a joint statement the declared that: "some of the leaders of the party play their own game, coming from personal interests and it has nothing to do with responsibility, pluralism and norms of democracy."[18]
At the sixth Party Congress of the Party of Private Property, held on 20 March 2008, the party decided to change its name too United Centre.[4] At this time the parties goals where: "assisting President Viktor Yuschenko to realize its program of actions"[5] and "to unite Eastern Ukraine and Western Ukraine".[5]
On March 27, United Centre held the founding meeting in Kiev.[5] On July 8, Presidential Secretariat's Chief Baloha entered the United Centre party.[5][19] On July 12, 2008 United Centre re-elected Verkhovna Rada deputy Ihor Kril of Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense bloc as its leader.[5] The merger of United Center with the Democratic Party of Ukraine failed to materialize prior to the congress.[20][21] Administrative pressure by governors upon state employees to sign up to United Centre is said to be ongoing.[19][20] Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defence Bloc did complain that members of its regional branches are being poached by United Centre.[19]
In October 2008 Social Christian Party merged with United Centre.[22]
On October 21, 2008 the presidium of People’s Union Our Ukraine decided not to team up with any other party then the Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc for the 2008 snap parliamentary poll and called the idea of teaming up with United Centre "impossible".[23][24] On 20 November 2008, the United Centre leader Ihor Kril said the party will participate independently in the next parliamentary elections and that he "fully support the view that the format of Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc, as it exists now, is not realistic or effective. Every political force should take responsibility for their actions before the electorate".[3]
According to UNIAN the People’s Union Our Ukraine and United Centre parties was to carry out a unifying congress on January 17, 2009. The People’s Democratic party was reported to join the move.[25] However nothing like this happened.
After Viktor Baloha resigned as Head of the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine he claimed he resigned from this post as he is totally against President Yuschenko's decision to run for president for a second term, the second reason behind his resignation was nepotism. "I'm confident that you have no moral right to participate in the presidential elections. I'm not your supporter here," Baloha said in a statement made available from the United Centre party's press service to Interfax-Ukraine on May 19, 2009.[26][27]
The party did not join the parliamentary coalition which supported the Azarov Government in March 2010 because the Communist Party of Ukraine was a part of that coalition.[7]
A March 2010 poll predicted that the party would get 0.2% of the vote at the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election.)[28]
Early August parliamentarian Kyrylo Kulykov joined the party, thus as of August 2010 6 United Centre members are lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada.[10] Kulykov had switched from Yuriy Lutsenko's People's Self-Defense.[29] This is 9 too short to form a United Centre faction in the Verkhovna Rada.[8]
In the 2010 local elections the party won a few representative in regional parliaments but achieved a stunning victory in the Zakarpattia Oblast.[30]
On November 12, 2010 President Viktor Yanukovych appointed party leader Viktor Baloha was Minister of Emergencies and Minister of the Protection of the Population from the Chernobyl disaster .[11] According to Baloha this did not mean his party would join the coalition Government.[1] According to Ukrayinska Pravda the United Centre deputies in parliament already quietly voted with the Party of Regions (the main component of the Azarov Government).[31] Deputy Lesya Orobets left the party after Baloha's appointment because the party never informed her about it.[32]