Another season begins at Constituency #136 in Odesa

In the past these hunting grounds were the sole ownership of Serhiy Kivalov, leader of the Ukrainian Maritime Party and president of Odesa’s National Law Academy, who traded in his parliamentary mandate two months ago for the chairmanship of the Central Election Committee. Arranging elections on “his” home turf turned out to be the new CEC Chairman’s first test of strength. Initially, the situation was complicated. After what happened in Mukachiv, the international community was closely monitoring the situation at Constituency #136. Cathleen Kerr, of the US Embassy’s political department, said diplomatically, after a two-hour conversation with Serhiy Hrynevetsky, governor of Odesa oblast, that the American side hoped the coming elections would be held in keeping with democratic standards, as promised by Ukraine. Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Andrew Robinson pledged that Canadian observers would be monitoring the by-election at Constituency #136 not because Western countries wanted to back a particular candidate, he explained, but because it was important for the Ukraine-NATO-Europe rapprochement. Meanwhile, it was learned that PACE Monitoring Committee rapporteur Hanna Severinsen is expected to visit Odesa in late May.

As passions mounted, word spread that the head of the Presidential Administration Viktor Medvedchuk and Progressive Socialist leader Natalia Vitrenko would be taking part in the election campaign. Many believed that their presence would demolish the other candidates’ chances. The situation remained tense until the end of April, when it became clear that these politicians had no intentions of running in this race. Nor did the largest political parties show any particular interest in what was happening at Constituency #136. All told, the Odesa election campaign was regarded as a local political battle.

The election commission received 66 applications from potential candidates, among them a number of fakes, documents drawn up in contravention of standard procedures, and even a “double” — a certain Serhiy Medvedchuk from Chernihiv who constantly made mistakes while filling in the questionnaires with his biographical data. Members of the district election commission testified that he failed to provide correct personal registration data, which was later confirmed by the Chernihiv passport office. As a result, he was disqualified, as were several young ladies, also from Chernihiv, whose election platforms proposed, among other things, to legitimize prostitution.

On May 6, there were 26 candidates at the start of the pre-election campaign, with Yabluko leader Mykhailo Brodsky, vice-governor of the oblast and local council deputy Anton Kisse, and the CEC chairman’s daughter and city council deputy Tetiana Kivalova almost immediately marked as hopefuls. The district election commission found no reason to deny registration to its patron’s daughter, since the constitution guarantees every citizen the right to be elected. Yet the legal problem lay in the fact that Kivalova’s registration violated Article 7 of the Law on the Central Election Committee, which prohibits all close relatives of any member of the CEC, above all the chairman, from running as a candidate. In other words, either Serhiy Kivalov or his daughter had to step down. In fact, Kivalov mentioned this possibility in an interview, declaring that he was against Tetiana’s nomination, but that his daughter had refused to listen. Several analysts made it clear that Ms. Kivalova’s political ambitions had called into question the legitimacy of her father’s CEC chairmanship, now that the presidential elections were getting closer. In light of opinions voiced by international observers, this situation is a most unwelcome one for Ukraine.

Tetiana Kivalova, a young docent with a chair at the Odesa National Law Academy, was elected deputy of the City Council two years ago. So far she has demonstrated neither experience, nor a concrete plan of action. Her campaign commercials are based solely on her father’s authority and that of the Ukrainian Maritime Party. Mr. Kivalov will most likely persuade his daughter to pull out sometime in the last round of the campaign, but for now she is in the lead, backed, among others, by the municipal authorities.

Another hopeful is Vice-Governor Anton Kisse, who is of course backed by the governor. Kisse, who is the deputy of the regional and the city council, also heads the regional administration. He is well known in Odesa, mostly for his skill in coming to terms with all sides. At one time, Odesa Mayor Ruslan Bodelan relieved him of his post as head of the district state administration because he had had the nerve to criticize the city fathers, but he was immediately “picked up” by the governor. Today, Kisse is actually the only candidate of Constituency #136 with a program aimed at getting Odesa out of its crisis, and he has managed to retain both the support of ordinary Odesa residents and representatives of the power structures.

The third campaign hopeful is Mykhailo Brodsky, leader of the Yabluko Party, who is officially supported by Our Ukraine and Tymoshenko’s bloc (BYuT), although at one time Yabluko and BYuT’s relations were anything but neighborly. Brodsky is an outsider, although he is known in Odesa for his earlier campaign fiasco. His campaign platform is rooted in the principle of opposing the local, and partly the central, authorities. In his own words, “Elections are nothing but a show,” which he is duly organizing, for all of Odesa to see. Yabluko recently staged an action to protect the roads of Odesa from Mayor Ruslan Bodelan: pictures of the mayor were placed in various potholes, which were then solemnly proclaimed “Bodelan pits.” In fact, Brodsky’s entire PR campaign is based on a struggle to upgrade Odesa roads. Although this issue is a very topical one in the city, this repetitive strategy proves once again that Mykhailo Brodsky is actually an outsider who knows little about other municipal problems.

Several minor candidates, including city council deputies Volodymyr Rondin and Heorhy Selianyn, are trailing the three leaders. For both of these candidates the fight for Constituency #136 is not an end in itself. One seems to be after the mayor’s seat, while the other has been professionally capitalizing on election campaigns for a number of years.

Another feature of the Odesa election campaign is that it resembles a blitzkrieg. Owing to numerous official holidays, only two weeks are left to promote the candidates, so few, if any, expect any surprises before the election date, although no one has ruled them out altogether.