Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed)

Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed)
FoundedNovember 2000
Banned30 September 2015
Split fromCommunist Party of Ukraine
IdeologyCommunism
Marxism-Leninism
Political positionFar-left
KPU(o) election poster

The Communist Party of Ukraine (renewed) (Ukrainian: Комуністична партія України (оновлена), romanized: Komunistychna Partiia Ukrainy (onovlena), KPU(o)) was a political party in Ukraine, formed in November 2000[1] following a split from the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU). KPU(o) was led by Mykhaylo Savenko, previously a member of Parliament of the pro-president Kuchma[2] Labour Ukraine.[3] On 30 September 2015, the District Administrative Court in Kyiv banned the party.[4]

History

The party was formed in November 2000[1] as a split from the Communist Party of Ukraine (KPU). The first party leader was Mykhaylo Savenko. Savenko had been a Member of Parliament supporting President Leonid Kuchma[5] in Labour Ukraine.[6]

The KPU claimed that the formation of the KPU(o) was instigated by the political establishment to take votes from the KPU.[7] In the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party won 1.4% of the popular vote and no seats although only six other parties had spent more on their election campaign.[8] In the 2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the party garnered only 0.29% of the popular vote.[1] The party did not participate to the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election[9][10] and the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[10][11]

In May 2015, decommunization in Ukraine came into effect in Ukraine, banning communist symbols, singing the Soviet national anthem or "The Internationale".[12] Because of these laws, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry stripped the party of its right to participate in elections on 24 July 2015.[13] The party did not challenge this ban and was thus on 30 September 2015 terminated by the District Administrative Court in Kyiv.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c (in Ukrainian) Комуністична партія України (оновлена), sd.net
  2. ^ The European Union and Democratization: Reluctant States (Europe and the Nation State) by Paul Kubicek, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-31136-6, page 171
  3. ^ Ukraine Political Parties, GlobalSecurity.org
  4. ^ a b (in Ukrainian) The court banned the two Communist parties, Ukrayinska Pravda (1 October 2015)
    Kyiv’s Court terminates two Communist parties, Ukrinform (1 October 2015)
  5. ^ The European Union and Democratization: Reluctant States (Europe and the Nation State) by Paul Kubicek, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-31136-6, page 171
  6. ^ Ukraine Political Parties, GlobalSecurity.org
  7. ^ [1] Archived April 15, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Virtual Politics - Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World, Andrew Wilson, Yale University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-300-09545-7 page 256
  9. ^ (in Ukrainian) Results of voting in single constituencies in 2012 Archived November 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine & Nation-wide list Archived 2012-12-22 at archive.today, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  10. ^ a b Ukraine Bars Communists From Elections, Radio Free Europe (24 July 2015)
  11. ^ Alphabetical Index of parties in 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Archived 2014-12-18 at the Wayback Machine, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  12. ^ "Ukraine bans Soviet symbols and criminalises sympathy for communism". The Guardian. May 21, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  13. ^ Ukraine's Justice Ministry outlaws Communists from elections, Kyiv Post, (24 July 2015)
    Justice Ministry bans three communist parties from taking part in election process as they violate Ukrainian law - minister, Interfax-Ukraine, (24 July 2015)